Q: My girlfriend and I have been together for five years, we live together, are totally in love and partners in every sense. We are also ‘out’ to everyone – family, friends and jobs – for two years now and everyone has been accepting and awesome about it (including my girl’s family). My family is fine about it — except for my mom.
She is upset about the fact that I am a lesbian, won’t support or recognize my relationship or my girl, and is pretty ridiculously intolerant, in denial and hurtful about it all. We have had more fights about it than I care to think about. It helps that I live 5 states away from her and my family, but, situations are coming up (my girl and I are visiting my friends in my hometown this summer, my sister is getting married next spring, etc.) where I feel like the issue can’t just be pushed under the rug.
I talk about my girlfriend and my relationship all the time in my mom and my weekly chats so I am not ignoring the fact that my rlshp does exist. (Her comeback is usually an argument or stone cold silence.) I want to continue staying strong and stick up for my relationship and myself but, at the same time, I love my mom and don’t want to hurt her. I feel like I am going to have to make some tough decisions and ultimatums regarding upcoming situations and I don’t want to do that. Do you have any advice on how I can get my mom to come around – to at least respect me and my relationship? I am not looking for overwhelming support or acceptance, just common decency! (She is not the “read a pamphlet on how to accept your gay daughter” type of woman, either). Please help!
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