When My Son Met His 'Boyfriend,' Darren Criss

[TotallyOz]

Such a sweet story. Read this when you have time.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Amelia/when-my-son-met-his-boyfriend-darren-criss_b_3413346.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity&ir=Celebrity

[kokopelli]

I never heard of Daren Criss so had to google his name; now I want to be his boyfriend. Thank you Michael.

[Guest fountainhall]

If you click on that link in the Huff Post article posted by Michael, you'll read more of this story of Amelia's son. I commend her for her openness and honesty, but there is something more here which I find a little strange. Here's part of the rest of the pre Darren Criss story -
 

Six months ago "gay" wasn't even a word in my son's vocabulary. He has always known that some of our male friends are married to men and some of our female friends to women, and it is such a normal part of his life that he never needed a special word to describe them. When he did notice the word and asked what it meant, I told him that when boys want to marry boys and girls want to marry girls, we call that "gay." He didn't seem very interested and quickly went off to do something else more exciting than a vocabulary lesson with his mom.

 

Fast-forward a few months. I was on the phone with a relative who had just discovered that I was blogging on The Huffington Post and openly discussing my son's crush on Blaine. I was in another room alone (I thought), explaining, "We're not saying he's straight, and we're not saying he's gay. We're saying we love who he is," when my son's voice piped up behind me.

 

"Yes, I am," he said.
"Am what, baby?" I asked.
"Gay. I'm gay."

 

My world paused for a moment, and I saw the "geez, Mom, didn't you know that already?" look on my son's face. I got off the phone and leaned down to eye level with him and rubbed my nose against his. "I love you so much." "I know," he said, and ran off to play with his brothers.

 

Since that day, any time the word "gay" has come into conversation, he has happily announced to those around him, "I'm gay!" He says this very naturally and happily, the same way he announces other things that he likes about himself. Mention that a person is tall and he'll quickly add, "I'm tall!" If he hears the word "Legos," barely a second passes before he says, "Legos. I love Legos." Saying "I'm gay" is his way of telling people: this is something I like about myself.

 

It's amazing, but it's also shocking. How many people have a 7-year-old come out to them? A lot of people don't know how to react, and I don't blame them. Before my son, I'd never met a child who came out this young -- and we don't know anyone else who has. The mere idea of children having a sexual orientation makes people uncomfortable. It's something we don't think about (or just don't like to).

But here's the thing: straight children have nothing to announce. Straight is the assumption. No one bats an eye at a little girl with a Justin Bieber poster in her bedroom, or when little girls love playing wedding with little boys every chance they get. If our sexual orientation is simply part of who we are, why wouldn't it be there in our elementary years?

 

I've heard from countless adults who say they knew that they were gay as young as kindergarten but lacked the language to talk about it. And in most cases, they knew it was something wrong that they should hide. Because gay people are part of my son's everyday life, he has the vocabulary, and it has never occurred to him there is anything wrong with it.

 

I agree with a lot of what she says, especially about straight children. But she makes what I think is an overly and probably inaccurate assertion that her 7-year old son is gay. Can a 7-year old liking the idea of being gay really be "Saying "I'm gay" is his way of telling people: this is something I like about myself"?

 

I like it that she is open to giving her son choices. But was her son really "coming out" to her? Liking being tall or liking lego is hardly the same as liking being gay! How can a 7-year old know? How can any guy 'know' that crushes may be merely that until the testosterone starts playing havoc with his thoughts and his body? A crush on a TV star is one thing. But can all that add up to a true assertion of sexuality?

[KhorTose]

I agree, seven is too young for any parent to tag their children.  i doubt the boy has any idea of what he is talking about but is responding to some clues that come from his mother.  On the other, hand I have heard many Thais tell me their folks knew they were gay at an early age.  As for me, I need to see a control study before I will buy a seven year old knows anything about his sexuality other then the basic male, female.

[TotallyOz]

I had my first "boyfriend" when I was 5 and he was 7. It lasted over 10 years. I did know at an early age I was not attracted to women.

 

BTW: I do love Darren Criss too and want him to be my boyfriend.

[williewillie]

Sweet. I remember liking boys when young but think I was around 12 when it was sexual

interest.

[TotallyOz]

Yeah, I think when I was 5 or so, it was a bit of fooling around but mostly silly stuff. The older we got, the more things progressed.

 

It is funny, that we both grew up in Alabama (bastion of hatred) and yet we are both gay and living with BF's. Of course, I am out to my family but he is just "living with" his business partner for 20 years. LOL