SPOTLIGHT
Ortiz admits to some trepidation at various stages of his childhood in regard to how friends would react when they found out that he had two mothers. Would they think he was gay? How would girlfriends react? Would people not want to be his friend anymore? He credits his parents for giving him the advice and encourage- ment to navigate these challenges and for helping him become the “proud straight man” that he is today. Although children of queer parents do face some challenges, strictly as a result of society’s prejudice rather than due to any inherent dysfunction of the same-sex parent dynamic, popular culture is helping to raise society’s awareness. Just as Will & Grace, MTV’s The Real World and other shows helped change people’s perceptions of gays and lesbians, new shows are cur- rently exposing audiences to non-traditional families with same-sex parents. On Glee, Rachel Berry is the daughter of two dads. Her family is even multicultural as one of her dads is black and the other is white. Yet Rachel is shown to be a perfectly well adjusted teenager... some might even say that she is TOO well adjusted, with perhaps a slightly elevated opinion of herself, but she’s certainly not big- oted, ashamed of her upbringing or afraid to talk plainly about the issue. In the show, the character’s background is simply handled in a matter of fact way and not dwelled upon. Meanwhile ABC’s Modern Family portrays the trials
and tribulations of having and raising children, includ- ing the story of Mitch and his partner Cameron who are raising baby Lily. Again, one of the best aspects of this show is that it is not a “gay show” that could turn off or at least not appeal to a non-gay audience. Instead, the gay couple and their child are but one part of the large extended family portrayed in the show. Furthermore, real-world LGBT stars are opening up about their families. Ricky Martin had twin boys with a surrogate mother, Sarah Gilbert and her partner have two children together and Neil Patrick Harris and his partner had twins via a surrogate.
Protect the children? From what? Loving parents who want them? A well adjusted childhood?
ALLY SHEEDY: Actress JOE VALENTINE: MLB pitcher ANNE HECHE: Actress 54 RAGE monthly | APRIL 2011
“The struggles that typically come from having a LGBT parent are not because the parents are LGBT, but because the children hear messages everyday that people question the validity of their families. This is understandably wearing and frustrating, but it is not the result of parents being LGBT. It is the result of living in a homophobic society.
FAMOUS CHILDREN OF LGBT PARENTS
” RENE RUSSO: Actress STEVE FORBES: Publisher 50 CENT: Musician
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