She Just Wanted to Share Her Life with Her Parents—Until Their Deep-Seated Bigotry Ruined Every Attempt
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It’s easy to say that every child has a different upbringing. Because every family is different, and each parent raises their children in a different way, as is their prerogative so long as they’re following the law. But even within families, each child can be raised differently, with a whole host of factors including the child’s gender, birth order, and personality affecting the ways that their parents relate to them and the way they are consequently raised.
And for the girl in this story, another factor is at play here: her sexuality. And since she has homophobic parents, despite coming out to them and having had a girlfriend, she is forced to censor herself at home, with her parents suggesting that talking about her sexuality is in some way a threat to their youngest child, a son. But naturally the inquisitive child is asking questions, which is getting the girl into even more trouble.
Read on to find out why.
AITA for telling my six-year-old brother about my “long-lost girlfriend”?
My parents love me, but they are casually homophobic. My mom makes remarks about my sexuality, and my dad aggressively turns off the TV if there is any LGBTQ+ representation.
A few years ago, I got my first girlfriend. It was short-lived but important to me.
My older sister is allowed to openly talk about her boyfriend, so when my then-girlfriend came over, I wanted to introduce her to my younger brother.
I explained it simply: “You know how our sister likes her boyfriend? That’s how I like my girlfriend.”
Read on to find out how this went down with the family.
He didn’t care and quickly forgot. But my parents found out I told him and were furious.
Months later, my brother and I were on a walk playing I spy, telling stories about the object we spied.
I pointed out a bench where my ex and I used to sit. He asked, “Did you kiss?” in a cheeky way.
I said yes, but told him not to tell mom and dad because I didn’t want to make them mad.
Of course, this didn’t work out.
Because he is six, he immediately told them. My parents blew up again.
Their rules are that he is too young to understand and it’s “confusing.”
They say that they will tell him when it comes up naturally, and that he is their kid to raise.
To keep the peace, I agreed not to bring it up again.
But things weren’t that simple.
Now, my brother affectionately refers to my ex as my “long-lost girlfriend.”
Whenever he brings her up, I shut it down and say, “I can’t talk about that with you,” which honestly feels more confusing to a kid than just normalizing it.
Today, my brother was asking my mom questions about anatomy and reproduction.
He randomly asked her, “How will [my name] have a baby with her girlfriend?”
And things kicked off with her mom again as a result.
My mom came to me, accusing me of bringing it up again. I told her I hadn’t talked about it (I didn’t). She doubled down that the concept is “too confusing” and blamed my perspective on TikTok.
I worry about how my brother is being raised around casual homophobia and bigotry.
I’ve previously cried to my mom because I’m terrified my family won’t attend my future wedding because it’s “too confusing,” but she just brushed it off saying everyone will be older by then.
I’m just trying to exist and be normal like my sister.
AITA?
There is nothing wrong or inappropriate about the way that she is discussing her sexuality with her brother.
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The only reason that this is becoming a problem is because of her parents’ homophobic views and censorship.
In the end love is love, and that is quite simple to kids who don’t care or question it – they only start to when they learn to from the adults around them.
Let’s see what the Reddit community had to say about this.
This person thought that her parents were the only problem here.
While others thought that she needed to get out as soon as she could.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mother who thinks it’s the school’s job to discipline her unruly child, not hers.
Meanwhile, this Redditor thought she was doing the best she could.
It’s perfectly normal to want to talk about your significant other with your family, whether that person is a man, a woman, neither or both. Because it doesn’t matter who or what that person it, it matters that you care for them and they are important to you. And since this girl had witnessed her older sister bring her boyfriend home, introduced him to the family and talked about him openly, she naturally wanted to do the same with her girlfriend.
The double standards only exist in this family because her parents are homophobic. And while they might think that they are in some way ‘protecting’ their young son, all they are doing is censoring normal, loving relationships and effectively controlling their son and his opinions. He has only normal questions for a child to ask, and now he’s learning that he shouldn’t ask certain questions or he’ll risk getting his sister into trouble. That is not a safe environment for a child to grow up in – but that’s his parents’ fault, not his sister’s.
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