A mom is going viral for the sweet and simple way she responded to her son coming out. The son recently took to Reddit to share screenshots of a conversation he had with his mom when he told her that he is gay. “Mom, I’ve got a question,” the boy writes in the text message to his mom. “…How would you feel about your son being gay?”
The mom only needed one word to respond: “Fine.”
Her no-nonsense and instantly accepting response has warmed the hearts of dozens of other Reddit users who saw the post. “You have a great mom,” one person writes. “Congrats on coming out!”
“Just ‘fine’ is probably the funniest response I can imagine, but I’m still happy for you,” another person adds.
Many people are grateful to see such a positive coming out story. They also want to know if the mom had anything else to say following her one word response. In several follow-up posts, the son shared other screenshots of his mom telling him she loves him and asking him if he wants to talk more. He also confided in her that he’s worried about sharing his truth with other family members, and she reassured him that he’s supported.
“You certainly bring me joy,” she adds. “I love you! Thank you for sharing with me.”
Coming out is a deeply personal experience. Unfortunately, not everyone’s experience looks like this Redditor’s. In the comments, several people mention being worried about coming out to their parents or facing rejection from the people they love the most.
“Always good to see positive reactions like this,” one person writes. “I’m bisexual and was so scared of my mum and dad pushing me away because of my sexuality. I cried while I told my mum out of fear. Her response was she didn’t care who I liked, that’s my business and it doesn’t affect her love for me. My dad said the same. Reading through these texts gave me such joy.”
A 2017 review of data on family acceptance of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) youth found that nearly a third of those who come out to their parents may experience some form of rejection. Parental rejection is correlated with a greater risk of mental health issues and identity struggles. Conversely, family support is associated with greater self-esteem and social support, less depression and a better general health status overall.
The screenshots shared on Reddit are one example of how parents can respond to their kids coming out with love and acceptance. The texts prove that it doesn’t take a grand gesture or big speech to let kids know you’re in their corner. Whether you respond with one word or a whole paragraph, the most important thing is affirming kids’ identities and showing them they have support.
