Your son or daughter says...............?

Question

Mom, dad, I've something to tell you.................I'm gay. And your reaction is? (Take it away Yahoo Q&A audience! This outta be interesting or not.)

First and foremost, I'm not attempting to poke fun of or insult anyone who happens to be gay. That's not my intention. My intent is to see how people would "respond" if they were put into a situation such as this. Thanks.

mjfluffypuff, my apologies to you if you find this offensive.

To everyone that gave honest answers, thanks. One day you may find yourself in this position if you haven't already.

General consensus, LOVE THEM ANYWAY. :)

A very good friend of mine who I never suspected as being gay, (he was very much married to a woman and they had a child together) told me a couple of years back, that he'd left his wife. When I asked him what the heck did he do that for, he told me that he was indeed gay and had always been gay and was tired of living a lie. He's still my friend regardless. :)

Answer 1

Be very suportive, being gay isn't the end of the world, I am sure it is very disappointing for parents as it was for my parents when I told them. But my parents now are my best friends and they accept my partner as though he was a son also. Good Luck!

Answer 2

I would ask , are you happy, he or she would still be my child, which i have raised to be the best they can be,being gay does t change the person, it changes some of the people around them, if a person is a good person then that"s all people should be concerned with,what does it matter at the end of the day. and if being gay , is the sole way people perceive others ,by their sexual preferences, then they need to look in the mirror, to see if they really like who they are.

Answer 3

Love them for the wonderful soul that they are. Don't be afraid of expressing your opinions to them, but in a non judgemental way. It is always a good thing for your child to know what you thing and how you feel, that way there is no guessing involved. But you can express your concerns and opinions without a negative manner involved.

I'm a lesbian, and when I came out my parents tried to understand. It has been a long process, but they love me. Not they love me "anyway", they LOVE me with no strings attached. That IS what unconditional love is. I know that if I were to have a child who said "Mom, I'm gay" they would already know that I love them, support them and am always there for whatever they need. They will already know that it won't be an issue if they are gay, bi, trans or straight because they know that their mom believes in them and believes in love....in whatever form it happens to take.

Answer 4

I think mjyllypuff was saying thats what she would say to her kid....(not offended)...and yeah I agree w/ her, " great you're gay, I love you, I'll always be here for you, you wanna talk about it? Hows the job hunt gong?" You hear the stories about people being disowned and thrown out as if they'd murdered Granny or "bame myself", "what did we do wrong"or dumbasses who think you can change it- "get you're wife pregnant", is that firsthand knowledge Dad? (we all want a repressed closeted gay dad...) tuff moment---for everyone, but we're all tested in this life and you show your true colors, how big and beautiful and open is you heart? For your own child?

Answer 5

My reaction would probably be nonchalance... I don't think sexual preference matters and wouldn't be bothered or concerned if my child was gay. Now, if I was married to my current partner, he might be a little freaked out by it, but I would be supportive and wouldn't really make it an issue, and I'm sure he would come around too because he's pretty level-headed. What matters to me, though, is whether or not I've raised my child to be a good person, not who s/he decides to date.

Answer 6

i would want to react the way my mum did. ie " oh realy? now can you please tell me something NEW??" not only she did not judge me, she accepted me and my partner of 4 years ( i told her in the presence of my partner)
i only hope i can be that kind of a parent. putting my child's happiness before my own.
i guess i wouldnt be so upset if my child told me that (s)he was gay (since i'm gay myself) but i think i'd be upset if my child told me that she is running off with an inter-galactic alien or something....you know,you get the idea

PS: i think your question would be redundant here cuz most of us are gays anyway so we'd be sympathetic to our child's sexuality. try the straight people's column, i think you'd get better responses there..... :)

Answer 7

As a Dad of a 16 year old Bi son who did exactly that at age 14; I told him that I love him and would always love and accept whoever he loves. And I said when he gets a boyfriend tell me......LOL

Answer 8

After the inital shock of hearing that and if you have to leave just to get a hold of yourself, then no matter what, that is your child and they always need the acceptance of their parent. So, bottom line is: their life, their decision, always YOUR CHILD. Be strong and be there.

Answer 9

Well hopefully your family would be close enough to have already expect this conversation. I know that I would not feel any different about them. I would still love them and hopefully they have built a good, loving, trustworthy relationship.

Answer 10

The first thing out of my mouth would be, " Are you happy?Are you sure about this? All right then ." I wouldn't care as long as they are happy and they are with a partner who treats them well.