Uhm, I have the coolest mom and dad in the entire world. I’m pretty much in awe of them. I was pretty much raised by Cyndi Lauper and I don’t know who my dad would be my dad is just like this complete rock of awesomeness. My parents joined PFLAG because they wanted to be in the pride parade and I was like you can’t just be in the pride parade you have to be a part of something and she was like, “Well maybe I’ll be a PFLAG mom!” and I was like “okay, cool.” Lo and behold she’s like one of the main PLFAG people in Canada now. She runs the phone hotlines, she speaks at corporate events and other families and my dad’s right there with her. Last year was the year that we marched together in the parade in Toronto and my dad had a big sign that said, you know “I love my gay son” and my mom had a sign that had the support line on it and you know, “Love makes a family” and I first had a sign that said “I tolerate my heterosexual parents.” See I thought it was funny! People didn’t get it. I was like “Fine, I’m making a statement. So it said, “My parents rock.”
So we’re marching, it was a hot summer’s day and the crowd just lost their shit – of all the shirtless guys with their muscle bodies and the topless women, people respond the most vocally to PLAG – it’s just us, it’s just people with their parents and their friends and their family. And it’s really, really, really emotional – a lot of people crying on the sidelines just kind of smiling and crying kind of living vicariously through us in that moment whether it’s for parents who aren’t supportive or that are supportive but can’t be there.
But I think it really helped people out to see that there are people of all shapes and sizes, religious backgrounds and ethnicities supporting their family and then kids supporting their gay parents, there’s that too, it’s really great. And people just cheering us on and hugging us on the sidelines and I don’t think I smiled harder in my entire life, like, perma-dimples. It’s really great. It’s my favorite day in the world. It’s like gay Christmas!
Share