June 20: Intimate Portraits Of Gay Fatherhood Around The United States
June 20: Intimate Portraits Of Gay Fatherhood Around The United States
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 📸For Your 👀 Only:  Bart Heynen Bart Heynen is a Belgian photographer and father who now lives in New York City. Heynen is raising two young sons with his partner, Rob, and he knew they had an opportunity to be around more families like theirs when they moved to New York a few years ago. As a professional portrait photographer, he started reaching out to fathers in the same situation.  Bart Heynen "We are all pioneers, since we all come from straight families. It was great to find out how other gay dads bring up their kids. We give each other tips and share common experiences," he said. "My kids realized they were not the only family with two dads. They met many families I photographed. They realized they were not the only ones without a mom." The project was recently turned into a book, Dads, which looks at gay fatherhood across the United States.  Bart Heynen "I had a father who was very sweet to us, but I never looked up to him," said Heynen, whose father had alcoholism. "So fatherhood when I was a kid was not something I strived for or had a lot of respect for. Now that I am a father, I feel like I am doing a much better job. The parental role model of my mother is the one that I aspire to be. She was always there for us, and everything could be discussed." Heynen himself stopped smoking when he became a father, something that he's proud he stuck with to be a better role model for his children.
In the book, Heynen photographed families in New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, as well as his own in Belgium. "The most stunning takeaway from meeting all these gay dads is the equality of labor between the two parents," he says. "Since there are no gender-confined roles, parenting tasks seem to be much more interchangeable and equally divided." But his main takeaway is one that inspired the book: "Everybody should be able to start a family regardless of their sexual orientation."  Bart Heynen  📸FROM OUR DESK 📸 As always, here are some of the best photo stories from around the internet, and what we loved from our desk. EXTREMELY FUN PHOTOS FROM THE 1980S MUSIC SCENE IN NEW YORK  Bill Bernstein THIS IS HOW JUNETEENTH WAS CELEBRATED LONG BEFORE IT WAS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY  Wikimedia Commons HE ALMOST LOST HIS FATHER TO COVID. HE DOCUMENTED EVERY MINUTE.  Christian Rodriguez SOME HOPE  Emily Elconin / Reuters Dance captain Shair'Mae Harris, 17, leads members from "For The Love of Dance Studio" during a parade to celebrate Juneteenth in Flint, Michigan, U.S., June 19, 2021.
"We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us." — Ralph Hattersley That's it for this week! Kate + Pia
📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. Pia Peterson is a photo editor based in Brooklyn. You can always reach us here.
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