Something For The Parents

Something For The Parents Of Gay and Lesbian Teens

This is a very meaningful poem my mother thought I should include. So take a second and read it.

She Is My Child By: Elise Self

She cannot be reduced to statistics, polls, stereotypes, nick-names, prejudice, oppinion.
She is my child.

I still have the same dreams. The details may have changed, but the dreams are the same:
Of happiness, love, home, family, meaningful work.
Because, you see, she is my child.

She's not some monster to be feared, some pervert to be sneered at, some child molester
or converter of adolescents.
She is my child.

She is warm and caring and sensitive and vulnerable and angry and sad, funny and human.
Yes, she is my child.

She didn't drop from another planet to cause destruction and mayhem.
She came from love between her father and me.
Yes, she is my child.

You will not harm her if I can prevent it. You will not hurt her.
She is my child.

I join with every black mother every Jewish mother, every Native American mother every Hispanic mother, every Asian mother every disabled child's mother, every gay child's mother, and every mother whose child has known hatred and prejudice.
And I say they are our children, our very special, precious children.

On-Line Sources For Parents

Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays PFLAG	Resources for parents of lesbian and gay teens My Child Is Gay? Note: agreat page with tons of article to help parents
Articles by PFLAG for parents Our Sons and Daughters	An article in Perspectives Metal Health magazie My Child Is Gay!

Good Books: For Parents of Gays & Lesbians

Leroy Aarons. Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms With the Suicide of Her
Gay Son. San Francisco: Harper, 1995.

Nancy Andrews. Family: A Portrait of Gay and Lesbian America. San Francisco:
Harper, 1994.

* Robert A. Bernstein. Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together.
Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995.

Gloria Guss Bock. Are you Still My Mother? Warner Books, 1985.

Mary V. Borhek. My Son Eric. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1979.

Beverly Cole. Cleaning Closets: A Mother's Story. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1995.

Rob Forman Dew. The Family Heart: A Memoir of When our Son Came Out.
Addison-Wesley, 1994.

Betty Fairchild, Nancy Hayward. Now That You Know: What Every Parent Should
Know About Homosexuality Rev. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1989.

Ann Muller. Parents Matter. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1987.

Louise Rafkin. Different Daughters: A Book by Mothers of Lesbians Cleis Press, 1987.

Carolyn Welch Griffin, Marian J. and Arthur Wirth. Beyond Acceptance: Parents of
Lesbians and Gays Talk About Their Experiences. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1986.

* = Denotes that my mom has read this book and I have asked her to write a review about it to post

A Last Note To Parents

I hope I have provided you with a starting point for finding the information you need. To my dismay there are not a lot of on-line sources for parents of gay and lesbian childre. I have asked my mother to help me with this section so as she comes up with things to add I will post them. If you have any fears, questions, or concerns and would like to talk to another parent (that being my mom) please e-mail her care of me and I will make sure she gets the message.

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