A very happy day to all of you who are fathers, have fathers in your lives, or use Father’s Day (or Fathers’ Day) to celebrate any parent or member of your family!
Father’s Day can be difficult for many, however. My dad died more than a decade ago now, and I miss him every day, but particularly on holidays. And while my dad was fully accepting of my lesbian identity, I know that too many queer people have difficult relationships with their fathers because of the fathers’ biases and difficulty accepting their children as who they are. For others, too, fathers who were abusive or irresponsible can make the observance of Father’s Day challenging at best. I wish healing and peace to everyone who struggles with this day.
For those who do celebrate, I hope you have a day of joy. I wish a particularly special day to all the queer dads of all genders who choose this day as your own, and to the queer moms who celebrate it with important men or others in your families’ lives (whether dads or not) or who use the day to celebrate the parent who didn’t get honored on Mother’s Day. (Sometimes it’s nice for each person to get a special day, regardless of gender identity.) For more on how we queer moms may choose to celebrate Father’s Day, see this post from 2018.
Coming as it does during Pride Month and on Juneteenth, the day may have additional resonance for many. However, whatever, and whomever you celebrate today, may it be a time of love, family, and connection.