I had read the post "My Son is Gay," on the blog Nerdy Apple Bottom and loved it, having first become aware of it via Good As You. That was before it apparently went viral and was picked up by Salon and other large outlets. The post is written by a self-described "cop's wife" living in the Bible Belt and lets loose against smug, self-satisfied "Christians" who would demonize and torment a five year old boy simply because of his chosen Halloween costume. This wonderful mom goes off like a lioness and takes down her son's petty, hypocritical, Pharisee like critics and in the process condemns those who are a driving force for homophobia and anti-gay bigotry and bullying. And as she does so, she demonstrates wit and humor worthy of a drag queen that has her game full on. Bigotry and homophobia begin at home in families such as those of these "fine Christian women." Here are highlights from Salon's coverage of this enjoyable demonstration of what maternal love should be all about:*
This is how it's done, folks. When the Bible Belt blogger known as Nerdy Apple Bottom's 5-year-old son wanted to be Daphne from Scooby Doo for Halloween this year, she supported his costume choice, orange wig and pink boots and all. Because duh, it's Halloween; the point is to be somebody you're not.
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On Friday, the self-described "cop's wife" hinted about her child's experience at school that day on her blog by saying, "I am so proud of my brave little Daphne…. He had a few moments where he was worked up about people making fun of him, but mustered up the courage to go for it. He held his little orange wig high today," and "for those of you that looked at my sweet boy in disdain this morning, or looked at me funny for 'allowing' my son to be what he wanted to for Halloween, or made those snide and unnecessary comments -- your lives are small, your tact is lacking, and you can SUCK IT!"
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This week she expanded on the experience and the sentiment, with a warm, funny cri de coeur entitled "My son is gay." She went on: "Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you." Bada BING.
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It didn't take long for Nerdy Apple Bottom's eloquent, passionate post to start making making the rounds as a refreshing example of great parenting in action – and a sobering reminder that even the youngest boys and girls who stray outside the most rigid of gender expectations scare the crap out of a lot of people. In a pathetic, non Halloween-ish way.
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Though the inevitable handful of trolls has shown up in the blogger's comments, the response has been overwhelmingly supportive, positive and wildly enthusiastic. Think of it as nature's way of refreshing our faith in humanity after Clint McCance's notorious Facebook diatribe last week that "I would disown my kids they were gay. They will not be welcome at my home or in my vicinity. I will absolutely run them off."
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As the blogger herself says it, "If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is 'normal' and what is not, but to help him become a good person."
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