<p>^ Or perhaps they just want to watch. These things need not be participatory.</p>
<p>(The same is true for straight girls with respect to gay men. Anyone who doubts this has clearly never seen the manga section of a bookstore.)</p>
<p>Too funny. After I hugged and kissed my son and told him that I will always love him, I asked if we could go to services at a gay-friendly temple so he could meet a nice Jewish boy!</p>
<p>Yes, I had known since he was a little guy, but to hear him speak the words did feel, as another parent put it, like a punch to the gut. I don’t know why. I guess, like others on this thread, I think life is hard enough and I don’t trust that people out there are sufficiently enlightened to be inclusive (let alone to not hurt him). Reading this thread has been really comforting.</p>
<p>So, he’s a rising senior, looking at colleges. In addition to all the other research I’m doing, I’m looking for GLBT-related campus organizations…he can’t wait to get out of our uber conservative town (our family alone skews the demographic)</p>
<p>^^^still learning how to do this posting thing. My “too funny” looks so out of context here because it was referring to a comment waaaay back on this thread made by another Jewish mother.</p>
<p>Being gay isn’t a big deal. Being diagnosed with a deadly disease is.</p>
<p><a href=“if%20for%20nothing%20other%20than%20the%20fact%20that%20he%20is%20the%20only%20openly%20gay%20pop%20star”>i</a>.*</p>
<p>I guess Elton, George Michael, Michael Stipe don’t count?
There are a ton of musicians- rock- pop- alt… who are bisexual or homosexual.
Ever hear of Mick Jagger or Davie Bowie?
;)</p>
<p>Celebrity couples tend to keep it more private- Jodie Foster for example- didn’t take out billboards- but she is more talkative about her partner these days.</p>
<p>If you just found out your son is gay…you haven’t been paying attention.</p>
<p>If you just found out your daughter is gay…wait awhile. </p>
<p>Because that’s the way it works.</p>
<p>Nice generalizations there, toblin. You’re an expert on this because . . . ?</p>
<p>Honestly, I’d feel embarrassed and ashamed.</p>
<p>It would be extremely hard to love my kid if he is gay</p>
<p>I am very homophobic. I hate gay people.</p>
<p>You do know what they say about homophobics and I believe it is true. That being said I always knew my son was gay, he is now married to a great guy. They graduated from Cornell, and his husband in med school, my son is in law school. What else can I ask for, they are nice, loving and great young men. Being that they are gay is a non-issue. It is for most people under 30! One day gays will be able able to get married anywhere in the country and our great grandchildren will laugh at this. We have big issues to deal with in thie country, and this should not be one of them.</p>
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<p>Exactly, EK. It would be a long, long list if we were to include every gay artist out there, whether in pop, theatre, tv, film, visual arts, dance, etc. It surprises me when people don’t realize this, but then it surprises me even more when they care. I guess a lot of people would be surprised to know that many of the actors they watch on stage, tv or film, many of the singers whose music they listen to, many artists whose art they may admire, many authors whose books they read, happen to be gay. Neil Patrick Harris, Alan Cumming, Clay Aiken, Kevin Spacey, Rufus Wainwright, Billie Joe Armstrong, David Hyde Pierce, Melissa Etheridge, Jodi Foster, David Sedaris, Lily Tomlin, Dusty Springfield, Wanda Sykes, Lance Bass, Meredith Baxter, Jane Lynch, Patricia Cornwell, Alice Walker, Leonard Bernstein, Rachel Maddow, Rob Marshall, Ricky Martin, Darren Hayes, B.D. Wong, George Takei, Richard Chamberlain, Margaret Cho, Michael Cunningham, k.d. lang., Cherry Jones, Sarah Paulson.</p>
<p>None of my Ds is gay but I have two gay nephews who are fortunate enough to live in loving families. Not all gay kids are so fortunate. It didn’t phase me at all when they came out, as it was no big surprise. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family where there were many gay friends. Geez, my 80-something parents have as many gay friends as I do. I have several friends who have a gay/lesbian child. Some handled it better than others but, thankfully, none were the kind to disown the child. My parents know a family who did that, and then told people that he was dead. My Ds all have gay friends (and they all had gay teachers) and I think that this is the generation who will dispel much of the hate and discrimination that is still out there. I can’t really think of anyone I know well in my generation who hasn’t reached a level of acceptance where it doesn’t occur to them that someone is gay and if it does, it certainly doesn’t matter. There are gay men and lesbians in every area of society, every profession, every town and city. I guess I’ll never get why people get so worked up about it.</p>
<p>Sir Ian McKellan.</p>
<p>Clive Barker among authors.</p>
<p>But careful about Kevin Spacey, please. There have been rumors for years, but I don’t believe he’s come out. And I don’t believe it’s right to state publicly that someone is gay when they haven’t done so themselves.</p>
