“I totally cried. As my mom told them, I hid behind my tea mug (it was a pretty big mug) because I didn’t want them to see me crying. I thought I was strong enough to not. Of course, my dad then joined as well and stated, ‘Yeah, I’m straight, I like women.’ We all laughed as he looked at my mom.”
‘Recently, I walked into a room full of young men. I didn’t find any of them attractive. It hit me: I like girls.’: Teen comes out as lesbian to her family, ‘They love me no matter who or what I am’
‘We don’t want to hear you’re ‘sorry’ for us. We don’t want to ‘fix’ her. We thought being gay was sinful. Let us be clear: WE WERE WRONG.’: Family ‘honored’ gay daughter came out of the closet
“Our 15-year-old daughter Helena came out to us as gay. It wasn’t a surprise to us. Long ago we thought being gay was sinful and wrong. Let us be clear: WE WERE WRONG. Jeremy and I love who our daughter is and someday, when she is ready, we will love who she loves because she loves them.”
‘I found photos of my husband in women’s clothing at flamboyant gay clubs. My ‘manly man’ had on a wig, heels, and clip-on earrings. I was floored.’: Woman discovers fiancé’s secret life, ‘This was the tip of the iceberg’
“Not once had I ever logged into anything of his. I never thought I had a reason to. Our relationship was secure. I was secure. I noticed his email was open. To this day, I am still not sure what made me click on his open email. I like to think it was my grandma looking down, trying to save me from the worst mistake of my life.”
‘Someone told me, you must find a way to love the virus.’ I was close to telling him to f*ck off.’: HIV positive man focuses on his health and self-love, ‘I face the future with much more love than fear.’
“‘Everything happens for a reason.’ I would be single and alone forever. ‘Who will want me if I have HIV?’ A friend from the choir said, ‘I am HIV positive, too, I can help you out.’”
‘I’ve been seeing a boy for a year.’ I wasn’t changing. My family was going to be disappointed. We are Catholic.’: Gay twin brothers come out to parents, ’We struggled with the fact we could lose family for being who we are.’
“‘Do you have any crushes on girls in your class?’ It was hard to get away with answering ‘no.’ I thought of sending myself to conversion therapy. We couldn’t understand why we weren’t sexually attracted to women. Having this picture embedded in our heads of a hyper-masculine culture messed us up. We knew sooner or later something, or someone, would have to give.”
‘My son chooses to wear makeup, dresses. ‘But…what if he catches The Gay?’ Well, then I’ll have a gay son. Simple as that. It’s a non-issue.’: Mom embraces son’s fluid gender expression, ‘it’s their body, their choice’
“My son has had autonomy since he was a toddler. As he grows, he makes as many decisions about his own body as possible. Our only limits are safety and hygiene. We often hear, ‘…But..but…but…it’s PINK!’ ‘Why don’t you just cut your hair like a boy?!’ ‘That’s for girls, you don’t want that!’ He informs them with absolute integrity, ‘No, it’s for PEOPLE!’”
‘You’re going to be parents!’ Our son has 3 parents who love him. He gave him his name, I gave him biology, and his mom gave him life.’: Gay dads and boy’s mother parent together as Tri-Custody family, ‘the more love a child receives, the better’
“A photo of my son with a shirt saying, ‘I Love My Gay Dads’ got me 500 messages from people telling me, ‘You’re disgusting.’ On time at an event, a mother yelled at me. ‘Don’t do this in front of your son…or whatever he is…can you even have kids?!’ Here I was, a stay-at-home Papa, completely devoted to raising my child, having to prove I had a right to do so. No matter what, I will always be there for him. We honor our son.”
‘Are you willing to take in sisters?’ We said yes. Next, our phones buzzed. The e-mail subject line said, ‘Baby.’ There was another. Our lives were about to change.’: LGBT couple adopt 3 siblings from foster care, get touching ‘sign’ they made the right decision
“We were sitting at dinner when we got the call. Our daughter’s biological mom had had another little girl. ‘Would you consider letting her grow up with her sisters?’ We’d already closed our foster license and hadn’t expected to expand our family. With 2 days to decide, we did the most adult thing we could think of: we made a Pros and Cons list. After looking it over a hundred times, we decided we needed to follow our hearts!”
‘You are stronger than this. Stop!’ Gay feelings were still there. It was a secret I planned on taking to my grave.’: Man comes out to wife after 10-year marriage, ‘I am grateful for the courage to no longer hide’
“I was on the verge of a breakdown. I had avoided it long enough. I had to tell her. ‘I am gay,’ I said, overcome with emotion one night after work. It was the first time I’d ever said the words out loud. With tears in her eyes, she scooped me in her arms and held me as I wept like a baby. I will never forget that night. Neither of us had any intention of ending our marriage.”
‘We will love you no matter what, even if you decide not to stick around.’ I was scared of losing her. I finally reached my breaking point.’: Gay mom suffers postpartum anxiety after struggling with infertility, ‘I desperately wanted to be understood’
“I finally reached my breaking point. My wife was getting ready to leave town for work. I had a panic attack and Brittany had to cancel her trip. It was hard for her. She didn’t know how to help me. It hurt her to see me struggling, I could see it in her eyes. I was embarrassed. I wanted someone to say, ‘You’re not alone, it happened to me too.’”
