by Dr Lisa Nolland, Woman Alive
Dr. Lisa Nolland responds to a previous Great Sexpections question about a mother whose 11-year-old has come out, affirming the need for compassion while raising concerns about current cultural messages around youth and sexuality.
I read the Great Sexpectations question that an 11 year old has ‘come out’, leaving a family torn apart by the psychological nuclear bomb detonated in its midst. The pain is palpable. The Woman Alive advice columnist, another mother who had been through a similar situation, was reassuring. In fact, she had survived and gained much from this journey: ‘Your child is created in [God’s] image, wonderfully and uniquely, and loved beyond measure . You don’t have to have all the answers, just a heart that’s open’.
I agree! The first response is always loving compassion, which is how God treats us. That the lad felt able to tell his parents is positive, as well. For US ex-gay leader, Andrew Comiskey, ‘Painful as this moment is, (s)he is disclosing something deeply personal and painful … That is a gift’.
However, I still have reservations with the advice given to the Woman Alive reader.