By Lya Carrera
EDGE Entertainment Contributor
Published Web site: [1] EDGE
Online Version Published Date: April 6, 2006
Online Version Printed Date: April 6, 2006

As the debate of gay marriage, gay parenting, and being gay continues throughout the world, many opponents are doing their part to keep the status quo, while proponents are trying to not only challenge it but change it as well. All Aboard! Rosie’s Family Cruise is one documentary trying to make a difference for gay rights, specifically for gay parents.

Directed by Emmy nominee, Shari Cook (Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen), and executive produced by former talk show host, Rosie O’Donnell, and her spouse, Kelli O’Donnell, this film shows a glimpse into the world of gay and lesbian families via vignettes of selected passengers, including the O’Donnell’s and their four kids.

“[It] reminds us that families can come in all shapes and sizes and that the things we all have in common far outweigh our differences,” said Rosie O’Donnell in an HBO interview.

Content

The first of its kind, the film chronicles the seven-day gay and lesbian family cruise in the summer of 2004. The ship - the Norwegian Dawn (one of the largest cruise ships in the world) -sailed from New York City to the Bahamas, with further stops in Key West, Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau.

The film interweaves the personal narratives with snippets of the day’s activities, such as swimming and dancing to the evening entertainment, such as shows featuring songs from Broadway musicals or movies and comedic performances by the “Queen of Nice” herself and others.

The film also captures the welcome reception the guests received in Key West [Fla.] and the prejudice they encountered by protests groups in Nassau as well as a peek into the forums and panels organized on the cruise.

Analysis

This film sends a clear message and Rosie O’Donnell sums it up in an on-line interview with “Cruise-Reviews.”

“All families deserve respect and all families are bound by love. We’re all equal,” she said. “I think the film shows that the sexual orientation of a parent has nothing do with the ability to parent.”

O’Donnell’s point of view is clearly supported by the scenes depicted in the film of gay and lesbian parents not only kissing and hugging their children but also laughing, playing, talking, and dining with them.

Her perspective is further supported by the testimonials of the teenagers and young adults who are straight.

Megan Jocaby, 20, is the daughter of a lesbian couple, who says that her mother’s partner has been more of a parent than her own father.

“She [Jane, her mother’s partner] has shown me what it is like to have two parents who love and respect me,” she said.

Another testimonial is from New Yorker, Hope Steinman-Iacullo, 17, who is the adopted daughter of a gay couple. She says that she knows that she will always be loved and accepted by her parents.

“I think people need to overcome the stereotypes that they place on us. Once they do, they can see that we are just like them and we are perfectly normal” she said.

It is these types of statements along with the demonstrative love and support shown throughout the film which are effective in driving the other points that this piece is trying to convey-although gay families are different, they are normal; and that gay parents have good parenting skills.

What is also being conveyed is the humanness of the gay community via universal themes through the testimonials of the adults themselves.

For example, the joys and frustrations of pregnancy is the same for everyone regardless of sex, gender, or orientation. This is evident when a lesbian couple - Amy Courtney and Rhonda Sherpy - experience a loss and begin to cry when they find out that they won’t be having a baby. Eventually they find a male couple to be their sperm donors.

On another note, the two seminars offered on the cruise were effective in enhancing the understanding of the challenges that gay parents face on several fronts. It also brought more awareness to these issues.

One seminar talked about the difficulties of adoption for gay parents, and their options to Increase their chances of obtaining a child.

The other seminar talked about the difficulties for gay male parents. Wayne Steinman and Sal lacullo recounted their experiences of almost being arrested on suspicion of kidnapping because they were two men traveling with a child, and they were trying to keep her quiet and entertained. They did feel that if they were two women, it would not have happened.

What is also interesting to know are the experiences that the children of gay parents had with others because they were raised by them. For example, one teen stated that she couldn’t do her family tree because her family was not considered a family.

Background

O’Donnell says that the idea originated when she and Kelli were in Provincetown, [Mass.] for family week. She felt so emotionally fulfilled that she wanted to do something on a yearly basis. Greg Kaminsky, Kelli’s friend, was present at that time, and he had suggested booking a cruise ship. O’Donnell agreed.

Then, the O’Donnell’s and Greg Kaminsky formed the company, R Family Vacations, targeting the GLBT community, their family, and friends-not excluding singles or heterosexual individuals-for family vacation packages.

“We wanted to create an environment where gay families could express themselves in the open,” said O’Donnell in an interview with canada.com. “It was very moving. We had no idea if it would work. We sort of operated on the principle that if you build it, they will come.”

And come they did-sixteen hundred people boarded the cruise that year. Many already felt its impact on their lives the very first day.

One such lesbian mother said, ‘There aren’t a lot places where we can go and celebrate since we are a mixed family … I never felt this free.”

Looking Ahead

The success of the first trip helped spark interest for future voyages, and the interest did not only come from the GLBT community.

“Right now, the biggest growth rate we’re seeing is in the Straight families,” O’Donnell said in an interview with canada.com. “At first, it was a 75-25 [percent in 2004], then it was like 60-40 [percent in 2005], now it’s like 50-50 [percent] because people have so much fun, they rebook with their brother’s family, and their kids … it keeps growing.”

O’Donnell says that there are two cruises slated for this year-one to Alaska in the summer and another to the Galapagos Islands in late fall.

Lya Carrera is currently interning at EDGE. She attended Wellesley College for undergraduate school and studied journalism at Emerson College. She can be reached at lcarrera30@aol.com.