André, Age 4, Baton Rouge, La. (1972)
From The Huffington Post Gay Voices:
The picture of André with the little pink purse is adorable. André's story is bittersweet. He found the picture above as he was looking through an old photo album and showed it to his mother. His mother commented that his sister was really cute at that age. André told his mom that it was his picture rather than his sister's, and she said nothing and turned the page. Sadly, André's parents never came to understand what it meant for him to be gay.
I laughed out loud when I came to this part of André's story:
In my 12 years of Catholic schooling, just about every report card included the comment, "André is a sensitive boy." That was Catholic school code for "gay as a daisy."André goes on to say:
It was tough growing up "sensitive," and the journey was never easy. It was worth it, though. I can now say I love who I am, and I love the life I've built for myself.Read the entire story. It's not long, and you won't be sorry. Be sure to look at the pictures of other children in the slide show at the link. A few are hilarious. If being gay is a choice, and sensible people know it is not, then the choice is made early on.
I love that I've learned to honor and protect that sensitive, little boy with the pink Easter purse and black galoshes.
Thanks to Roger for the link.
