Straight Parent, Gay Kid
National Coming Out Day Is October 11th
What Is National Coming Out Day?Observed annually, this internationally observed day celebrates coming out and raises awareness of the LGBT+ community and civil rights movement. As part of LGBT history month, National Coming Out Day (NCOD) celebrates individuals who publicly identify as a gender or sexual minority. October 11this the anniversary of the 1987 National…
Principal Puts Spamalot Into His Spam
Boy, am I glad my child doesn’t attend high school in South Williamsport, Pa.! Otherwise, he would not be allowed to watch a high school production of the Tony-award winning play Spamalot that I saw on Broadway in 2009 after its four- year run. Amusing and clever, the parody was a painless history lesson that…
Who is Caitlin Ryan?
You May Not Know Her Name, But Her Work Has Enlightened Parents Caitlin Ryan is a clinical social worker with a Ph.D. She lives in San Francisco and is a lesbian. If her name sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because she, an Irish Catholic, was the focus of an article in the New York Times, September…
Don’t Overlook Grandparents’ Support
Today is National Grandparents Day. In terms of supporting a family with a GLBTQ child, grandparents can play a major role.Who better than the experienced and enlightened grandparent whose advancing years have mellowed attitudes about everything: “seen and done it all?” Parents Too Close For Objectivity? While the parents, like many, may react with fear,…
How to Find a Gay-Friendly Therapist
You’re worried. Your gay child seems more than moody. Or your lesbian daughter seems more withdrawn and her weight is fluctuating. Your LGBT child is dreading school– another year of bullying. Beware of Conversion Therapy You think he/she may need a therapist, but you’re read that some mental health professionals try to convert their LGBT…
Tolerance Begins At Home
Homelessness A Big Problem For LGBTQ Kids Next time you’re in a big city like New York and you see kids as young as 12 living on the street, in the subways, you may think they’re penniless, drop-outs from school or e.) all of the above. Chances are they are “throwaways,” GLBTQ kids (gay, lesbian,…
The Bird Cage Still Relevant, 8 Years Later
Last week, I watched the hilarious “The Bird Cage” for the umpteenth time. Based on the play, “La Cage Aux Folles,” it’s a screwball comedy of gay characters trying to pass as straight for a dinner meeting with an Ohio Senator who finds Billy Graham too liberal and is a Vice –President of the Coalition…
Testing The Undereducated
CDC’s Recent Sexual Orientation Survey Has Flaws In the July 22 article in The New York Times entitled “Questions of Orientation,” http://New York Times/7/22/14/Questions of Orientation, Jan Hoffman writes about the inadequacies of gathering information about sexual orientation. For the first time, respondents were asked about their sexual orientation while taking the Centers for Disease…