Family support makes a huge difference in the lives of people who come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.
Plus, when relatives show LGBTQ+ folks just how much they care about them, it not only bolsters their own connection, but emboldens others to do the same; love is contagious.
So in an attempt to accelerate its spread, we at Bored Panda put together a collection of wholesome moments where parents and grandparents stood by their LGBTQ+ kids.
Continue scrolling to check them out and don't miss the conversation we had on the topic with Dr. Danielle Ramo, a clinical psychologist and Chief Clinical Officer at BeMe Health.
#1 Just Came Out To My Grandma, She's The Best
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#2 Great Message Through The Decades
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Dr. Ramo highlighted that even mental health is challenging for everyone right now, however, she also added there is particular adversity for LGBTQ+ folks.
"People who identify as LGBTQ+ have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and are more likely to consider suicide compared to cis-gender, heterosexual people," Dr. Ramo told Bored Panda. "There are clear links between mental health challenges among LGBTQ+ people and stigma and discrimination. Many LGBTQ+ people report experiencing stigma around their identity and may have lower levels of support in their homes and their communities. They are also more likely to be victims of violence."
#3 As Long As He's Supportive
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#4 I Told My Grandma I Was Bisexual A Few Weeks Ago And Today She Gave Me This. My Grandma Made Me A Rainbow Sweater
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#5 Saw This On Facebook
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If we were to look at numbers, we'd see that, sadly, around 40% of LGBTQ+ adults have experienced rejection from a family member or a close friend, while roughly 86% of LGBTQ+ youth are being harassed or assaulted at school. Additionally, only 37% of the latter identified their home as an LGBTQ+-affirming space.
There can be a number of reasons why some families may have trouble accepting their LGBTQ+ family members for who they are. According to Dr. Ramo, these include "their own fear or discomfort with LGBTQ+ identity, often guided by their religious beliefs or other teachings, and/or their fears that their family members will be treated differently because they identify as LGBTQ+."
#6 Sarah's Dad Is A Real One
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#7 This Just Made Me Laugh, Thought I'd Share
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#8 Shout Out To My Mom For Always Being My #1 Supporter
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#9 Sweet Grandma
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In certain cases, the clinical psychologist said this can lead to people advocating or forcing their family member to undergo the so-called conversation therapy—the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Conversation therapy has been proven not to work and in fact is harmful to LGBTQ+ individuals. Young LGBTQ+ people often experience conversation therapy as a form of family rejection, leading to low self-esteem, and mental health challenges."
#10 After I Came Out, My Mom Wanted To Not Only Show Her Support To Me But To The Entire Community
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#11 Wholesome Dad
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#12 My Dad Got A New Bumper Sticker
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#13 More Parents Like This Please
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"There is a clear link between family support and thriving among LGBTQ+ individuals," Dr. Ramo stressed. "For example, the Trevor Project National Survey showed that LGBTQ+ youth who felt high social support from their family reported attempting suicide at less than half the rate of those who felt low or moderate social support. Family support can have a positive impact on LGBTQ+ individuals' mental health by helping them feel confident in who they are and by bolstering their ability to get through challenges from society and other environments like discrimination and stigma."
Dr. Ramo said family support can be especially helpful to LGBTQ+ people when it's expressed not only to them but also to their LGBTQ+ friends and partners, whether it's talking to them about their identity, using names and pronouns correctly, or supporting their gender expression.
#14 My Dad, Who 7 Years Prior Put Me In Gay Conversion Therapy, Helping With My Bow Tie Moments Before Officiating My Wedding To My Beautiful Wife
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#15 My Grandma Is 83 And Lives In Rural Florida, Where She Is Surrounded By Anti-Gay People. She Just Had Her Two Front Benches Repainted In Support Of Her 3 LGBTQ Grandkids
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#16 Man Offers 'Free Dad Hugs' At Pride Parade. I Wish Everyone Had Supportive Parents
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#17 So Wholesome
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Pride is celebrated in June, as that was the month when the Stonewall riots took place.
The Stonewall riots began on June 29, 1969. On that night, decades of discrimination and police brutality against queer and trans people, especially LGBTQ+ people of color, culminated in six days of rebellion at a queer bar in the West Village, The Stonewall Inn.
#18 Best Ally Grandma
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#19 NYC Pride, 1986
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#20 What A Sweet Dad
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#21 My Uncle And Grandma On Their Way To A Pride Parade In The ‘80s
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Following the Stonewall Uprising, the first Pride march was held in New York City in 1970. Originally, marches took place on the last Sunday in June as Gay Pride Day or Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day, but later spread out across the month and continued as a tradition over the past half-century.
Pride is a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship, it's meant to show how far LGBTQ+ rights have come, and also how in some places there's still work to be done.
#22 This Post My Mom Made On My Birthday A Few Years Ago Still Makes Me Cry
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#23 Nothing More Wholesome Than Loving And Supportive Parents
Army dude came and ordered something "kinda gay" cause his son came out to his mom and was apparently scared his dad was gonna hate him or be mad. Dude: he's my boy, I love him. Can you make me something, kinda, you know... Kind of Gay? Me: I got you... Parenting level: expert.
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#24 My Transgender Son Was Nervous About Telling Our Extended Family. His Grandparents Picked Us Up From The Airport With His Chosen Name On Their Shirts
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#25 My Mom Who Used To Be A Homophobe In Every Way A Few Years Ago, Bought Me These Dresses A Week Ago And Calls Me Zoey All The Time
Words can't express how happy I am that my mom came around and accepted me. We may live 7 hours apart now, but she still shows her love in whatever way she can.
