“I grew up in the thick of the southern Baptist church. Being gay was ‘sinful, sick, and a ticket straight to hell.’ I was determined to turn myself straight through prayer and punishment.”
‘I was told, ‘You are NOT same-sex attracted. You just need to make healthier male connections.’ I embarked on a 20-year conversation therapy journey.’: Man ‘breaks free’ at 38 and comes out as gay
‘I’ve been looking for you my whole life, Papa, and now I get TWO dads for the price of one!!’ I welcomed her with open arms.’: Man discovers daughter after ‘life-changing’ DNA test, ‘She is so incredibly beautiful, inside and out!’
“A few weeks into quarantine, I received a message from a young woman. ‘I am your daughter and I have been looking for you my whole life!!!’ WHAT?!?! I’m a gay man and my husband and I have been together almost 20 years. She said, ‘I understand if you need some time. I’m an adult and don’t need anything. I just want to know my dad.'”
‘I hadn’t felt her kick. All my wife could say was, ‘Oh God, I’m coming.’ My fears were becoming reality.’: Gay couple battles infertility, births miracle daughter after traumatic induction
“‘I’m not even sure you will get pregnant.’ It felt like the air had left the room. Why couldn’t my body do what it was made to do? ‘If it doesn’t work this time I can’t do this anymore.’ I hit rock bottom.”
‘An alert popped up from a woman named Dani. When I confronted him, he dropped the bomb. Dani was a man.’: Woman feels guilt over ex-husband’s infidelity and suicide
“Charles confessed that for years, he felt attracted to men and he thought getting married to me would make him normal. ‘It’s part of me, but I want you to stay.’ He said that he would try to ‘fix it,’ and that he loved me. I received a message from a Facebook friend. ‘Have you heard what happened to Charles?’ He was found in the woods.”
‘I saw with my own two eyes, gay little boys almost beaten to death. I was young and accepted the church’s truth as my own.’: Man raised homophobic says ‘God taught me to love everyone, and I will do just that’
“I was taught that only women and men were meant to be in holy matrimony, and same sex marriage is a sin. I was raised to be homophobic, but I will raise my kids to love everyone. If I’m going to inspire change, I have to start with myself.”
‘I am carrying a child and I’ll also be his dad.’ Yes, you read that right.’: Trans man births son, ‘I wouldn’t have been able to survive this journey without the people in my life’
“I always had a perception of what ‘outside people’ would act like when I told them, ‘I carried my son as a dad.’”
‘Too bad she’s gay!’ I was just a freak, or ‘the attention seeking weirdo.’: Vet survives abuse, depression, ‘I am not broken’
“I drank A LOT. I lost weight, bleached my hair, got tattoos, and tried to become a whole different person. I have a lot of ‘labels.’ But I am not disorderly. I am not broken.”
‘I’m a gay man.’ Their tone immediately changed. In a tense manner, they said, ‘Well, you won’t be donating today.’: COVID-19 survivor raises awareness after disallowed to donate plasma
“I recovered from COVID-19 and tested positive for high levels of antibodies. At first, they told me I was a prime candidate for plasma donation to help save lives. Now, I’m being deemed nonessential and told my help during a global crisis is unwelcome, simply because of who I am.”
‘Some say ‘good morning’ to loved ones having no idea they won’t say ‘good night.’ His life was stolen from us.’: Dad has baby boy on brother’s due date, ‘If I could just see him once more, I’d cherish every second’
“Why did he have to take a drug so powerful to feel good? I would cry my eyes out after I woke up, wishing it wasn’t a dream. Dreams of my brother don’t come too often, but when they do, they are as real as I could have ever hoped.”
‘You are an excuse to be goofy at a time when the world is not. You are chubby-cheeked hope for the future, a constant reminder that life goes on.’: Dad shares ‘fairy tale’ IVF birth, ‘All that matters is the family we choose’
“You are a child of the COVID pandemic. When we wake you up from your crib, you look at us with such electric excitement that it is impossible not to start each day with love. You have shown us how to surrender to stillness, to stand together through fear, and to see the beauty in every moment. You are our reason to play and dance and keep smiling.”
