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

Contents:

• THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS
• ‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD
• GAY POLY THROUPLE MAK HISTORY, LISTS 3 DADS ON A BIRTH CERTIFITE
• DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR
• CAN TWO MEN HAVE A BABY? GAY PARENTG OPTNS
• MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
• GAY DADS SHARE HOW THEY FEED THEIR BABI — AND WHY 'THERE SHOULD BE A MORE CLIVE APPROACH' TO THE BREASTFEEDG VS. FORMULA BATE

THREE SGLE, GAY DADS REFLECT ON FATHERHOOD, SURROGACY JOURNEYS

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. 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.

‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD

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

GAY POLY THROUPLE MAK HISTORY, LISTS 3 DADS ON A BIRTH CERTIFITE

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. As a Black, gay man raisg a son on his own, Mr.

Egg donatn and surrogacy allow two gay men to have children geilly related to one partner and the egg donor, but not to both.

It’s been one of the tes of anti-gay activists for s: “Two men n’t have a blogil child, and two women n’t have one eher.

DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR

” For some anti-gay people, that seems to make the relatnships somehow wrong, as though any relatnship that n’t rult a child should somehow be forbidn. Anti-gay forc will not want to hear this news, but science will ntue to explore an attempt to expla blogy. Jt like straight upl, many gay men and lbians are eager to have a geic relatnship wh their children.

CAN TWO MEN HAVE A BABY? GAY PARENTG OPTNS

At tim, I’ve taken sperm om one gay man and matched wh the eggs of his partner’s sister to create a stronger geic bond between the uple and their child.

Relig and nservative lears around the world still vehemently oppose same sex marriage and homosexual acts, let alone a gay uple havg a child of their own. Studi have shown this, and I have seen first hand the hundreds of gay fai om around the world who I’ve helped to nceive. And has helped people—gay and straight, black and whe, Christian, Jews, and Buddhists—to bee parents.

Read next: Italian Polician Looks to Highlight Gay Rights by Gettg Married Canada.

MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI

A gay, polyamoro California throuple ma history 2017 when they beme the first fay the state to list three dads on a birth certifite. [But] ’s really remarkably ordary and domtic our hoe and fely not ‘Tiger Kg, ’” referrg to Joe Exotic’s wild gay throuple featured the buzzy Netflix doceri.

GAY DADS SHARE HOW THEY FEED THEIR BABI — AND WHY 'THERE SHOULD BE A MORE CLIVE APPROACH' TO THE BREASTFEEDG VS. FORMULA BATE

“Gay upl don’t stumble to parenthood by accint. The dads-to-be didn’t thk anythg of , until they learned another gay uple had been turned away om the same doctor bee their se seemed “too plited, ” which the dads took as a sign that she didn’t like workg wh same-sex partners.

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.