Falling in love without fear
Will we still be victimising a minority a generation from now?
IHOPE my children grow up in a society where gay marriage is not only legal, but accepted as part of the norm.
And as I believe it is only a matter of time before Australia moves into the 21st Century on this topic, I figure they may as well just rip the Band-Aid off and go for it now.
But this isn’t about me, it’s about the next generation, and how they will hopefully be free of those labels and constraints, free to not only fall in love with who they want, but to marry them as well.
So when Miss Three and Master Five were playing families with some friends, I was delighted when Master Five asked “but mum, boys can marry boys and girls can marry girls, can’t they?”. Without even thinking, I said “yes, of course they can”. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I thought, “oh, that’s not actually true… yet”. I thought about explaining it, but figured that might do more damage than good.
I want them to grow up knowing they can fall in love with whoever they want, without fearing retribution from those with small minds.
When they bring someone home to meet me, I want them to be able to introduce them as their partner – I don’t care what sex they are. I don’t think there needs to be a “coming out’’ conversation, if that’s the way things go. I just want them to be free of judgment and fear of their life choices.
So I’m hoping my white lie will be irrelevant well before it could possibly become an issue.
However, if I’m wrong, and Australia continues to stick its
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS LEGALLY RECOGNISED IN 22 COUNTRIES, WITH MORE IN THE PIPELINE
I don’t think there needs to be a ‘coming out’ conversation, if that’s the way things go
head in the sand, I fear for the next generation. What are we teaching them when we continue to discriminate against a minority? And when they discover the fight has been ongoing for decades, will that result in doom and despair for the minority and only reinforce the current position of the majority? Or will they still carry on the same fight, in the hope that one day if they have kids, their children need not be concerned with the same battle scars of previous generations.