Would you care if your kid was gay?
I'd be willing to bet that for most people who read Strollerderby, the answer would be "Of course not." You're for the most part urban, educated, bright –generally a forward-thinking bunch.
But this post on the Details blog by David Hochan suggests that typical liberal gay-positive parent may be saying all the right things about having a gay offspring, but in their heart of hearts they are thinking much differently.
The fathers quoted in the article, all of whom were given anonymity in exchange for honesty, protest a little too much about how totally awesome and gay-friendly they are ("If I''m on a set and there are no gay people, I actually get worried," one who works in the TV industry hand-wrings). When asked how they'd feel about their own sons being gay, though, they to a man were not thrilled with the idea. Most said they didn't want their kids to contend with the discrimination and sometimes worse that being gay could bring upon their kids.
But at least one expert quoted disparaged that attitude, pointing out that being gay hardly sentences a child to a miserable life.
Damn straight. This may be my Pollyanna side talking, but I do think that by the time my kids, who are 3 years and 7weeks old repsectively, reach adulthood sexual orientation will be a nonissue. After all, when I was in high school in the 1980s there was no such thing as a Gay-Straight Alliance; now they are common. Our kids' generation seems a lot more open to any kind of difference. And that will be all to the good, for everybody.
