Netherlands to include same-sex couples in school textbooks

The Netherlands is introducing gay families into the nation’s schoolbooks. Noordhof Uitgeverij, Holland’s largest school book publisher says the need is immediate. “At the moment schoolbooks do not reflect life here,” explains Frans Grijzenhout, director of the publishing house. “When a textbook deals with a family going on holiday, for example, the accompanying drawing will show a father, a mother and children. But there are other types of families.” The Netherlands was the first country in the world to grant same-sex marriages and allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Now the Dutch are taking the next logical step forward.