It's not uncommon among the LGBTQ+ community to hear stories from those who identify as queer about parents or family members who don't support their 'lifestyle' (as some refer to it) due to the parent's personal beliefs or upbringing. Since June is Pride Month, we wanted to showcase some of the parents that choose to support their children by marching in pride parades with them.
Attending a Pride event, of course, is not the only way to support and celebrate with your children. It's one of many, but it could be the most colorful option!
Gender Creative CJ
Lori Duron shared this photo to her Twitter account @RaisingRainbow from Orange County's 2018 Pride of her son CJ. CJ was elected as the Grand Marshal, making him the youngest to ever be given that position in 48 years of Pride history.
Lori's son CJ identifies as gender nonconforming, or 'gender creative' as Lori refers to him in her book Raising My Rainbow, which is a memoir about her and her family's adventures raising a gender creative child.
Free Mom Hugs
Twitter user and YouTube personality Aaron Rhodes received a lot of support after tweeting out pictures of his "special weekend celebrating pride with mom" in June 2017. Both Aaron and his twin brother Austin identify as gay, coming out in January 2015.
Fans online were particularly proud of Aaron's mom who wore a shirt that said 'Free Mom Hugs,' commenting on the fact that not all members of the queer community are accepted by their parents and that they appreciated her dedication to the community, not just to her sons.
Supportive CIS-ter
For the 2018 Toronto Pride, this attendee had their whole family by their side as their mother father and sister chose to walk with them. The focal point of this family photo is that every family member chose to put one keyword on their sign: supportive.
Cisgender is a term for those who identify with the sex that they were born as and this walker's sister chose to use that as a play on words, labeling herself as a supportive CIS-ter.
Equality March for Unity and Pride
Theo Hunt shared this photo to Facebook, praising their mom who drove from Indiana to Washington, DC to celebrate their first Pride since coming out.
The mother and child attended the Equality March for Unity and Pride in DC in June of 2017, which is meant to address the concerns about the current political landscape for LGBTQ people, and give allies of the queer community the opportunity to show their support. Equality marches were hosted in DC as well as throughout the US that year.
LGBTQ+ Ally
Twitter user @Matt_Kroschel tweeted out pictures in 2017 of his mom setting the example for what it means to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
When his home town of Salida, Colorado hosted their first ever Pride event, he wasn't able to be there, but Kroschel's mom was. She volunteered her time to attend the event and work the Pride Flag table, regardless of if her son was there or not, to show her support for him.
