Is My Son Gay or Is a Phase? | Psychology Today

Contents:

• 'RETURN THE KEY': THE PARENTS WHO REJECT THEIR GAY CHILDREN
• OPN I’M GAY. AND I WANT MY KID TO BE GAY, TOO.
• IS MY SON GAY OR IS A PHASE?
• I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?
• KEV HART EXPLAS WHY HE DON'T WANT HIS SON TO BE GAY
• MANY PARENTS STGGLE TO ADJT AFTER LEARNG CHILD IS GAY, STUDY FDS
• I DON'T WANT MY TEEN HANGG AROUND GAY PARENTS
• MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?

'RETURN THE KEY': THE PARENTS WHO REJECT THEIR GAY CHILDREN

That’s how I feel’The armageddon refers to his mum’s strong Jehovah’s Wns beliefs about the sfulns of homosexualy. ’”Chris, sadly, isn’t alone his story of parental fa of equalyAt the time I terviewed him, a Brazilian mother who killed her teenage son for beg gay is sentenced to 25 years prison. Celebry stori of heartbreakg parental rejectn are also November, the Amerin thor and producer Robyn Crawford released a book nfirmg she had had a romantic relatnship wh Whney Hoton – but had to abandon out of fear of the repercsns om Hoton’s by Oprah Wey if would have bothered her if her dghter was gay, Cissy Hoton said “Absolutely.

“She even worked Brisbane’s gay bar, ” Chris says. They immediately clocked as gay, while we immediately clocked them as we warmed up to another, one mom anxly said: "I have a qutn: I am pretty sure my son is gay, but I don't know what to do.

"For example, if someone the word "gay" place of "stupid, " remd them that the two are not terchangeable, and suggt they should say what they actually mean stead. "The rourc n help:PFLAG: The untry’s largt anizatn ung parents, fai, and alli wh people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and Spectm: Offers groups, trag, and rourc promotg genr sensivy and cln for all youthGLBT Natnal Rource Database: LGBTQ+ digal directory of rourcNatnal Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network: Directory of therapists/unselors who are people of lorNatnal LGBTQ Task Force: The progrsive advocy arm of the LGBTQ+ movementDurg LGBTQ Pri Month, TODAY is sharg the muny’s history, pa, joy and what’s next for the movement.

OPN I’M GAY. AND I WANT MY KID TO BE GAY, TOO.

I’m gay. And I want my kid to be gay, of my straight iends, even the most liberal, see this logic as warped.

IS MY SON GAY OR IS A PHASE?

Perhaps he jt meant that ’s easier to be straight a homophobic culture. But was impossible to know whether he meant to sulate me om the world’s bias or implicly ratnalize his ia that no one would choose to be gay is wily held — even the gay rights movement. In the early '90s, partly as a rponse to the stctive notn that gay people uld be changed, activists prsed the ia of sexualy as a fixed, nate state.

Scientists even tried to prove that there's a "gay gene. The ia that folks are "born gay" beme not only the theme of a Lady Gaga song, but the implic ratnale for gay rights. “I wouldn’t even choose for myself to be gay, ” a iend once told me.

I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?

It was a sad admissn, bee she upon a time, of urse, “gay” meant “happy. Gay beme an unfortunate, even piable stat.

When the gay liberatn activist Frankl Kameny lnched a simple effort 1968 to proclaim that “gay is good, ” was bee, at the time, very much wasn’t.

Until 1973, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn nsired homosexualy a form of mental illns. And while gay-posive culture has flourished sce, our aspiratns haven’t kept pace. It’s more wily acceptable to be gay Ameri today, but that’s not the same as beg sirable.

KEV HART EXPLAS WHY HE DON'T WANT HIS SON TO BE GAY

In my hoe, though, you might expect me to say somethg about how, if my dghter were gay, she would undoubtedly face challeng and hurdl she wouldn’t enunter if she were straight. But if my dghter wants to be an artist, I’ll enurage her all the way — and work to stroy any barriers along her path, not put them up, I’ve never for a sgle send regretted beg gay, nor saw as anythg other than an asset and a gift. By the time my dghter of age, she’ll have even more of a support work, cludg two moms, for cryg out than that, though, beg gay opened my ey to the world around me.

Learng that not every gay person had as good as I did helped me realize that a lot of people general didn’t have as good as I did. I wouldn’t be a polilly engaged human beg, let alone an activist, wrer and TV personaly, if I weren’t my dghter is gay, I don’t worry about her havg a hard life.

I want my dghter to know that beg gay is equally sirable to beg straight. The problem is not the ia that homosexualy uld be a choice but the ia that heterosexualy should be pulsory.

MANY PARENTS STGGLE TO ADJT AFTER LEARNG CHILD IS GAY, STUDY FDS

We’ve bought every picture book featurg gay fai, even the not-very-good on, and we have most of the nontradnal-genr-role books as well — about the prcs who lik to fight dragons and the boy who lik to wear my dghter plays hoe wh her stuffed koala bears as the mom and dad, we gently remd her that they uld be a dad and dad. It’s her I ultimately re about is that she has the choice and that whatever choice she mak is enthiastilly embraced and will tell, but so far, don’t look like my 6-year-old dghter is gay.

I’m a slightly overbearg pro-gay gay mom. Correctn: An earlier versn of this article rrectly stated that the Amerin Psychologil Associatn classified homosexualy as a form of mental illns until 1973. My 17-year-old son and I got to a b of a heated argument this weekend and the midst of my son said he's gay.

I DON'T WANT MY TEEN HANGG AROUND GAY PARENTS

My hband says that he has always thought that our son is gay and that if he's gay, he's gay. There are no other gays our fay as far as I know.

It is highly unlikely that your son told you that he is gay simply to upset you. Gay kids often tell their parents about their sexualy the middle of a fight bee they feel that they have nothg left to lose sce you are already upset wh them.

It is probably more likely that he has known that he is gay for some time. I suggt that you and your hband talk to your son durg a lm moment and ask him how he is pg wh beg a gay teen. Also, please keep md that gay teens need the opportuny to talk to their parents about relatnship issu jt as straight kids do.

MY SON MIGHT BE GAY. WHAT SHOULD I SAY TO HIM?

The nversatn wh gay teens do not end after an acceptance of their sexual choic. I like guys but I don’t want to be gay. How do I stop beg gay?

You don’t need to be certa you are gay before talkg to someone or attendg an LGBTQ+ meetg. I am a gay male.