It's been a bit since I've written for the awesome SexIs Social Crowd. Along with my own site, I've been busy with other life type things. For example, I came out to my mom about being Pansexual. See I have this process that works really well for me when it comes to my family. I'll introduce a new idea or concept and then I'll let it sit for awhile and then I'll come back to it when I think they are ready to talk about it again. Which is what I did with my mom.
About 2 month ago I introduced the concept of Pansexuality to her. I explained that Pansexuality is an attraction to all gender types and identities. We then talked about the concept a bit more, and then I let the topic rest for a bit. Then last week I decided it was time to approach the topic again, only this time I would come out to my mom as Pansexual. See I already knew what the outcome would be; I know my mom loves me no matter what. I know that she will accept me as I am and she will always be there any way she can for me.
However that doesn't mean this wasn't a nerve racking experience, it totally was for me. There is always that unknown quantity. People don't always respond the way you expect them to, and sometimes things turn out badly no matter what you try to do. So I sat down with my mom and I started talking to her again about Pansexuality and what it really means to me. She sat there and listened and we discussed it like adults should talk about things, not with moral ambiguity and not trying to force our points of view down each others throats. We simply talked about it, and she asked questions and then she did what every single parent on the planet should do.
She told me that she loved me no matter what, and she told me that she accepted me regardless of how she might feel about my life choices. She told me that she understands that I was never going to be what society defines as normal. We hugged and frankly it was a relief to get that out of the way. I knew my mom is pretty fucking awesome, and I knew she would accept me no matter what, however it isn't that way for everyone. A lot of people come out as Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Queer, Bisexual or what have you. Their families kick them out, disown them, abuse them, and in some cases in several countries people are killed for being who they were born to be.
When we have an entire political party out to restrict our rights to happiness, or make it unlawful to marry the person that we love, is it any wonder so many people keep their sexual orientation to themselves, in some cases never coming out about who they are for fear they might be hurt or abandoned by their family? I'm a fairly simple guy, I think people should be free to be who they are and should be allowed to find their happiness no matter where that might lead them.
I know how lucky I am to have a parent that simply accepts me for me. I'm very grateful for my mom, and for the way she has accepted me and my path in life. Do we always agree on things? No we don't, but then we wouldn't have anything to talk about if we agreed on everything. I really feel that the time has come that parents, regardless of their personal beliefs, start to just accept their kids the way they are, even if they go down a different path than what you had imagined for them. I mean isn't a parent supposed to love unconditionally?