Voices
“Mom! I’m straight!” He said
this with firmness, a smile and a
shake of his head.
I called my brother. “Chase
came out,” I told him. “He says
he’s straight.”
“What do you mean, ‘He says
he’s straight’?” he asked.
“Well, things could change,”
I said.
“Babe, he just came out to
you. He told you that he is
straight. You have to listen to
him and work from that for now
and acknowledge it and believe
it. That’s it. He’s straight. You
have to honor that, just like you
would if C.J. told you that he
was gay. Both of your kids know
that you love them and support
them and accept them whether
they are gay or straight. But
when they tell you like that, you
have to believe them.”
My brother was right. I want
my kids to know that their sexuality would never change the
way I feel about them. They can
be anywhere on the spectrum of
sexuality and still have my unconditional love, acceptance and
support. But when they stake a
claim on the spectrum, like Chase
did, they have to know that I hear
them and believe them.
LORI
DURON
HUFFINGTON
09.22.13
By trying to eliminate the
need for a gay son to come out,
I created an environment where
a straight son felt the need to
come out. As I try to learn from
my mother’s mistakes, I may be
making some new ones of my
own. I guess that’s how it goes
with parenting.
So I am the proud mother of a
10-year-old, straight, cisgender
son and a gender-nonconforming
By trying to eliminate
the need for a gay son
to come out, I created
an environment where a
straight son felt the need
to come out.”
son who is six years old and has
yet to declare his sexuality. I’m
also the proud sister of a very
youthful gay brother who is doing
just fine and leading an amazing
life. He’s found support outside
our parents and now dresses lifesized Barbies. We also still belt
out Annie tunes together
when the mood strikes.
Lori Duron is a mother of two and
author of Raising My Rainbow.