* Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde Killerman also has some additional education resources and a link to his TEDx Talk on his website. He uses his own experiences in the book to help readers understand the important distinctions between gender identity, expression, and attraction. Killermann is straight but is often assumed gay because of his admittedly feminine tendencies in gender expression. This handbook is an entertaining, easy-to-follow primer on understanding the complexity of gender. If terms like nonbinary, intersex, and genderqueer leave you scratching your head, this is the book for you.
THE SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE’S HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO GENDER BY SAM KILLERMANN His studies led to the writing of this book and the founding of The Reformation Project, which champions LGBT inclusion in the church. Author Matthew Vines, a gay Christian himself, took a leave of absence from his studies at Harvard back in 2010 to research the Bible and same-sex relationships. But for Christians, this already emotional experience can be even more complex when considering how sexual identity and faith are interconnected. * God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vinesįor any parent, discovering that your child is gay can bring so many different feelings to the surface. The authors also have several helpful videos on YouTube if you want to explore more after reading the book. The book is filled with real-life examples from gay kids and their parents. It conveys a lot of very basic information in a question and answer format that serves as a good jumping-off point for parents who have recently had a child come out. This is a great introductory book for parents who are brand new to all things LGBT. NOTE: Books marked with an asterisk are #ownvoices Nonfiction * This Is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids: A Question & Answer Guide to Everyday Life by Danielle Owens-Reid and Kristin Russo While there are certainly many excellent and compassionate books written by straight/cis authors (a few are included here), it is certainly something to look for as you seek to learn more about your child’s experience as a member of the LGBT community. Since the majority of parents of LGBT kids do not share that identity with their children, it is especially important to hear stories that offer that added level of understanding. In making this list, I’ve highlighted as many #ownvoices authors as possible, meaning that most of these books are written by authors who are part of the LGBT community themselves. The books for children can be an invaluable resource in introducing younger family members and siblings to LGBT identities. You might even invite your teen to read along with you and discuss the books together. Reading young adult fiction provides a window into the types of situations and feelings your child may be experiencing. The memoirs allow you to see through the eyes of someone who has grown up knowing they were queer, and nonfiction is helpful to fill gaps in your knowledge. The list below contains a range of books that I’ve read myself and with our book club, and other titles were recommended to me by parents of LGBT kids and members of the LGBT community. By signing up you agree to our terms of use Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. You are feeling ALL the emotions, and you definitely have questions. Or maybe you have a gender-nonconforming 7-year-old and you’re not sure exactly what is going on. Or your college age daughter came home over fall break and came out as bisexual. Perhaps your teenage son told you that he is gay. Maybe today you are that bewildered parent (or grandparent, aunt, uncle, or teacher).
We weren’t quite sure how to help, didn’t understand the terminology, and were generally clueless. We were worried how others would treat them. But as my husband and I talked alone, we admitted that we felt uninformed and completely out of our depth. We are so grateful that our child felt safe to share those conversations and realizations with us along the way.Īt first, we just focused on making sure that our child was loved and accepted, and we tried to listen and to understand. Sometimes coming out it is a decisive declaration, but for our gender-questioning kid, coming out looked more like a meandering process of discovery. National Coming Out Day is this week, and I have found myself recalling when my own child came out a few years back.