Today I've been having this thought that I've had on and off ever since Mateo was born. The gist:
In so many ways, we are the epitome of a regular, run-of-the-mill American family. We have two parents, two young children spaced about two years apart, and a cat. We own our home and one of us is gainfully employed while the other is a stay-at-home mom.
Our days, for the most part, are consumed with diapers and nap schedules and playdates and all the other little parts of raising kids. Our house is full of baby gear, our car is full of car seats, and our bed is less often occupied when it is dark than we would like. When we talk to our friends and family, it is most often about all these things. The fact that we are lesbians seems, in our liberal enclave, pretty much irrelevant. We are lucky, so lucky, to have incredibly open and supportive families and friends for whom our sexual orientations are a non-issue.
Given all that, it just seems so strange that there are people out there, and lots of them, who think we are unnatural and going to hell. That we are freaks. Who not only disapprove of us and want to keep their children away from us (and potentially take our children away as well), but who are actively working to make sure we can't get married and who hope we will lose the limited legal protections we do have.
It really is cognitive dissonance, because our lives seem so incredibly normal and yet there's this one part that's a big issue in many places. In fact, in most places. Sometimes when I'm changing a diaper or planning a playdate or trying once again to figure out how to get a little more sleep, I think "if only the religious right could see us now..." I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference, but maybe they'd realize the so-called lesbian lifestyle isn't quite as bad as they think if they saw what our daily lives are really like.
4 comments:
I just had to comment on this. I homeschool my kids and what does that typically bring with it? A LOT of Christian women who think they have a right to boycott and hate gay people and activities. I cannot tell you have many times I have gotten into a very heated arguement with one (or two) of these women over their ignorance. And that is just what it is ... ignorance!
Some of my closest friends when my son was born were lesbian. And I am grateful for what they brought into my life. Acceptance and love. I never saw their sexual orientation. I loved them for the people they were on the inside.
I commend you both! I can only imagine how hard it is at times to live in a world where you are more discriminated against than race. You are both so very lucky to have supportive families and friends. In the end that is what matters =) That and the love you share with each other and your precious children!
You have an amazing family and a beautiful, NORMAL life... Some people are just completely ignorant. They should be so lucky to have a life like yours!
I love this post. It really speaks to how we are just people and how we are so much more than the labels other people give us.
wait. you're lesbians?? ;)
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