<p>I just came across the transcript of a speech made last year by playwrght and gay rights activist Larry Kramer who tried to give Yale millions of dollars a few years ago for a Gay Student Union and/or Gay History course–just skimmed the article, so I don’t have precise details for you. Anyway, the gist of it is that Yale turned him down and apparently is on some list as not being particularly gay-friendly or supportive of our kids. Not sure why this surprised me, but it did.</p>
<p>My kid is certainly not Yale material. He is, however, a bright, compassionate student who is in the 3.0 -3.3 gpa range (cumulative, though happy to say he got a 3.57 at the end of last semester), and I am definitely taking the diversity and inclusiveness of colleges into account as we look for a good fit for him . He’s finishing up his junior year and we will have to choose a manageable region of this enormous country to plan some college visits this summer. Any advice?</p>
<p>This article in the Salt Lake City Tribune shows how much things have changed for the better. Still a long way to go, but things are much better than when most of us were young.</p>
<p>" St. George » Jason Osmanski knew he had to tell his mom, but he didn’t know how. He was 14 years old and had spent half his life sensing he was different. Now, he had the words for it. Wanting to break the news somewhere public, someplace safe, Jason tagged along with his mom on a shopping trip to Walmart. But he still couldn’t say it. He took a pad of paper from the pharmacy counter and wrote, “Will you love me no matter what?” Carolyn Osmanski gave him a quizzical look but answered, “Of course.” Jason scribbled another note, crumpled it, handed it to his mom and bolted to a nearby aisle. She looked down at the wrinkled paper: “I’m gay.”</p>
<p>As society has become more open about sexuality, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) are coming out at younger ages. It’s no longer rare for a high school – or even a middle school – to have one or more students who are openly gay or bisexual. They are taking same-sex dates to proms and launching gay-straight alliance clubs.</p>
<p>And people who are transgender, who feel their gender differs from their biological sex, are sharing that with their families – and sometimes their peers – during adolescence. …"</p>
<p>[LGBT</a> kids coming out earlier - Salt Lake Tribune](<a href=“http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15101937]LGBT”>The Salt Lake Tribune - Utah News, Sports, Religion & Entertainment)</p>
<p>I have always told my D that I would only ask one question regarding the choice(s) she makes regarding a partner…does that person value you and make you feel valued and special? Really. That’s all I care about. I personally couldn’t care about color, race, creed, orientation, or religion. If my D is loved and loves in return, what else matters?</p>
<p>go ellen degenres!</p>
<p>RE Larry Kramer and Yale (from wikipedia, with comments by me):</p>
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<p>Just"aMom", the issue a number of parents I know are struggling with, is that of having lots of sexual partners. No one special, and yet, all of them special. Sometimes I think kids give too much information. Some of these kids have sex with both sexes. They are bi and could go either way, in their minds at this time.</p>
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<p>I don’t understand what you’re saying. Lots of people go through multiple sex partners, it’s hardly a “gay trait.” What do you think the boys on the College Life board constantly asking “HOW CAN I MEET GIRLS” are looking for?</p>
<p>I just wanted to make a comment based on some of the applause or approval that is being given to parents who express their doubts/disappointments about their children who have come out, especially to those who have said they avoid thinking about that child because it “hurts them.”</p>
<p>I can see how, for other parents, being honest about how one handled the situation is something to encourage. And many people probably can relate to your situation. </p>
<p>But as an LGBT child, I can tell you your kids aren’t feeling the same way. One of two things is going to happen. One possibility is, after facing so much contention for being who they are by strangers or acquaintances, they will not put up with dealing with this at home, and you’ll never have the same relationship as you had with them before (if it continues at all). The other is seeing how much their being has “hurt” you will deflate so much of their self-esteem that you’re likely to turn them into a suicidal mess.</p>
<p>“Just"aMom”, the issue a number of parents I know are struggling with, is that of having lots of sexual partners."</p>
<p>Do they really think that promiscuity is confined to gays only? There are plenty of straight college students who are into drunken hook-ups and all sorts of promiscuity. In fact, many of the gay college students I know seem to be less promiscuous than are many of the straight college students including straight students from conservative religious backgrounds.</p>