Blogs Nov 2, 2009 at 10:40 am

Comments

1
Jesus! That kid is 14? I have no idea what children look like at any age anymore. I would google it but im afraid of looking like a pedo.
2
I saw that kid on Saturday!! Those are some great, supportive parents he has.
3
This next generation is really amazing. The teens I work with, gay or straight, can't even begin to imagine why someone would deny marriage equality to gays.
4
Those parents are amazing. This never could have happened when I was 14.
5
@1,

I think he's unusually grown up looking (and tall) for a 14-year-old guy, but everyone's different.
6
Hooray for us all!
7
Flippin' awesome.
8
You are absolutely right - the culture really has changed and this story is very encouraging. Nice to see some *positivity* from you for a change! There really is reason to be positive about gay rights these days and to have hope about changes to come.
10
I think this level of enthusiasm from parents is still a bit unusually high, but it's still good to see.
11
Raise your hand if you were at any party where more than one person was dressed as Lady Gaga. Bonus points if you saw more than two.

Kid gets points for bravery, loses points for originality.

(**I AM JOKING, OF COURSE. THE BACONCAT IS NOT THAT MUCH OF A JERK.**)
12
You are winning.
Deviancy and perversion are more and more accepted as "normal".
More and more parents do not provide moral guidance, but let their children float on whatever breeze of the popular culture catches their fancy.
The new generation IS different.
As deviancy and perversion are presented to impressionable immature minds as 'normal' and 'cool' the opportunity for young people to choose a healthy and actually normal lifestyle lessens.
A healthy society can survive when deviancy and perversion are embraced by a small (1-3%) minority and recognized by society for what they are.
A society as disfunctional as ours has a smaller margin of error. And when a new generation is effectively brainwashed by popular culture as ours is the tipping point can come surprisingly quickly.
You are winning.
Regardless of the outcomes in Washington and Maine our society is on a downward trajectory and is not going to pull out.
13
So beautiful.
14
Wow. What I would have given to be able to smile like that at 14. Pure happiness.
15
What an amazing and wonderful family!!! We should all be so lucky to have parents that supportive or children that happy and secure with themselves! Way to go Spitz Family, you made my morning!
16
Yeah, @12. Seeing a teenager who is proud of who he is, whose parents love & support him, & who isn't full of repression & self loathing is obviously evidence of society going down the toilet.

I'd take "depravity" like that over violence & emotional abuse masquerading as "moral guidance" any day of the week. And most other sane people would too.
17
This is indeed a happy thing. Now put it back in your pants, pedos.
18
Poor troll @ 12. If I thought the perfectly natural state of being gay was "perverse," I'd be a confused wreck of a human being like you, LC, and all homophobes. Denying reality will kill you by the time you're 50. Accepting reality - that differing sexual orientations are as the Creator intended, and part of the Divine Plan - will make you a happier and healthier person.
19
@16

Well said.
20
congratulations.
It's a Brave New World we have here, Dan.
Are you ready?

Nature has been kind.
AIDS, as horrifying as it was, was really a gentle peek at what STDs can be and do.
AIDS was actually very difficult to spread- you had (and have) to be pretty determinedly irresponsible to get the disease.
The virus dies outside the human body quickly and is easily killed by disinfectants. It usually takes repeated exposures of an intimate nature with an infected person to catch AIDS.
Natures first pitch was a slow high lob.
Training wheels, as it were, for mankind.
An opportunity to learn.
And change.

A Brave New world, different from the one we inherited.
A World where anything goes.
A World where everything goes.
If it feels good do it.
With anything or anybody.
Marriage? Whatever you want it to be.
Monogamy? Unnatural! Unrealistic!!
Worse yet- Square.
A Promiscous 100% "Safe" and "FoolProof" World.
Brave Words.
For a Brave New World.

Nature is not unclear or ambiguous.
Promiscuity carries serious health consequences.
Monogamy may not be hip.
Or realistic.
But it is safe.

What will the next "plague" look like?
Does Kaposi sarcoma scare you?
Don't look now...

How about flesh eating?
How about resistant to antibiotics?
How about as prevalent in the body as E Coli?
How about spread as easily as HPV- moist skin contact, leaking around condoms and transmitted through moist thighs, in saliva...

Nature gives hints.
Glimpses.
Warnings.

You ARE winning.

Soon kids all across America will be getting the message.
From cool parents.
Cool high school counselors.
Anal Sex. Oral Sex. GAY SEX!!
100% Safe!!
100% Foolproof!!!
Our Made in China condoms will protect us!!

Like they protect homosexual men now.
Anal Cancer at 17-31X the rate of heterosexual men.
AIDS at 43X the rate of the general population.

Safe!
Foolproof!

Kids are easy to fool.
Their parents are getting easier to fool.
You won't fool Mother Nature.

Congratulations.
21
after being informed by my much more hip GF who Lady Gaga is, I must applaud Elliot for his cojones, his dad for his righteous bodyguard outfit even though he doesnt look a thing like Kevin Cosner and Elliot's Mom for her mad costuming skillz
(the hip GF says all the kids are using z instead of s these days.)
22
I think he looks so tall partly because of the giant awesome platform boots.

