Lately, it seems like a lot of my friends and I are going through the same thing: Our parents are getting older, and we have no idea how to deal with it. Most of us are queer, and many of us have had complicated relationships with our families, to say the least. That doesn't mean we don't want to be present and caring as our parents grow older — but it does mean we often lack the foundation of trust that some folks have.
It may seem like queer people are more out and proud than ever in American culture, and we don’t struggle for representation the same way we used to. LGBTQ+ characters on TV and in movies are increasingly common, corporations paint themselves every color of the rainbow to get at our wallets (during Pride Month, at least), and we even got a mainstream “bottom-friendly” food delivery menu this year. But while that all may be true, many queer folks still struggle to find acceptance from their families of origin.
