Three sgle, gay dads talk about their journeys. : NPR

Contents:

• ‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD
• THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS
• MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
• IS YOUR DAD GAY—OR ARE YOU A GAY DAD?
• GAY MEN AND THEIR FATHERS: HURT AND HEALG
• SGLE GAY DADS GIVE TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME PARENTS: ‘I CREATED THE VILLAGE AROUND MYSELF’

‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD

Heynen planned to photograph for a book of photography featurg gay fathers and their children. ”Amerin culture has not been particularly starved of imag of gay fatherhood, particularly recent years. Celebri like Anrson Cooper have helped normalize the ia of gay men raisg children, and no longer feels revelatory to see them on televisn, as did when “Morn Fay” premiered mon, Mr.

Heynen said, are imag of gay fathers who aren’t Instagram ready — like two men bg their dghters’ hair or tossg a football the ont yard. It’s an unrstandable impulse, which he attribut to a sire among gay parents to feel “normal” after havg their pabili as parents ntually lled to qutn.

Heynen said, but rather a celebratn of the day-to-day liv of gay Jt for the YoungCly Rose, 61, and Ryan, 12Cly Rose, who liv Manhattan, was first photographed for “Dads” three years ago after meetg Mr. Heynen at an event at the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgenr Communy Center New York Cy. Heynen “a lot of cred” for cludg a father like him — a sgle dad his 60s — sce he said there is often a lack of reprentatn of olr gay people art and media, which tends to foc on young, f men.

THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS

As a Black, gay man raisg a son on his own, Mr. NPR spoke to three men, sgle gay fathers, who chose to bee dads via surrogacy, after years of g to terms wh their inti, their fai, and the technologil advanc that have ma journeys like this possible.

"At that pot 1994, you didn't see many gays [on] the mp.

So I realized I was gay, but I was like sred, nfed. But the procs for sgle people, particularly relatively olr gay men, he says, was difficult.

MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI

Black, gay and heavyset the South, he was raised by a sgle mother a fay of sgle mothers.

DUSTIN LING "Sometim the gay muny is seen as, oh, 's the funny guy who's always about fashn or always about travel, " says Dt Lg.

IS YOUR DAD GAY—OR ARE YOU A GAY DAD?

"Fathers – gay fathers and mothers – e different and var forms, not jt that one-note inty.

" Raised on the island natn of Aba to Asian parents, Lg says there weren't many exampl of gay men around.

Dpe the challeng of life as a sgle gay dad New York, Lg remas an optimist. Such a photograph would have been extraordarily rare jt s ago, but now is one of many published the book “Dads, ” a four-year visual archive of gay fatherhood across Ameri that began 2016. “I felt a ltle b lonely as a gay dad – although there are two of – but lonely the sense that all the other fai I knew were straight parents, ” Heynen said a vio ll, explag why he began photographg the seri.

GAY MEN AND THEIR FATHERS: HURT AND HEALG

“I also thought was important for (my kids) to see other fai wh gay dads. “For many people, the book will be an troductn to gay fatherhood.

For Heynen, they reprent addnal love and re and help illtrate some of the cisn-makg that, though not exclive to them, all gay fathers mt ntend wh. “Most of the women are Mormon, and Mormons don’t believe gay marriage and gays havg kids.

SGLE GAY DADS GIVE TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME PARENTS: ‘I CREATED THE VILLAGE AROUND MYSELF’

Heynen, as well as the fathers he photographed, hope that the photographs “Dads” will dispel some of the hurtful stereotyp that still lger around gay fatherhood.