There’s a lot to be stressed about during back to school season — supplies, clothes shopping, meeting new teachers, and signing up for the PTA. However, for LGBT parents they have to add another stress to their list of back to school worries — coming out.
See with every new school year comes new teachers, new classmates, and new parents. It’s not always easy explaining to other parents that you’re a two-dad family or a single lesbian mom, and sometimes it can get downright frustrating as The Next Family shows in their most recent YouTube Video, “Back to School (LGBT Parents Spoof).”
In the video, Brandy Black, editor-in-chief of The Next Family, shows how many parents in LGBT households have to come out to principals, PTA members, teachers, and even classmates’ parents. Many assume, in the video, that Brandy is married to a man, and she has to constantly refute these assumptions and explain that she’s part of a two-mom family. Like any parent, the stress of the back to school season and explaining her family to others gets the best of Brandy.
Though coming out during back to school season to your children’s school community might seem unnecessary, it can actually be quite helpful to your children’s educational experience as Brandy and Susan discussed in a previous video, “Back to School: How to Talk to Teachers About Your Family.”
As Susan notes, “If suddenly it’s Mother’s Day and you [are] two dads, you’re jacked.” She explains that it’s important to speak with teachers about your family at the beginning of the year, so that when situations with families arise, teachers and administrators will be aware that families are far more diverse these days and will respect and accommodate children from different households.
“It’s all about a conversation. Oftentimes they’re sort of intimidated by working with families they’ve never worked with before,” says Brandy. She adds, “But it’s just an open conversation. And another thing that we really believe in is volunteering at the school so that your kids don’t have to come out to other kids and other parents. The only way you can do that is by being present.”
For more tips on going back to school as LGBT parents check out the video below.
Alex Temblador lives in Dallas and is a writer for The Next Family and Fempotential.
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