Same Sex Marriage
 

Australia is currently being faced with the same sex marriage debate & I am finding it an ugly place to be.....

Yesterday I was spat on because I had a rainbow bracelet on my wrist...I've been followed around by people of faith calling me & my friends both straight & gay faggots....Tv commercials comparing same sex couples to paedophilia, our children to the stolen generation & told they are not from a normal family & are being neglected...Streets lined with horrible posters everywhere...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/882...x4-340x453.jpg

As an adult I was able to mostly just turn a blind eye to it & ignore their ignorance, however it's struck me hard when my daughter asked me if she was normal because everyone was staring at her because of me & it got me thinking how she must be viewing all this from her eyes.......

I wanted to see how others coped going through this sort of thing, what resources you found helpful, how did you explain this to your children to help them understand why people are saying this about their family? Did you stop wearing anything that was rainbow related so society couldn't identify you as LGBTIQ? Any books that you found helped explain things a little better?

I have closely followed your struggle for equality, and have been appalled by the hate you are facing.

We struggled for decades, and we had to drag the country forward kicking and screaming the whole way...we are STILL fighting the fight, especially from the religious right. You would think that people following God, and given the commandment to "love thy neighbor as thyself", would be the ones fighting FOR us, instead of hoping we die. :blink:

In answer to your questions:

1. Tell people you meet that you are gay, talk to your family, talk to your neighbors, get in their face- not in a hateful way, but in a way to show them you are a human.

2. Children are resilient, keep telling her she is normal and that nothing you do or are is a reflection on her and her identity. Check your bookstore/library/gay center for books geared towards children. Above all show her love and compassion towards those that hate, remind her that people often feel bad about themselves so they try to make others feel as bad.

Hang in there...this fight is not going away, even if you gain equality under the law. However, as time goes on and the world doesn't end, it will become easier to be out and proud.

It's sad that someone would do that to you. I empathize with you.

Usually when someone treats others badly (be it online or in the 'real' world), it means that person doesn't like themselves on the inside. People who are balanced and content with themselves won't be hateful to others. And if they dislike someone, they'll think it in their mind, but not act it out with words.

I hope you can take comfort in knowing these mean people's behavior indicates they don't like themselves on the inside. This is what a psychologist told me about people who act like this. They're the ones who are needing therapy, and will hopefully get educated on people like us.

I don't have any children so I can't give advice on that. Perhaps if your city has a counseling center for LGBT, or a therapist who is LGBT, you could start there.

Deborah