I met Cassy (pronounced Casey) Ellsworth a few months ago in a college class. We immediately clicked because of our energetic and outgoing personalities. Not too long after meeting her, I learned that she was a lesbian.
I had never given much thought to the gay community before I met her. All I had really thought about was that gay people should be allowed to get married to whomever they want to. I knew that they were discriminated against but I never thought that a parent could be the one who discriminated against their child until Cassy told me a little bit about her relationship with her parents.
"I was attracted to girls around the age of nineteen, when I moved out of my parents house." Cassy told me as we sat down on a comfortable green suede couch. She told me that her father was a Baptist Pastor and her mother, a Pastor's wife. When I heard this, I immediately knew that there would be some clashing between her sexuality and the church.
I asked her about how her relationship was with her parents and she told me that she had a civil relationship with her parents. They talk every few months but Cassy said she never gives out anything personal because her parents disagree with her lifestyle and think that she should go to hell.
Cassy told me that her mother sent her a letter once saying that it was like watching her child drown. The mother said that she would want to save Cassy because she is her child, but at the same time, the mother dislikes Cassy's sexuality and would not want to save her.
After hearing this, my immediate thought was, ouch. I asked her how this made her feel and she told me that she was twenty three and has had a few years to accept how her parents feel about her.
I never thought that a parent could discriminate against their child. I find it to be a sad story that she told me. To have someone there with you while you grow up but to never have a good connection with them is a different way of starting and finishing life.
The Crisis Facing American Media
14 years ago
That is very sad, i like you have nothing against lesbians or gay people and also had never imagined a person admitt their own parents dislike them. I think you should have added a little more about the interview and a few other quetions that you might have asked her, because you pretty much made up the notes for our group of this assighnment. Great Job though.!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really harsh of her parents, they should except their daughter how she is, just because she is a lesbian doesn't mean shes a bad person.
ReplyDeleteYou could have added more descriptions, and questions to ask her, because im sure that there are many that would have interesting answers. but good job! :)
This is a really sad situation. I feel like it's a very common one too for lesbian and gays. I had a close friend from high school who came out Freshman year and his parents disowned him. It was the hardest thing ever to watch his own family push him away. Everyone deserves to be treated with equal love and care no matter what their sexuality is.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difficult situation to swallow? I can't imagine the heartache it would bring for me to be shunned from my family. Most difficult is the fac tha this person was shunned for something out of their control. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple friends who "came out" around the last couple years of high school. After talking to them I had a better understanding of the difficulties they faced with telling people in their home and social life. In the case of my friends their families were surprised but supportive. My friends portrayed to me that the greater difference in treatment came from their peers. Even though people will say they are not opposed to that persons life choice, things changed. Some friends ended up recreating their social life because of a certain sense of alienation from the one that they had.
I love the idea of everyone coexisting in a pluralist society. There is still a large gap between the people that preech mutual respect or atleast tolerance and the people that consistenlty practice them. Then there is a vast group of people who won't even start to preech tolerance. Obviously there is a lot of room for improvement. It appears to me in trends from the past to today that the United States is on the right path. I hope one day we could have a global effect and one day it could come back around to your friend and her parents.
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