There's no wrong way to make a family. This clothing line gets that.
Gay penguin onesie? Yes, please.
Scott Culley and Joshua Haynes are two dads who grew tired of the clothing options available for their 3-year-old daughter.
"We went clothes shopping, and everything in the store was geared toward moms and dads," Culley explained to Upworthy.
There wasn't anything inherently wrong with that, he explained, but the couple didn't really see their own family reflected in the options available.
Photo courtesy of Scott Culley, used with permission.
When it came to the styles that were more inclusive? Let's just say ... Culley wasn't a fan.
"Things for [kids of] gay couples were covered in rainbows, they were poorly designed, and they were stupid,” he said with a laugh.
About a year ago, the couple decided to do something about it — because if no one else was making the types of clothing they wanted to see on their daughter, why shouldn't they be the ones to make it happen?
With that in mind, Culley launched Gayby, an apparel brand that specializes in clothes for kids from LGBT families.
The brand — aimed at families with children "adopted by, born to, or raised by one or more [LGBT] persons" — is cute, clever, and designed with diversity in mind.
The line, for instance, puts its own twist on catchy phrases.
"KEEP CALM: They are both my moms." Photo courtesy of Red Turtle Photography, used with permission.
Gayby offers clothes that make it known that lesbian aunts are, of course, the best aunts.
"I <3 my lesbiaunt." Photo courtesy of Red Turtle Photography, used with permission.
And clothes that send love to all the birth moms out there who deserve a shout-out.
"I <3 my birth mother." Photo courtesy of Red Turtle Photography, used with permission.
Creating an array of everyday clothing kids could wear was key, according to Culley, because — although rainbows are great — LGBT families deserve more options than that.
"They’re not shirts to only wear during [LGBT] Pride," he said.
Gayby isn't meant to be cute for the sake of being cute — it's helping represent families that often feel excluded.
"Being out there and being visible is so important to reaching equality," Culley said. "This is just a way of subtly putting it out there — just making [LGBT families] part of the everyday."
On some of the products, the design's queerness is a bit more subtle — like this gay penguins onesie, for instance.
Photo courtesy of Gayby, used with permission.
On others, the messaging makes light of the several hoops many LGBT families have to jump through in order to have children of their own.
Photo courtesy of Gayby, used with permission.
But the underlying message of every Gayby product is clear: There's no wrong way to create a family.
Photo courtesy of Gayby, used with permission.
Fortunately, it's a message that's catching on across the U.S.
In recent years, the LGBT rights movement has produced a wave of progress on issues like marriage equality and gay adoption (although recent anti-LGBT laws in places like Mississippi and North Carolina serve as reminders the work's far from over).
Gayby isn't meant to be political, Culley noted, but the brand is "adding to the movement" toward equality in a positive way.
Gayby is just getting off the ground, but the response has been terrific thus far.
"There’s always going to be a few naysayers," Culley said of the values behind the Gayby brand, which officially launched this week. But nearly everybody's "had really good things to say, which is fantastic, and gives us the encouragement to keep on going."
Every family should be able to find clothes that reflect their unique love, and Gayby's doing just that — one adorable onesie at a time.
