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

Contents:

• MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
• DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR
• GAY DADDY PORN VIOS
• THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS
• SGLE GAY DADS GIVE TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME PARENTS: ‘I CREATED THE VILLAGE AROUND MYSELF’
• 10 THGS YOU’LL ONLY KNOW IF YOU’VE GROWN UP WH GAY PARENTS
• 'DON'T SNEAK': DAD'S UNEXPECTED ADVICE TO HIS GAY SON IN THE '50S
• THE STORY BEHD THE INIC PHOTO OF GAY DADS KISSG
• IS YOUR DAD GAY—OR ARE YOU A GAY DAD?
• A GAY SON’S RELLECTN OF HIS DAD’S ADVICE ON HOW TO LIVE HIS LIFE
• 6 GAY DADS ON THE CHALLENG OF MORN GAY FATHERHOOD
• I'M A GAY DAD. MY SON LOV SPORTS. HERE'S HOW THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED MY LIFE
• GAY MEN AND THEIR FATHERS: HURT AND HEALG
• THE GAY FATHER I NEVER KNEW
• YOUNG SONS OF GAY DAD SHARE THEIR POWERFUL BSH WH ANTIGAY BULLYG

MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI

Heynen planned to photograph for a book of photography featurg gay fathers and their children. He spent the next four years wh 40 fai across the untry, pilg their quiet moments to his recently-released book, “Dads.”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 2009.Ls 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 fathers.Not 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.

DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR

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.“I’m not some lennial dad wh a six pack,” Mr. 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.

GAY DADDY PORN VIOS

“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.

THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS

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. 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.

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

Abplanalp never knew when he was younger that fatherhood would be possible for him as gay man. Hosted by Wt Hollywood uple Yan and Alex, the dads e each episo to chat parentg and relatnships, and lately have been focg each episo on the gay rights and fatherhood pathways by untry, and vg a gay father om each lotn on as a gut. Patrick, who played a terracial gay uple who eventually marry and adopt two children.

This YA g-of-age novel follows high schooler Sal, who was adopted to a lovg Mexin Amerin fay by his gay father, when he begs to qutn his inty and place the world durg his senr year. This one-hour documentary followed the fay liv of four gay fai and the legal and cultural hurdl the men faced to bee fathers. The director and producer is Johnny Symons, himself a gay father of an adopted son wh his partner the Bay Area.

10 THGS YOU’LL ONLY KNOW IF YOU’VE GROWN UP WH GAY PARENTS

Savage beme an ternatnally regnized sex lumnist and activist the 1990s and ’00s for his ank cultural sight to gay relatnships and inty. Clton, MarylandThey are the first both their fai to bee gay fathers, and received a warm wele to parenthood.

Asbury Park, New JerseyThe most stunng takeaway om photographg gay dads is the equaly of their partnership while raisg their children. Brooklyn, New YorkWhile makg Dads I was surprised to fd out how many gay sgle dads there are creatg their fay through adoptn or surrogacy. Province, Rho IslandArt and Jim were one of the first gay upl to bee fathers through adoptn.

'DON'T SNEAK': DAD'S UNEXPECTED ADVICE TO HIS GAY SON IN THE '50S

Tom and Mike wh their son Jack at a lacrosse practice at Horace Mann School, Bronx, New YorkThroughout the book the children of gay dads grow olr.

Although the school and Jack’s iends know that Jack has two gay dads there was some tensn the air while posg for this photo the middle of a sports field wh all the other players around. New York CySome gay dads choose not to share who the blogil father of their children is. 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.

THE STORY BEHD THE INIC PHOTO OF GAY DADS KISSG

But the procs for sgle people, particularly relatively olr gay men, he says, was difficult. 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. "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.

IS YOUR DAD GAY—OR ARE YOU A GAY DAD?

Dpe the challeng of life as a sgle gay dad New York, Lg remas an optimist.

Celebry gay fathers, whether they're actors, activists, micians, or policians, are showg the world that love is what mak a fay.

Below, learn about high-profile gay dads such as Anrson Cooper, Denis O'Hare, Matt Bomer, Karamo Brown, Ricky Mart, and many more.

