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i thought coming out was hard..

Discussion in 'Coming Out Advice' started by if i had a dime, Apr 5, 2010.

  1. if i had a dime

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    i have not be on here in a while but im back for help

    Like 4 months ago I came out to my mom. Now whenever i try to talk about being gay or even just things like gay rights(which before we could talk about perfectly fine and she supports gay rights as well) she just doesnt talk and it gets weird untill i change the subject. I dont feel like she supports me; i mean i know she still loves me and we have a good relationship. I just wish we could talk about me being gay without it getting akward. :/
     
  2. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

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    I don't think it's that she doesn't support you. It's probably a combination of two things.

    There was an article sometime back in NY Times or somewhere talking about how there are an awful lot of people that are open and accepting and embracing of gay/lesbian people, but when it comes to THEIR son or daughter, their response is different or more challenging. And in the analysis, it basically boiled down to being willing to accept the "loss" of a "normal" aspects of having a child, since regardless of how one looks at it, being gay or lesbian is still different, and viewed differently, than being straight. So I suspect that part of it is just learning to adjust. It's not that she doesn't support you or doesn't love you, it's more about coming to terms with something that's pretty different than what she probably expected for 16 years.

    The second part is I think that for most parents, any discussion relating to sexual activity, but particularly to gay sex, with a son or daughter is probably rather awkward. In part because for most people of your parents generation, there's still some sort of deep-seated discomfort with being completely open about things related to sex, and in part because talking to your child about sexual things is also acknowledging that your child is growing up... and that in itself can be a challenge.

    I'd just give it some time, and maybe, depending on your relationship, directly talk about it, gently saying something like "I'd really like to discuss this, because I think it's important to our conversation and openness. I feel like when I discuss things related to my being gay, that it makes you uncomfortable, and I realize it's probably difficult to even talk about this, but I would appreciate it if you could try, because I think we can get past it and it will make our communications better." I think if you do that, she may well be willing to at least try, and both of you might come away having learned a lot about yourselves and about each other.
     
  3. beckyg

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    I think I would suggest that your mom go to a PFLAG meeting. Sometimes its easier to discuss these things with strangers. Go to www.pflag.org and see if there is a meeting near you. You could even volunteer to go with her. That's what my son and I did.