Back To the Main SiteRecommendation: Accepting Dad
A little while ago I was recommended a blog called “Accepting Dad“, and I have since then been watching it to see why it was recommended to me. I have to say that even though I don’t agree with all of his theories, and ideas, I’ve been super impressed by the authors honesty, integrity, and genuine desire to do the best he can by his kid.
So I’m recommending to all of you as well, take a look at this blog. If you are the parent of a queer or trans kid, follow it, find strength and community in it. Every kid deserves a parent who’s willing to try this hard.
Here’s a quote to whet your appetite:
At first, they’re so young, so innocent, it’s hard to say no. It’s just a doll. Just a pink blanket. Everyone assures you too, that it doesn’t mean a thing. Everyone knows someone who was just like that, just like your kid, and now he’s fine, working the super-pro wrestling circuit as a seven-foot tall, 300 pound steroid giant. Or he’s a trucker, or a fireman, or some other manly member of the Village People. Normal! Super normal! Not a drag queen, anyway!
No, it doesn’t mean a thing.
Except, after a year, or two, or three you know it does. Now, you’re the parent—what are you going to to do about it?
Study Calling for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents
Have you ever sought and used health care services for your children? We would be interested in hearing about your experiences of this. We will ask you some questions about your experiences, as well as some about yourselves, during interviews which can be held at your convenience.
Would you like to be part of this study? If you would, could you email or ring one of us at Curtin University
Many thanks
Dr Rose Chapman, PhD, MSci (Nursing), Lecturer, School of Nursing & Midwifery.
Professor Linda Shields, PhD, F.R.C.N.A., F.R.S.M., Professor of Paediatric and Child Health Nursing,
Email: r.chapman@curtin.edu.au or l.shields@curtin.edu.au
Telephone: (08) 9266 2095
Parents Attitudes and LGB Health
A friend of my mothers once told me that it is a sin to be gay. This should have been entirely unsurprising given that my mother is heavily embedded in the Christian church. However, I was surprised in this instance because I thought that this particular woman would know better… she had a Masters in Science, and a Masters in Teaching, and was almost a year into her MBBS, to become a GP. A medical doctor. When I questioned her thinking, she went on to explain that it is clearly a sin, because Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual people suffer poorer health than the general population.
That logic is flawed right from the beginning, after all, the native Aboriginal people of Australia have the poorest health of any minority group in the country, but one can hardly claim it is a sin to be born black. (For more information about Indigenous Health, see Health Info Net)
The part of that argument that I most want to address today though, is the incorrect notion that LGB people are suffering from poor health *because* they are LGB. A recent study has shown that there is a clear link between a young lesbian, gay or bisexual identified persons health, and their relationship with their family. That would imply that these people have poorer health, not because they are LGB, but because their family has a negative attitude to a large part of their identity.
“For the first time, research has established a predictive link between specific, negative family reactions to their child’s sexual orientation and serious health problems for these adolescents in young adulthood such as depression, illegal drug use, risk for HIV infection, and suicide attempts,” said Caitlin Ryan, who is the lead author of the paper.
So, if you are the parent it would seem that the greatest gift you can give your child, the best way that you can help ensure them a happy, healthy future, is not by trying to ’stamp out the gay’ in them… but to love and accept them for who they are, whether they are same-sex loving, or have a gender identity at odds with how you perceive them.
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