Signs your adult son is gay
Book Excerpt: Is Your Child Gay?
Excerpted fromWhy Is the Penis Shaped Like That? … And Other Reflections on Being Human, by Jesse Bering, by arrangement with Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC (North America), Transworld Ltd (UK), Jorge Zahara Editora Ltda (Brazil). Copyright © by Jesse Bering.
We all know the stereotypes: an unusually light, delicate, effeminate air in a little boy's step, an interest in dolls, makeup, princesses and dresses, and a strong distaste for uneven play with other boys. In little girls, there is the outwardly boyish stance, perhaps a penchant for tools, a square-jawed readiness for physical tussles with boys, and an aversion to all the perfumed, delicate trappings of femininity.
These behavioral patterns are feared, loathed and often spoken of directly as harbingers of adult homosexuality. It is only relatively recently, however, that developmental scientists have conducted controlled studies to identify the earliest and most reliable signs of mature person homosexuality. In looking carefully at the childhoods of gay adults,
Five things every Catholic parent should know if their child comes out
As a Catholic parent of three adult LGBTQ children, I would love to reveal you that my husband and I breezed through their “coming out” and subsequent journey with flawless clarity, wisdom, faith and love. But, nah, that didn’t happen.
We struggled, sometimes having more questions than answers. In the last few years, we have discovered many other Catholic parents like ourselves, eager to share their journeys and what they’ve learned about being a gay parent. So based on our family&#;s trial, and the experiences of fellow Catholic parents, I&#;d like to share five tips with you. No real names are used in this article, and some details have been left purposely vague to protect families that hold not “come out” yet or wish to endure anonymous. I also hold permission from our kids to share our journey.
1. Being a parent to gay children can be complicated and challenging
Our path began on January 26, To describe the first two months of that year as tough and challenging would be an understatement.
Source: Shutterstock photo
It may be a conversation you never imagined you would own or one you’ve long expected: your adolescent or grown-up child has just told you that he or she or they occur to be homosexual, lesbian, transgender, or non-binary.
Whether or not you’ve been blindsided with the news, you may be momentarily overwhelmed with a variety of feelings. You may feel happy to discuss gender and sexuality openly with your child. You may feel a flash of wrath or guilt or shame, wondering why, blaming or feeling blamed, agonizing (at least momentarily) over what the relax of the family, your friends and neighbors will ponder. You may undergo a surge of love and of fear, imagining your beloved child entity marginalized, hurt or worse. You may feel disappointment that your child may be living a different life than the one you had dreamed for him or her. Or you may feel confused. It's a lot to take in. But what you state and do at this moment when your child comes out to you can have a lasting impact on your relationship.
Judy’s initial conversation with her adult son was a confrontati
As I relayed in When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know (Sterling, ), I found out that my son was gay from a note with our son's name entwined with another boy's, surrounded by a heart. I accidentally found that note in his room when I was cleaning.
I never questioned him about the heart I found on the sly. How would I have brought it up? Suppose I was wrong? After all, he had a crush on a girl in his class.
I had suspected at times that he was gay. He only had girls to his thirteenth birthday party. He preferred gentler sports. He was always concerned about how he looked and followed fashion. Were these stereotypical thoughts from a unbent mother? You bet, but it was ingrained through the culture's binary system and ideas about how males were "supposed to" behave.
As it turns out, our son didn't enter out until he was 17, was on his own, and brought a boyfriend to visit. Had I asked him if he were gay when he was 13, he probably would have defensively said "No!" He had to work it out and work through his denial. I'm glad I muzzled myself.
Susan Berland, the mother o