smart women

We've got a wide range of women who visit and contribute to ProudParenting.com's network. Some like to comment on articles, some lurk - while reading as much as possible, and many women are writing blogs.

In honor of Mother's Day weekend, we are highlighting some of the women on our site. Six females who have the calling to be a parent. Each has created an insiteful and entertaining blog, and they are featured in our Editor's Picks area [upper right corner of the page].

This week Hillary Clinton told Ellen DeGeneres that she will "defend gay rights as President and eliminate inequality for same sex couples in federal law".

She shared a story about a gay male couple [who lived next door to her parents] denied hospital visitation because they weren't considered "family" under current legislation. One of the men got sick, and they were faced with a horrible situation. See the video below.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ellen and Hillary talk about the possibility of quitting the race for the Democratic presidential nomination because she's behind.

Joan Garry, former executive director of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has always been an inspirational activist and hands-on mom. Lately she's been working on a blog with her 18-year old daughter, Sarah (also known as Scout). The website is called Who's The Grownup? - and its premise is engaging.

Jessica Cohn-Kleinberg (pictured) is a senior at a Miami high school. She's spent the past three years working for Safe Schools South Florida and other groups - speaking to counselors, teachers and students about life with gay parents.

Liberal icon and celebrated actress Cybill Shepherd is working closely on the set of The L Word with her daughter Clementine Ford. Cybill plays Clementine's mom on the show.

Huffington Post's Peggy Drexler underscores the good news related to state governments which support lesbian and gay parenting. Eleven states and DC explicitly state that sexual orientation cannot be the basis for adoption denial. Ohio was the only state - in 2006 - to introduce a ban. The proposed ban failed when backers couldn't generate enough support.

Drexler writes: "It was an admission, political observers say, that orientation-based divisiveness just isn't what it used to be."

After a lifetime of silence about her personal life, Jodie Foster thanked "my beautiful Cydney" after winning an award at the Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast - in early December.

Lesbian hearts briefly fluttered worldwide. And Joan Rivers added a new joke to her material.

During her acceptance speech, Foster thanked Cydney Bernard - saying the film producer "sticks with me through all the rotten and the bliss".