nominate their favorite LGBT moms for the title of “America’s Favorite Mom”
in Teleflora’s Mother’s Day contest. I thought it would be a good
opportunity for visibility.
Two days after my post, I received an e-mail from a publicist at
Edelman, Teleflora’s PR agency. She thanked me for helping them to
raise awareness about the program within the LGBT community. She
then asked if I’d like to be kept apprised of any LGBT submissions
to the contest, so I could urge readers to vote for them. I said
yes.
In re-reading the contest rules, however, I noticed that each
person can only submit the name of one nominee. Clearly, the
organizers didn’t realize this would force children of partnered
LGBT moms to choose between them (and could lead to shameless
bribery on the part of said parents). I wrote back to inquire
whether there might be an exception made here.
This is the nice message I got back. Not the answer I’d hoped for,
but still a sign of increasing awareness and willingness to
listen:
Unfortunately, all the contest rules in each state are
set up for only one person to be submitted per nomination. I know
that isn’t ideal for kids of LGBT couples, but on the upside, we
really want to tell the story of inspirational LGBT moms! Also, you
raised an excellent point and you definitely got Teleflora’s
attention. Not sure if they are going to do this contest next year,
but definitely something to think about when their lawyers draft
the sweepstakes contest rules.
She also notes, however that there are no nominees yet within the
LGBT community, but that she would love to have a diverse group of
semi-finalists and finalists.
That seems like a call to action, despite the one-mom limitation.
(Flip a coin if debate gets ugly.)
Nominate yourself, your partner, or a friend (just make sure
you have the person’s permission before doing so). Children over 13
can also nominate moms (and those under 13 can do so as part of a
nomination submitted by an adult or older sibling. Full rules are
at the contest
site.
The nomination form also allows you to upload images or videos in
support of your nominee. If you (or your kids) do submit a name,
leave a comment so we can go vote for you.
(Crossposted at
Mombian.)