Gay Men and Their Mothers: Is There a Special Closens? | Psychology Today

Contents:

• A GAY BOY’S FAL PORTRA OF HIS MOM
• GAY MEN AND THEIR MOTHERS: IS THERE A SPECIAL CLOSENS?
• MOM, I’M GAY. CAN MY FRIENDS SLEEP OVER?
• WHY DO GAY MEN TEND TO HAVE CLOSER RELATNSHIPS WH THEIR MOMS STEAD OF THEIR DADS?
• ‘TRMATIZED’ DGHTER OF LGBT PARENTS: ‘MY GAY MOMS OPPRSED ME’

A GAY BOY’S FAL PORTRA OF HIS MOM

In part of the logy, I tried to be gentle but hont as I listed each fay member her life and their this publitn, I add a ltle more about our relatnship between her as mother and me as gay son. Our relatnship was good for the most part, only straed by the time took for her to e to unrstand and accept my homosexualy vs.

I miss her but am at peace rememberg our tim say a gay boy’s mother figur greatly to her son’s life. I know this is not te for all gay boys and their mothers, but my se was. It’s a tism that our earlit selv are shaped large part by our bonds wh our parents, and nowhere is this more te than when a son is gay.

GAY MEN AND THEIR MOTHERS: IS THERE A SPECIAL CLOSENS?

Gay Sons and Mothers llects, curat, discs, celebrat, and prerv narrativ that te, spire, and brg hope to dienc around the globe. Gay Sons and Mothers chronicl lived experienc of pa, joy, and persistence that spire and provi a sense of hope.

Gay Sons and Mothers is honored to jo a proud tradn of prervg and passg along stori that reflect the strengths and stggl related to the formatn of sexual inty and sexual exprsn the ntext of the parent-child relatnship. Gay Sons and Mothers is a 501-©3 nonprof anizatn created to te and spire, not jt gay men and their fai, but whole muni about what diversy and acceptance look like—and why ’s so spectacularly ’re glad you’re here wh on the journey! TEDxTalk: The Mother Factor: Acceptance Works Both WaysMom is the person who potentially has the greatt impact on her son’s life and his psychologil well-beg- pecially muni where he has been treated unfairly due to beg until well to the '70s, the medil muny blamed mothers for “makg" their sons gay.

Perhaps is not surprisg that mothers and their gay sons often scribe their relatnships as close. However, beg gay might be a factor that mak some mothers and sons even closer.

MOM, I’M GAY. CAN MY FRIENDS SLEEP OVER?

This was found to be te for many of the mothers and sons I terviewed for the study scribed the book: Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Gay or Lbian Child (). Neverthels, this closens uld have a downsi, at least temporarily, as many mothers ially blame themselv and the close relatnships for their sons' homosexualy. So, perhaps is not pletely surprisg that once they learned their sons were gay, some of the mothers I terviewed felt that they had done somethg to damage them.

The fact is that I am the mother and I was told growg up that men bee gay bee their mothers are too motherg. For a long time, the psychiatric profsn blamed overly close maternal relatnships for g the "disease" of male homosexualy. Even though rearch sce the 1950's has bunked , this theory persists people's mds and rears s ugly head for mothers when they ially learn their sons are gay.

Fortunately, for many mothers of gay son—wh time and tn, they learn that the ia that they had somehow ma their son gay is ad wrong This was te of the mothers my study who also me to see the benefs havg a gay son as will be scribed later this post.

WHY DO GAY MEN TEND TO HAVE CLOSER RELATNSHIPS WH THEIR MOMS STEAD OF THEIR DADS?

Homosexualy to Blame for Close Relatnships wh Mother?

My rearch, clil and personal experienc suggt that there is ed a al lk between male homosexualy and a close maternal relatnship but flows the oppose directn than what was prevly thought.

In other words, havg a close relatnship wh your mother don't make you gay—beg gay mak you closer to your mother.

‘TRMATIZED’ DGHTER OF LGBT PARENTS: ‘MY GAY MOMS OPPRSED ME’

The young gay mal this study relled sharg terts mon wh their mothers, such as fashn and okg, and were also sensive to their feelgs.