“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!’”
‘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’
‘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.’”
‘I’m so scared to be trans. I don’t want it to be true.’ I’d stare at myself and ask, ‘Who are you?’: Young man goes through coming out process, learns he’s transgender, ‘I finally feel free in my body’
“I was extremely scared to tell my mom. After I sent the text, I held my head over the toilet because I thought I’d puke. It was a whole day before my mom finally answered. My girlfriend texted her, ‘Please answer him, he needs your love and support.’ My mom did not like it and refused to call me her son. ‘You should dress more like a girl.’ I told her, ‘This doesn’t change who I am, this is who I’ve always been.’”
‘I’m bisexual.’ My husband looked at me. ‘Yeah, I figured.’ I laughed. ‘Was it that obvious?’ He smiled. ‘I could guess.’: Couple realizes their mixed-orientation marriage has given them more ‘love, acceptance, intimacy’ than many couples
“When my husband and I got married, he thought he was marrying a heterosexual woman. I thought that, too. ‘Is this weirding you out?’ I had a streak of fear. I ordered my first chest binder, a vest, and slacks. My husband saw me trying it on in our bedroom. ‘Oh cool, you remembered to leave the bottom button of the vest undone!’ He exclaimed. ‘Can I borrow the tie you wore at our wedding?’ He helped me tie the tie. ‘You look good,’ he winked. That night, he helped me buzz my hair.”
‘Help me!’ The color drained from my face. I awoke to cramping and blood dripping on the bathroom floor.’: LGBT couple navigate homophobia, reciprocal IVF journey, ‘our girls will be filled with lots of love’
“Our babies! Were they gone? We drove the 3 hours to the IVF clinic. The doctor informed us, ‘One baby is still there, and next to the baby is a blood clot 4 times its size.’ I remember my eyes filling with tears. I began crying on my wife’s shoulder. ‘What you two are doing isn’t right.’ No one ever tells you how hard it will be to have kids when you’re gay.”
‘Dad can I have 3 dollars?’ My friend needs a chest binder and his parents aren’t supportive.’ My son came out as Trans at 11.’: Father embraces transgender son’s new boyfriend, lifestyle, ‘our job is to love the kids we are given’
“There are days I’m so tired and weak I can’t help but cry. I carry a lot of weight for my kid, in support of who he is now. ‘We have something super awkward to talk about.’ ‘Okay, what is it?’ ‘I know you’re in middle school now. Sometimes sex is a thing with kids that age. But I’m worried about it, and want you to wait. I don’t want you to experience sex for the first time as the wrong gender and have it hurt you.’ He’s dealing with a lot. Much more than I ever did as a 12-year-old.”
‘Hey, Miss Samantha. Where’s your husband?’ I was home alone. ‘My GIRLFRIEND is on her way.’ I was disgusted.’: Lesbian couple urges they are not ‘too pretty to be gay,’ don’t ‘need any help’ from a man in their relationship
“I was home alone. 2 plumbers came over unannounced. Looking back, I probably should’ve asked them to come back another day, but I trusted the situation and let them in. I had my phone in my hand, texting my girlfriend to come over. I felt so uncomfortable. Both of their voices were very deep, in control. One of the men walked to the truck to grab something. He said he would be ‘right back.’ I was now left alone with the other.”