Good for this kid and his family.
23
18
your creator seems to be a jokester.
seems he left off a few important parts when he made the gays.
24
Well if a 12 year old kid wants it then it must be best-
right?
Because 12 year old kids know everything,
and certainly know what's best for them,
in each and every way,
especially about really complicated things that adults sometimes really screw up- but only because they aren't as smart as 12 year old kids...
I mean, why does the kid even have parents?
25
I love that his dad dressed as his bodyguard. XD

Awesome parents, not just that they support and love him as he is, but also for allowing supervised fun.
27
I think I'm gonna cry. That's awesome.
28
@12 This attitude has always fascinated me.

To Right Wing Christians, it's not moral decline to invade foreign countries casually and cheerfully, and spend hundreds of thousands of lives for no good reason. It's not moral decline to allow thousands of poor people to die every year because the richest country in the world can't be bothered to pay for their health care. It's not moral decline to them to torture innocent human beings in horrific prisons. It's not moral decay to them to bankrupt your country with socialism for billionaires.

To them, moral decay is people that would be gay anyway being allowed the same freedoms as they are.

They can't prove any causal effect between any negative consequences and gay rights while in the real world actual horrible immoral acts are being perpetrated in their name and with their approval. How did they get it so backward?

29
they must not have seen this:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/ho…
30
@12, 20, 24.

People like you are exactly why we're winning. The more you tighten your grip, the more homos will slip through your fingers...
31
@30 is has hit the nail on the head.
32
I wish I could have been that happy at 14. Kudos to his parents!
33
There's only two photos of dad in the entire video! I guess he was taking the pictures.

Elliot should know that by being sensible and kind, his parents have earned the right to pry about boyfriends, be difficult about visits and phone calls, ask everyone you bring home (even the first time) incessantly about whether they want grandchildren, comment frequently on what a wonderful father you'd be if ONLY you'd settle down, and be horrendously frank about career choices, etc.

Also, if you do have kids, your parents now have the right to embarrass the shit out of you by whipping out these photos unannounced.

Parents have rights too! Go for it Mom and Dad.
34
And, Elliot, might I add that you are also obliged to someday indulge your parents to some wonderful extravagance that makes no sense but is immensely fun.
35
This is awesome. The Phelps Family of Hate is picketing in my area today, so seeing this video has made my day. Way to go, Elliott and Elliott's family!
36
This is so heartwarming!

Elliot is so lucky to have parents that can let him be who he is and let him have fun, and yet also be involved enough with his life to make sure that he is safe and supervised. Way too often it seems to be one or the other. I am super glad that at least some parents can have it both ways.
37
Woot!! This is heartwarming!
38
As the lesbian mom of a 13-year-old boy, this story just lit up my day! Every parent should as supportive as his are. What an amazing way to help their son find a safe path into his future community's culture. At 14, he could be sneaking out at night, pretending to be older, and facing potential harm. Their support is so compassionate & reasonable. Way to parent!
39
And to think I was an old timer at 14, doing the Larry Craig Tap in the Sears Mens room...
40
i wish my dad was happy about me being gay..he's dead now.. but he was never happy about me being anything. ever.
41
I'm sorry, Riz. I feel blessed to read you. Thank you for being here.
42
Join the club, Riz. No, I'm not gay, but I could never do anything right by my dad either. What a fucking asshole.

Planted him five years ago. I suppose he's feeding the worms by now. At least he was good for something.
43
This SO made my day! In a world where the Religious Right seeks to implement weirdly backward ideals as @28 so spot-on put it, it's nice to see parents who support their kids and who are engaged with their kids. What an amazing example they set for all parents, gay or straight!

44
i'm almost crying after reading this.

my little brother who was only out to me during the past 10 years finally came out to our politically liberal, but personally conservative, rather religious parents (i've always given them a lot of credit for not thinking everyone else should have to live by their ideas or morals) a few months ago. and guess what? months of build up to it, my brother worrying about our parents getting angry or whatever or bringing up their jesus issues and i get why he was worried, THEY WERE TOTALLY COOL WITH IT.

yayayayay. i love happyhomo stories. and most of all my big gay happy family.
45
I really think that the earlier kids can come out, the more well-adjusted they become -- and, ultimately, the less risky behavior they engage in sexually as teens & adults. My brother came out at fourteen and it changed him for the better in every way.

In fact, being comfortable with your sexuality at an early age is good when you're straight, too. The less shame you feel about sex, the more ownership you take over your body & your behavior... and the more likely you are to make smart choices.

It's repression that really leads to AIDS.
46
Wait... dressing up like Lady Gaga gives you aids? I totally thought you caught that from dressing like Madonna.

Wow, guess there's been a lot of new science and I'm just not keeping up.

