I found this picture floating around in the sea of Internets. That kid is freaking adorable. Is it bad to say that I might be slightly disappointed if my kid ends up being straight? Hahah, totally kidding.. kind of.
Anyway, I find this story to be consistent with recent trends in the homosphere (<- Yes, I just made that up, patent now!) It appears that kids are self-aware and coming out of the closet at younger and younger ages in very recent years. A lot of us "older" gays (relatively speaking, of course) are confused by this, as many of us did not come out until the 17-23 range or much MUCH later in a lot of cases.
I think that this change is due to the environment in which today's children are growing up. I am so happy to see this: every time I turn around, it is more and more socially acceptable to be gay. If you had nothing to hide, be afraid of, or feel ashamed of, I guess I don't see why someone would suppress themselves. I was going to use my own personal experiences for examples, but I'm finding it extremely difficult. It's a time of my life that is so repressed in my mind, full of self-shame and confusion as to why I was different than everyone else. I.. I'm really actually having a difficult time just dwelling on it with my thoughts. Moving on, I guess.
Anyway, when I was growing up, being called "gay" was the worst insult that could be thrown at you. As you might be able to imagine, I was subject to this on a daily basis. I wonder if this idea is finally beginning to fade out among the younger generations of today. That would be so wonderful, if straight children and gay children could grow up side-by-side in a completely accepting society.
No parent wants their child to be faced with adversity. Adversity, however, is a fact of life that most everyone experiences. I think that many parents have previously not wanted their children to be gay for this reason. They would discourage their children from doing things that could lead to them being perceived as gay. Nowadays diversity is so celebrated that being a homosexual child may not seem like such a bad thing.
All of this is complete speculation, as I am not a parent, nor a child. I do think we will continue to see trends as exemplified by the above picture, and I am elated that the United States may actually be able to provide a safe, nurturing atmosphere for gay children and/or children of gay parents. I'm really thankful for my parents being so loving and accepting of me as their son. It wasn't always so easy, but I think we can all agree that it's what we do today that really counts.