WRF2 : We Are Family Too

From the always ideal Waltons to the truly dysfunctional menagerie that is the Simpson family we all know that families come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments. I consider myself to have two families, the blood line that I have come from and the many LGBTQ friends that I have made in Dublin and further afield. I think of them as my family too.

Just like any family at times there are spats, there are times when you have to step on eggshells and times you have to tell someone their outfit is fabulous when in fact it looks like a fashion car crash; all this comes with the territory and I know that when I really need help, support or just an ear to bend my LGBTQ family will be there for me with a bottle of red in their hands.

I think that this years pride theme, “”We Are Family Too”", is especially relevant as we eagerly anticipate the passing of the Civil Partnership Bill. To be united as partners in the eyes of the state is progress but LGBTQ family units deserve recognition too and I hope that a day will come that we get same the same rights as everyone else; the sooner the better too.

Have an amazing pride and make sure you go all of the Pride Events!!!
Will Keane, Dublin Pride 2010 Head of Events, Dublin

What does family mean to me? Well it entirely depends on the context of the word.

When people ask about my family, I know they are talking about my parents and my sister. Sometimes that family can be wider to include my Grandmother, but by and large it is static.

When I think of my family I think of the same.

When I think of the family I want, that is when my view changes.

The family I want looks something like this.

Me
My Partner
Children

Not so different to the one I grew up with, but with a few differences. My Partner is also male. And the family is not based on marriage, but on a Civil Partnership.

This family is as loving as the one I grew up in. It is as nurturing and inspiring as the one I grew up in.

Why can’t I have a family like that?”

– Stephen Spillane, Cork