Page 6 - LGBT Families

Negative reactions to one’s
family can be hurtful, but
they can also make a person
stronger. One young woman
learned not to worry about
the comments of outsiders,
instead choosing to feel pride
in herself and her family.

When David was young, he knew no one besides himself who
had two dads. He worried about how other kids would react to his
family, so he only let certain kids come over to his house. Once
in high school, however, his secret came out. During one of his
classes, the teacher put a box at the front of the room and told
the students to write down any questions, anonymously, and put
them in the box. At the next class, the teacher would answer the
questions. David wrote three questions: Is it wrong to have two fa-
thers? How can a baby be born with two fathers? If a boy has two
fathers, can he marry a girl? The next time the class met, David
anxiously waited to hear her answers. “The teacher took out the
pieces of paper and began to answer some of the questions,” he
writes. “Finally, she got to my piece of paper and read my ques-
tions aloud. The classroom erupted with laughter and someone
yelled, ‘Who’s got fags for folks?’ Someone else answered: ‘I bet
you it’s David, because he’s got two last names, one from each
dad!’ Laughter fi lled the air.” David raced from the classroom to
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his house and told his parents about what had happened.

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