Coming out is often described as a journey. As parents, it’s a journey we take with our children, whether we first come out before or after starting our families. For National Coming Out Day, here’s my story, plus some additional resources on coming out while a parent.
Even though I was out before becoming a parent, having a kid meant being out to people I would never have shared anything with, about my queerness or otherwise. One toddler call of “Mommy and Mama!” in the supermarket, however, and everyone could see our rainbow halo.
Coming out is often described as an ongoing journey. As parents, it is a journey we take with our children. For National Coming Out Day, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.
Coming out is often described as an ongoing journey. As parents, we take the journey with our children.
Could you use something uplifting right now? I sure could—and a short new video that celebrates LGBTQ elders and youth champions is putting a smile on my face this National Coming Out Day.
Today is National Coming Out Day. This year, it falls just days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could deny employment protections to LGBTQ people and force many of us back into the closet in order to keep supporting our families. As many of us queer parents know from personal experience, coming out is not just a simple matter of finding the courage, but of balancing our needs and those of our children.
Our country feels very different than it did a year ago on the last National Coming Out Day, when the prospect of an LGBTQ-friendly president was still possible. Now, however, the day feels even more like a time for activism and resistance.
Eleven years of blogging about being a lesbian mom means I’m pretty much as out as can be—but this year, on National Coming Out Day, I’m thinking about the importance of being out during one of the most contentious U.S. election seasons ever.
It’s National Coming Out Day, so I thought I’d post a slightly revised version of my “How to Respond When Meeting Lesbian Moms,” which I first posted on NCOD back in 2005.
A treat for your weekend viewing: In honor of yesterday’s National Coming Out Day, Betty Crocker posted a wonderful video of LGBT families at the New York City and Twin Cities Pride events this year.