47
@40

It's okay because you're an awesome DJ, so you win now. Parents can really fuck us up if we let them. I got dealt a lousy mom, but I'm overcoming it and you can too.
48
Miss Poppy and her husband have also done THEMSELVES a favor by being able to accept the truth and stand beside their son. It can't be easy for a dad to give up those "masculine dreams" of the uber-jock mega-stud son (and yes, I know Elliot is a jock, but not in the classic NFL sort of macho way), and it's probably tough for a mom to put aside her own happy stereotypes about prom night, blah blah blah.

But by doing the hard work and coming to terms with the truth, early, they've greatly enriched their son's life and their own. How many gay men are open with their parents about who they're dating, what they want out of life, or even what they did last weekend? How many parents are too uncomfortable to even ask? Or too petrified to give advice or even criticism? By being close with their son and truly knowing him, they are having a more positive influence on him than they will ever know. His odds of being a happy, decent adult have skyrocketed. And since that's what good parents want, they are much more likely to be happy as well.
49
that's super! so i don't have to kill my dog now?
50
Gay or straight taking a 14-year old kid out for a night in West Hollywood is a terrible idea
51
I have to say Thanks Dan for posting this. It was a breath of fresh air to see parents no the meaning of the words "family", "love", and "support". To me, they are the true examples of what family values should be.

To you idiots that have a problem with the GLBT community, and don't want to give them the same rights as you because of your "God". remember this: 1.America separates church from state. 2. The clothes your wearing, music your listening to, food your eating, car your driving, the country your living in: have had at least one gay person's hands on it. 3. Denying rights didn't work on the Blacks either.
52
Nice hooters for a 14-year-old.
53
Aww, I want a gay son!
54
That's so awesome! What incredible parents he has!
55
@12,
Why not emigrate to Jamaica, Russia, or Nigeria, where more people share your "values?"
56
That kid is 14?! I guess it's the makeup...

He really does have aweome parents, truely awesome and supportive parents. I just have to wonder about where he's at in those photos - there's an awful lot of men in drag around him o_0
57
How cool! We have lived long enough to see this.

Oh, and suck it, haters.
58
12: GO FUCK YOURSELF!
59
Yeah, but he has a mother and a father. That's why he turned out so great.

/snark
60
This is a kid who will grow up, not feeling ashamed. He most likely won't suffer from depression, or try to commit suicide. He won't have to try to hide his sexuality, and he'll feel free to actually have boyfriends, rather than covert sexual encounters. He'll see his own life as something worth protecting, and his sexual activity will reflect that self worth. And all of this will be because he's got parents who accept him, and love him.
61
58
Wait- What?!

gee, I said you were winning....
62
Quoting #12: "And when a new generation is effectively brainwashed by popular culture as ours is the tipping point can come surprisingly quickly."

You know what else can come surprisingly quickly? A closeted Christian Republican in an airport bathroom stall. Ba-dum-dum! Stop trying to ruin this really lovely and heartwarming story. As the godmother of a toddler who I suspect will one day be coming out to his parents and the rest of his family, I make mental note of all of these stories to share with my friends when and if they find themselves in this position (his father in particular will find acceptance difficult, I fear). Whatever the case may be, if he ever needs a shoulder to cry on, or someone to sew a costume for him, I will be there.
63
My old man was totally cool, too.
When I was 12 he took me to a Mexican whore.
It was awesome!
I think about her everytime I get a painful itchy discharge.
64
Gay or straight taking a 14-year old kid out for a night in West Hollywood is a terrible idea

That's why dad went along...dressed as Lady Gaga's bodyguard, which I thought was the very best part of all this. He's chaperoning, but in a clever way that plays along with his kid's costume and at the same time sends a message to anyone who might try to take advantage of the kid that dad is watching. That was beautiful parenting.

65
Yes, we are winning! Big hugs to this family!

My son came out to us a few years ago and then last year, during spirit week at his school, he entered the pagent dressed in drag.

We wanted to go see him perform, but he asked us to not come because "other parents don't go to this and you guys would be the only parents there and that's not cool."

By the way, we live in Texas.
66
I can't believe that people can still have hang ups when the simple truth is so obvious.

A child has found happiness, and his parents were there... is that not a blessing?
67
@60 - way to articulate it more clearly than I did.
68
@ 65 - We wanted to go see him perform, but he asked us to not come because "other parents don't go to this and you guys would be the only parents there and that's not cool."

Gay or straight, it's still not OK to make your kid look like a dork at school! I love it!
69
1,000,000,000 KUDOS to the parents, and to this kid. And to all the religious freaks out there with your biased views, why dont you go and rewrite the friggin bible, its due for a v=new version isn't it, and stop trying to block what evolution is in the process of creating........
70
"The New Normal"?
71
Hey look, Gay = happy again. *swoon*

bout fawkin time.
72
@45 Spot on. It has been proven over and over again that families and communities that push abstinence and repression with sex and sexuality, have much higher instances of teenage pregnancy, abortion, and STDs. Kids who feel guilty about sex will still have sex, but in a dangerous, unprotected manner.
73
As a straight but not narrow breeder, I find this heartwarming. It's so nice to read about parents who love their children enough to be accepting of who their child is. Too bad a lot of people who claim to be "pro-family" only support their child if they act heteronormal.

Kudos to great parents raising a brave kid!

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