There’s been a growing amount of coverage lately about parents supporting their gender variant and/or transgender children—most recently in a worthwhile New York Times article last week. Veronica Rhodes of Parent Dish, however, gives us a perspective seen even less often—that of a lesbian mom with a gender variant child.
Rhodes explains the extra criticisms she and her partner have faced—speculation that their daughter’s penchant for boys’ clothes and haircuts is because of a missing father figure, or because the moms are trying to “make” her gay. “I know from the very depths of my soul that this child is who she is, and that Em and I are not driving her to be something she isn’t,” Rhodes says—but then asks, “So why did I care what people thought?”
Go read the full post for her answer and insights. She’s not the first person to note the extra stress of LGBT parents with LGBT or gender variant children—or the stress that myths about LGBT parents place on those children when coming out. Abigail Garner, for example, in her book Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is, devotes a whole chapter to such “second-generation” children and their stories. Rhodes’ post is, however, a welcome addition to the conversation.
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