I was reminded today that being gay is still not OK in everyone's minds and hearts. Whilst I strive for the full recognition of same sex relationships people are still struggling with the very basic right of acceptance and tolerance from their very only families.
A friend of a friend from the country who has been living in Sydney this last year was told in no uncertain terms that he is not welcome back home this Christmas.
I was really horrified when I heard this and felt so sorry for him. Knowing that this very gentle soul is being pushed away from his family all because he had the fortune of being born gay.
He will be fine, he has friends around and will most definitely not be alone for Christmas. But this reminded me of something far more fundamental about being gay and friends and family.
Many many many years ago (and I mean that seriously many years ago), my very first boyfriend's flatmate told me that he and Micheal (my then boyfriend) were 'family'. Not family in the sense of being related by blood, but they were family in the sense of looking out for one another, dropping everything if the other needed them and just being there.
It was very common back in the eighties for gay people to describe their friends as families in this way. For many back then they had been thrown out of home, shunned by blood relatives, lost jobs, lost friends & lovers to HIV / AIDS and in return they created tight families of friends.
Both the boy and I are really very lucky that our families love us very much and share our lives with us. On Christmas Day we will spend the day with our families all together during the day and then at night we will see our 'other family'.
So this Christmas think about who your 'family' is and enjoy your families on many levels.Labels: general life