This site best viewed at a resolution of  800 X 600  using MS Internet Explorer (download now)

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays

WILL I BE ACCEPTED?

THE SHORT ANSWER: Some people will accept you and some won't.

"I was afraid until I found the phone number for a gay help line. I was happy to find other people in town who were gay."

Prejudice and discrimination are everywhere in North America and around the world. There are different kinds of prejudice against people of colour, women, men, older people, youth, against any group you can name. Women weren't legally considered to be persons and therefore could not vote, hold or inherit property in Canada until 1929 when five Alberta women (The Famous Five) fought for legal recognition as persons. It takes time to overcome prejudice and change attitudes.

If you're gay, lesbian or bisexual, you're going to run into prejudice. Our society has a "heterosexual assumption". In the past we have been taught - by our families, our schools, our religions and the media - to assume that everyone is straight and we're often influenced to discriminate against those who aren't. That false "assumption" has now begun to change to a great degree.

The prejudice you run into could be fairly mild, like people assuming you're straight when you're not and offending or silencing your with their mistake. It could be much worse. Both gay and straight people are at risk for being beaten up or bashed. Gays and lesbians may be kicked out of their homes or fired from their jobs because of their family's or employers oppressive old beliefs. In Alberta, uninformed persons in the provincial government refused to include 'sexual orientation' in its human rights legislation for many years, refusing to update themselves on their old stereotypes which kept them in fear of something which has always been part of healthy families, communities, churches, etc. They even went to court at taxpayer's expense to fight against including it. In April 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Alberta must include protection against 'sexual orientation discrimination' in the Human Rights Act. Premier Ralph Klein stated that his government will abide by the Court's decision.

People often fear what they don't understand and hate what they fear. That's the basis of prejudice and when it's aimed at gay and lesbian persons, it's called "homophobia".

Homophobia is being challenged, however, as more and more people are learning that being gay is normal and healthy. Attitudes are starting to change partly because gay people - like women, Jews and people of colour did before them - are beginning to stand up and say, "I'm gay and I'm proud". Attitudes are changing also because other people are standing up with gay men, lesbians and bisexuals to say, "These people are my friends, my children, my brothers or my sisters - and I'm proud of them and I love them, and as decent people they do not deserve to be treated with disrespect."

Previous	Next
[Before Coming Out to your Parents] [Be Yourself] [Our Daughters and Sons] [About Our Children] [Definitions Used]

Where would you like to go?
A new window will open

[ PFLAG Canada ] [ PFLAG USA ] [ NRPride ]