Page 5 - LGBT Families

definitely legal (yes, Max actually uses the phrase “most
definitely,” it’s the cutest thing ever). His friend wasn’t buy-
ing it and continued to speak with an all- knowing attitude.
This really upset Max. 25

Blacker told his son there would probably always be people who
did not approve of their family. What Max needed to know was
that it was their problem, not his.
Some young people find it difficult to make friends once class-
mates learn that they have LGBT parents. Often this is due to the
attitudes of their classmates’ parents. Early on, Sophie Mei Lan
learned to deal with the fact that some children would not be al-
lowed to be her friend. Her father came out as gay when Lan was
three, and he and her mother divorced. As she grew up, Lan spent
half of her time living with her father and his partner, whom she
considers her stepfather. When the parents of her peers learned
of her situation, they were not always accepting and warned their
children to stay away from her. “As a child growing up, I just ac-
cepted that some kids weren’t allowed to play at my dad’s house.
I think their parents were scared they’d catch the ‘gay bug’ off my
dads or me (I might carry it too!),” Lan writes. As she grew older,
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she felt these reactions made her a stronger person, and she was
proud of her family; nonetheless, such reactions were still hurtful.

Bullying
Intrusive questions and being made to feel different can be un-
comfortable, but some youth in LGBT families experience worse.
They are bullied and harassed. Although schools have zero-
tolerance bullying policies, students still find ways to bully. And,
as bullies typically look for something different about others to
prey upon, a person with an LGBT parent often makes a prime
target. The likelihood of bullying and its extent depends on the
openness of one’s community and how bullying is dealt with by
schools and parents.

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