April 28th, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Having a Gay Son
The PFLAG National Blog » Blog Archive » Father Knows Best: Having a Gay Son is Great
As a matter of fact, I also have a straight son. The three of us went fishing, threw snowballs at each other, wrestled, chased each other around Uncle Frank’s house, argued and fought, played soccer, played catch, watched movies, threw water balloons, went swimming, and participated in nearly all the activities dads and sons undertake. Truth be told, John didn’t come out until his first year in college. If he had come out earlier, I’m sure he’d agree we have done all of the same things together.
I don’t have a son so I don’t know what its like, but I think that maybe parents of gays might be afraid of what their kids will have to deal with from society for being gay. Things are getting better, at lease parents don’t have to fret about not having grandkids anymore. Do I want a kid? Yes, I think I do. Not now, obviously, but I think that maybe someday I could bring a little person into the world and try to be as good of a parent as my parents were to me.
What does my dad think of me being gay? I don’t know honestly. He doesn’t know, but I want to tell him. My mom knows but doesn’t care. She was more concerned that I not get more tattoos than she was that I was the gay. I think its weird that I am more open about it with my friend’s parents than I am with my own, but such is life.
I always said I would tell them when I had a reason. I told my mom when I had someone to talk about. I don’t have a person to introduce them to, but I think that now I have a better reason now. If they had some sort of opinion politically, perhaps I could change it by letting them know that the “gay issue” is my issue. Note: I don’t think my parents are homophobic in anyway, I just haven’t come out to my dad.
Would it be harder to have a gay son? Perhaps, simply because I know what its like to be teased and bullied. I wouldn’t want my son to have to go through what I had to go through. Its not that I don’t want them to be gay, I just understand that it will be harder for them if they are. Especially when people in states like Maine are trying to not only ban gay marriage, but to also re-enable discrimination against people based on their sexuality.
