When any kid begins dating, it can be a little weird for parents. It’s one of those unmistakable signs that your baby is growing up. Your child is going off into the world in a different way. They’re making strong emotional connections that have nothing to do with you. They may be (gulp!) doing sexual […]
Why Are Gender Pronouns Changing?
You may have heard people talking about their “preferred gender pronoun.” Or noticed the trend to using “they” or “their” (rather than “he,” “his,” “she,” or “her”) to refer to a single individual. What’s going on? Why the fuss about pronouns? Why mess with the English language? If you or someone close to you is […]
Parenting an LGBTQ Kid in Volatile Times
If your child is (or might be) transgender, gay, or another sexual minority, these are challenging times. Announcements out of Washington seem to be dialing back legal progress and social acceptance for the LGBTQ community. Recent tweets about transgender people in the military are just one part of a pattern that can be unsettling for […]
What to Say When Your Kid Comes Out
It’s one of those conversations that’s always a watershed moment. When someone is gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise LGBTQ, there comes a time to tell the family. I’ve never met an LGBTQ person for whom this conversation was no big deal. For most, it’s somewhere between anxiety-producing and terrifying. Will they hate me? shame me? […]
TalkStarter for Teens: LGBTQ Then and Now
One of the things that strikes me when I talk to young adults is their matter-of-factness about gender identity and especially sexual orientation. They are unfazed about many LGBTQ topics–in a way that would have been unimaginable 30 years ago. This gives parents an opening for some interesting conversations. At the large suburban high school […]