Last week a good friend of mine called me because she needed advice. Her daughter had just come out to her. She’s 9.
My friend shared that she was looking for resources on how to help her daughter feel safe and loved. She mentioned that her daughter wasn’t comfortable telling the entire family yet and that she had promised her they wouldn’t share this with anyone until she was ready. And how that opened a whole new conversation about how it isn’t lying if you don’t tell people, and that she isn’t obligated to share that with anyone.
I couldn’t help myself, I cried. I cried, and I tried to explain how much I value her as a human.
Her response gave me so much hope. But at the same time my heart broke for her daughter. For all the, let’s just call it what it is - trauma, that she will face as a lesbian in our society.
It breaks for the fact that this 9 year old is already aware enough to know that her love is not acceptable to some people, and that those people might not respond kindly when they find out who she is. And it breaks for the fact that she is only just starting to learn what that really looks like... I wish I could protect her from the kind of hate that comes with our brand of love.
