Strollerderby : Portia De Rossi

Poll - Portia and Ellen Most Trusted Moms

Brett Singer — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

ParentDish did a Mother's Day poll. Over 10,000 people voted. (For an Internet poll, that's a lot, trust me. Or as Paris Hilton might say, "huge.")

The first question on the poll was the following: "Which celebrity would you most feel comfortable leaving your kids with?"

You know who won? Drum roll, please...

With 31%, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi took the top spot. Rounding out the list were Jennifer Aniston (22%), Rachel Ray (20%), Angelina and Brad (18%) and coming in last was Oprah Winfrey with 9%.

The results are interesting. I probably would have put Rachel Ray first, and Ellen and Portia second. (Carrie Prejean, methinks, would put Ellen and Portia dead last.) Putting Jennifer ahead of Angie and Brad seems odd, but I guess that's the way the celebrity winds are blowing this week.

Obviously the fact that the top choice was a same-sex couple is worth mentioning. Or is it? Have a majority of us progressed past the point where we care what sort of family we would leave our kids with? (In theory of course -- as far as I know, none of the famous folks in this poll are offering babysitting services.)

Out of this group, who would you leave your kids with? Would the sexual orientation of the parents factor in to your decision?

Source: ParentDish

image: Daily News

American Incest Dad Gets 109 Years In Jail

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

Mrs. And Mrs. DeGeneres, and a male perspective on the name game

Brett Singer — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

You won't have Portia De Rossi to kick around anymore – well, you will (although why you would want to kick her, I have no idea), but she'll have a new name. According to the Daily News, Portia will take DeGeneres' last name when they officially tie the knot. (I guess that clears up any question about who the "man" in that relationship is, right?)

I do wonder how a gay couple makes this decision. Ellen definitely makes more money, and she is older. She also never wears dresses. OK, maybe in their case it wasn't that difficult. I'll be curious if other gay couples make name-changes as they (hopefully) continue to get legally hitched. (If this issue has come up for any readers, let us know in the comments.)

Interestingly, many women in heterosexual marriages don't change their names, at least judging from the reactions to Adrienne's recent post on the subject. Of course, some women did make the switch, for various reasons: "I didn't have any special attachment to my original name", "I didn't want to change my name, but my husband really wanted me to" are two of the comments.

The subject of names didn't come up when I got married, but it's clearly an issue. I know I wouldn't want to change my name, and I'm not sure how I would have felt about it if my wife had wanted to "keep her name" (a phrase I think sounds odd, although I admit that I don't have a better one – yet). I'm not a fan of the hyphen-name, mostly because usually it's only the mother who uses it; the husband and children use the man's name. If everyone in the family went hyphen, I think that would be different. One consideration that rarely gets discussed is what a woman has to do in order to change her name; if my wife's experience is any guide, it can be a lot of work.

So guys, if your wife-to-be doesn't want to "take your name" when she takes your hand in marriage, try this:

"Grrr! Ugg want you change name! Make Ugg feel manly! Now get Ugg dinner!"

Yeah, that'll work.

image: Daily News

Man dresses up as a woman to marry a man

And Now - The Gay Brain

John McCain Doesn't "Believe In" Gay Parents

New York Governor's Decision to Recognize Gay Marriages Brings Unexpected Praise (and Hugs)

Clay Aiken ain't no fruit

One More Reason To Be Jealous of California

Bobby Brown: I Was Whitney's Beard

Ellen DeGeneres Becoming a Mommy?

Kelly Mills — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 16:10:00 GMT

Ellen announced that on Mother's Day she plans to do a special show for an audience made up entirely of pregnant, first-time moms. I question the wisdom of that. It will be a miracle if nobody starts crying or barfing during the first ten minutes of shooting.

She also said she is going to make a big announcement on the show, and that she has something in common with her Mother's Day audience. That sounds like a big fat hint she is going to be a mom herself. Everyone take a hard look at her belly, and the belly of her long-time girlfriend, Portia de Rossi. (Who I love dearly, by the way. Arrested Development was one of the best shows ever.) Awww, Baby de Rossi-DeGeneres. From everything I've gleaned about Ellen through interviews in magazines and from her comedy specials (read: I really know nothing about the real Ellen) I believe she will make a mighty fine mama. But this baby talk is just speculation, of course. For all we know, she's going to say she's been moody and bloated for the last few months.

Hey, I know, let's start another rumor! How about this: in a grab for Mother's Day ratings, Ellen has high hopes one of her audience members will go into labor and deliver on the air. In order to better the odds, her staff has asked each audience member within a week of her due date to go into the green room and have her water broken before she takes her seat. Once she has settled into her assigned place (in the front row) she will be hooked up to a pitocin drip. Then spicy foods will be passed around.

Pass it on.

Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi: Maybe Baby

Karen Murphy — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:47:00 GMT

I'm still astounded that if a celebrity reports simply thinking about doing something, it's news. But how can I resist this one? I love how Ellen Degeneres transcended all the ugliness from being practically drummed out of television to being one of the most-liked figures in daytime TV. How can you not like a story like that? So people have either forgotten she's a lesbian or "forgiven" her for it, or even better, don't care about the label. Yay! I'd love to see more of this.

And now Ellen is planning/hoping/talking about having a baby with her totally hot partner Portia De Rossi. Sure, a move like that might bring the labels back for some people, but it also could bring the couple a lot of happiness. And I hope it does.