I have always looked up to my Dad for his political views and integrity. He has always brought me up to believe in Socialism and equality for all. However, recently, his comments on homosexuality have disturbed me. (He does not know I'm gay). Through conversation he made comments that suggested he believes that homosexual people, whilst deserving not to be discriminated against, have to explain their sexuality whilst straight people don't. He has also commented on being puzzled that my brother posts so much stuff on Gay Rights if my brother is really straight (my brother is straight but he does happen to be one of the few people who knows about my sexuality - hence the gay rights posts). I tried pointing out to Dad that he marched alongside black people in the '70s during 'Rock Against Racism', despite Dad being white, because he believed in black rights but he couldn't seem to make the connection. Does anyone else have trouble with supposedly Liberal parents who don't seem to apply these values to their own children's sexuality?
yes my mom is increadibly liberal, totally for gay rights, a member of pflag, and bi/panphobic. I thought i was the only one
I'm a liberal minded parent on social issues. I have four children aged 16 to 10. Three girls and a boy who is the youngest. We encourage treating people as you would like others to treat you. To accept peoples genders and sexualities as "that person' business, not yours". You cannot help how you are born. I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to have the alternate point of view. I grew up in an Irish Catholic dominated community in a western suburb of Sydney(Australia) which was far from being socially liberal but was social conservative and still seems to be.
My father's a socialist, but he does have questionable attitudes towards women. It's paradoxical, as he treats women as his equals at all times (apart from my mother, his ex-wife), but I'm still unable to see if he's sexist or not. He believes in same-sex marriage, but would probably be disappointed to have a gay son. There are a lot of socialist misogynists and homophobes. I just have to conclude that they aren't socialist.
My parents are liberal and belong to a religious denomination that is open-minded (non-Orthodox Judaism), and they have no problem with LGBT rights in principle, but were completely clueless about what I meant when I came out as bi. It's not that they don't still love me, but I didn't get the outpouring of support and "we love you no matter what" reaction.
I think what it comes down to is that people can be more logical about one particular subject, but on another subject they are completely illogical. I have family members who make a lot of sense on many subjects, but those same people think it is a choice to be gay/bi and think being gay has no scientific basis.
He marched with blacks for equality yet he is white. Your bro marches with gays for equality yet he's straight. How does your dad not make that connection? It's so clear. I guess as humans we just always take bias into account. I say "I love my Mercedes diesel because it's super reliable and easy to work on." Then Joe Blow says "Honda makes a reliable car and they're pretty easy to work on." But I hate Honda. I have a bias against them. In that case it appears that my point is illogical, but it's motivated by bias.
My Dad is a Republican, my mother is an Independent, and I'm a Centrist. Despite how the media makes it look, a person's political view has little to do with their opinions on hot button issues like Gay Marriage, Abortion, etc.
You seem to be confused with Liberalism and socialism. Liberalism is imperialism, and it only advocates for equality within the borders of a country, whereas socialism is anti-imperialist, espouses equality worldwide, and is anti-capitalist. You also said you believe in gun control - that's a liberal position, not a socialist one. Nothing you've relayed to us so far leads me to believe your father's a homophobe. To the contrary, you yourself said he believes in equality, and you've proffered one highly vague statement he's made as proof that he's some kind of homophobe. There are cases of parents with left-wing politics who manage to be hypocritical with their own children, but this isn't one of them. They're the type who's nominally egalitarian, but they struggle accepting their own children, a sort of inversion of right-wing parents who suddenly have a transformation when their kids come out and suddenly they're all for gay rights. Your father disagrees with the mainstream LGBT community, but how does that make him a homophobe. I'm not a fan of the mainstream LGBT community, but my reasons are entirely not homophobic, though you may, at first glance, think that it is some form of internalized transphobia.
