Tuesday, April 18, 2006

One Gay Dad's Take on Easter Egg Roll at WH

Terrance in DC is a gay father who attended the Easter Egg Roll at the WH w/his hubby and their son. I linked to his post about the event at his blog, The Republic of T, b/c I especially agreed w/this part: " ...it wasn’t like were going there to protest, yell slogans, wave signs, etc. We went to roll some eggs w/ our kids, and that’s what we did. That's what mystified me about the people who said "I don’t see why they have to do this at a kids’ event." "I don’t think they should politicize a family event." Um. We’re families w/ kids. The reality is that anything we do as gay families w/ any degree of visibility is politicized. So if they weren’t objecting to our presence or participation, then all that’s left to object to is our visibility. And, as I discovered in the line to enter the gates, just by being visible as families we can make a difference in how people think about our families... If there was any hostility on the part of the non-gay parents at the event, I didn’t sense it. I overheard 1 of the non-gay dads say this about the families wearing the rainbow leis: "I think it’s fine. It's great. It just ads a little extra color to the day." Did this guy just reassure his wife & kids that it’s OK if gay parents and their kids roll eggs on the WH lawn? Maybe that it’s OK that gay couples have kids? Well, that was kinda the pt of the whole exercise. So, from my perspective it was a success before we even made it to the WH lawn." Well Terrance, this hetero mommy, wife & pre-school teacher thinks that it just may be a success too if that is what people take away from the experience. Families are comprised of all kinds of people, and as long as kids are loved, cared for & not abused, I don't give a rat's ass who the kid's caregivers are. I now hope others realize that, too.
Posted by Tina :: 12:26 AM :: 3 Comments:

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