A GAY SON’S RELLECTN OF HIS DAD’S ADVICE ON HOW TO LIVE HIS LIFE

Wong -parents Jackson, who me out as gay as a teen, wh his ex-partner Richie Jackson, and Jackson's hband Jordan Roth. Stt Takacs, a 46-year-old and father of three, penned a personal say about his experience g out as a gay man to his sons.

6 GAY DADS ON THE CHALLENG OF MORN GAY FATHERHOOD

There wasn't much of a plan, no guibook hand, only goals that I hoped my boys would start the procs of unrstandg and acceptg their dad for whom I tly was: a gay Stt TakacsIt had been a long 15 months sce g out to my wife, an experience I unfortunately wouldn't scribe as posive, fun or somethg I ever want to repeat. Wh many emotns and strs, I accepted her requt to keep the reason for our divorce -- due to me beg gay -- a secret for at least another year.

I'M A GAY DAD. MY SON LOV SPORTS. HERE'S HOW THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED MY LIFE

Chigo offered the stabily I need a job, iendship and at this pot, a new relatnship that all ntributed to my healg this new gay world. Gay iends were jt iends -- rpected but their relatnships not necsarily discsed. Gay marriage was the news, but not discsed our hoe other than the ocsnal negative ment om a close relative.

In many ways, a lovg place for them, but I me to realize that teachers spoke openly agast gay culture and textbooks labeled homosexualy as sful and evil. My kids listened and followed their prr to g out, was hard for me to hear my kids e home wh stori of teachers gradg gay marriage or gay people, to see their workbooks, rercg the bias agast beg gay. The last thg I wanted was for my kids to be treated differently bee they had a gay dad, which I felt was a the year followg my divorce, I agreed not to tell the kids I was gay, so I had to be reful.

We were reful to avoid referenc to "gay" discsns and plac, although I lived the Gayborhood of Chigo, an upsle, predomantly gay area on Chigo's North Si. He was a few years ahead of his brothers beg doctrated by his school agast homosexualy. Eventually, though, that started to four years, my olst son's iends knew he had a gay dad, and, to put teenage terms, wasn't so bad.

GAY MEN AND THEIR FATHERS: HURT AND HEALG

I thk he unrstands beg gay isn't a choice anymore, and I believe that will ex-wife certaly bore the bnt of the day-to-day wh the kids. I helped start a group for gay fathers Chigo and has shown me that there are other gay fathers ahead of me their g-out journey wh posive experienc to share.

In fact, gay sgle dads are part of a growg movement that has seen a signifint surge of tert the last few years, as noted by the New York get a more plete picture of the joys of fatherhood, Yahoo Life spoke to four sgle gay dads who prove that love is what tly mak a fay. (urty photo)When Puerto Rin TikTok star José Rolón me out at 18 years old, there were few public exampl of gay fathers. “But after everythg is said and done, adoptn for gay men is still really difficult.

THE GAY FATHER I NEVER KNEW

”Fzpatrick, whose father, a gay Black man, was killed senselsly by gun vlence the parkg lot of a gay bar when Fzpatrick was 18, says that fatherhood gave him unique opportuni to turn his paful past to purpose through the love of his dghter. One night, Hilton, a sgle gay dad who's weled three children via surrogate, opened up to Evans about the joys of fatherhood and his own journey. ”“I was gog through that empts of growg olr as a gay man and not havg a signifint other and not havg the life I once lived, and not unrstandg where I was gog, ” he ntu.

YOUNG SONS OF GAY DAD SHARE THEIR POWERFUL BSH WH ANTIGAY BULLYG

”Hunter, a succsful divorce attorney wh his own private practice Los Angel, says he was badly bullied as a teenager for beg gay. Before you ask, this breaks down as: my blogil father; my stepdad (his partner, y, my dad’s gay); my other stepdad (my mum’s partner); my father--law and my hband (the father of my two children).

But what you and everyone else wants to know is what is really like growg up wh gay parents? While I was open about my parents spltg up, I knew the real reason behd the break-up uldn’t be talked about; the part where my dad me out as gay.