Parent Pressure
By Andrew Pitek
I came across this video on youtube after having the lecture from the guest speaker. His story about how his family reacted to his coming out got me wondering about the things people go through when finding out that they are homosexual. This video is a video blog by a young lesbian. She discusses a bit about her childhood life, which was greatly influenced by Christianity. She attended mass every Sunday, Church camp, and other Christian related events, and was raised to be a good Christian by her parents. The ideals of not having sex before marriage, marrying a man, and having a family were a constant influence in her life. Most of us are influenced by these hetero-normative ideals as well, and we have had this image of heterosexuality as the only form sexuality that is considered ‘right’, embedded in our heads. This young woman attempted to fulfill the expectations that her family and society have laid out for her, by dating men and having some kind of relationship with them. However, she had never felt a sense of attraction to them, and soon came to realize her true sexual identity. She has not told her parents, and does not know how she will be able to do it, for she fears that their relationship will change. I find that the most difficult thing for people that have a sexual identity outside the hetero-normative realm is to confront their parents, because of the fear of disappointment. Being raised, loved, and cared by someone your entire life, and then having to disappoint them and alter the relationship one has with them, is something almost no one wants to go through. Watching this video shows, even for heterosexual people, how much pressure there is in satisfying the wishes of ones parents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjLTGbxPNC8