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Of course, you can express your support for the LGBTQ+ community even if nobody from your social circle belongs to it. It's all about acceptance, equality, educating yourself and raising awareness.
Keep in mind that although most Pride events see people wear more rainbow-themed clothing and accessories than usual, and there's often lots of partying, dancing, and making out, you never have to participate in anything you don't want to!
#26 Look At My Mom And Dog Showing Their Pride For Me! My Parents Used To Be Against Homosexuality Because Of Their Religion But They Accepted Me And Support Me
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#27 I Got This Pog LEGO. I Also Want To Thank My Parents For Supporting Me
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#28 Grandpa Supporting LGBT
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#29 I Brought My Boyfriend To My Sister’s Wedding And Introduced Him To My Very Evangelical Family. My Grandma Loved Him
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Dr. Ramo also said there are a number of free online resources for LGBTQ+ people to support self-esteem, identity development, crisis support, and thriving. Some of the ones she recommends include the Trevor Project Crisis Support, the imi guide for LGBTQ+ teens, and PFLAG for parents and families.
#30 My Teenager Daughter Running Towards Her Tribe. It Is Pride And I Am Proud
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#31 Wholesome Grandmother
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#32 I Came Out When I Was 14 (Now 35) And To Say My Parents Weren’t Thrilled Is A Complete Understatement. But Last Night, 21 Years Later, I Saw This Little Ornament On Their Tree
I really can’t believe how far they’ve both come as humans.
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#33 Loving Mother
My mom sent me this picture of her in her new shirt she found and bought herself. She grew up dirt poor in the south, surrounded by ignorance, and still surprises me every day with her ability to learn, grow, and love. She's my hero.
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#34 It's Not Much, But My Mom Got Me A Pride Narwhal After I Came Out
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#35 Happy Pride Month To My Beautiful Daughter. Not A Day Goes By That My Heart Is Not Filled With Joy Because My Elena Is Truly Exactly Who She Wants To Be
Having an openly bisexual daughter is something that has always filled me up with pride, the moment you decide to be a parent you are bringing another human to this world therefore you need to accept them exactly how they are created. Therefore from the moment my little girl entrusted in me that she liked boys and girls, I thanked her for it and have been her biggest supporter ever since. I will always be her biggest FAN. Plus the fact that both of her sisters are growing up with such a great role model is a blessing beyond words for our family. Her sisters are educated about the LGBT community and support their sisters with all their hearts.
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#36 A Nice Gift From My Mom
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#37 Wholesome Dad
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#38 I Came Out To My Parents. It Went Better Than I Expected
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#39 Today I Went Shopping With My Mom At Norstrom Rack, And I Couldn't Find Her For A Second. When I Found Her, She Held This Up And Said - "I Am So Getting This For You"
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#40 I Recently Came Out As Trans After Not Feeling Comfortable In My Own Skin. My Mom Took Me Shopping The Other Day, And I Got This Outfit
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#41 My Mom Bought These Bracelets For Me And Her. She’s Been An Amazing Ally
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#42 My Mom Is Definitely An Ally
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#43 Came Out As Trans To My Parents This Year. My Mom Made Me Break Down Crying With This One
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#44 Love This So Much
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#45 Best Grandad Ever
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#46 My Stepdad Cracks Me Up, But Yay For Coming Out
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#47 My Mom Bought Me My First Suit Today, And I Couldn't Be Happier
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#48 My Oma (Grandma) Made Me This Quilt For My Graduation. She Thought The Rainbows Would Be Good Because I’m Gay
My grandparents are new to this whole gay thing but they are doing their best.
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#49 I Finally Came Out To My Mom As Trans A Few Days Ago And Then Started Getting These Notes In My Lunch Bag Every Day
"I am so very proud of you! Love, Mom"
"Know that you are always loved because you're you. Love, Mom"
"You are a ray of sunshine. Love, Mom"
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#50 Just Wanted To Show Off These Socks My Mom Got Me (And My Dog Wanted To Say Hi)
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#51 Got Me In The First Part For Sure
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#52 My Friend Came Out To Her Grandmother, And Grandma Did This
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#53 My Family Not Using My Deadname On My Birthday Cake For The First Time
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#54 Greatest Mum, NYC Pride March, 1981
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#55 Thanks Mom
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#56 I Had Recently Got A Pride Flag And I Had It Hidden In My Closet
One day when I got home from school my mom had hanged it up on my bed and it is still there. Thank you mom for supporting me.
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#57 Parents Let Me And My Siblings Decorate The House For Pride Month
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#58 My Parents Got Me These For Christmas. I Think They're Trying To Say Something
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#59 Mom Came With Me To A Pride Event And Loved The Drag Queens! So Excited By How Happy/Open Minded She Is
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#60 I Love My Dad. I'm Bi And Trans, This Is How Much He Cares
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#61 I Came Out To My Dad At Dinner And He Ordered Us This For Dessert, I’m Gonna Cry
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#62 My Mum Just Got Me This And I Can't Handle It. She Hasn't Been The Most Accepting So This Is Amazing To Me
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#63 My Step Grandma Got Me This Shirt And Bracelet For My Birthday
I never knew her views on the LGBTQ+ community cause she's always been kinda religious so seeing this made me happy
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#64 I’m Calling Them This From Now On
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#65 Last Week I Was Terrified Of Coming Out To My Mom And Dad As Bi And Ace. Today I Came Home To See That My Dad Was Wearing This Shirt. I'm So Happy
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#66 My Parents Are Really Trying! They Had The Idea To Make A “Deadname Jar”. Every Time They Use My Deadname And Pronouns They Put In A Quarter
This will all go to the Trevor project once they are used to my new name.
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#67 For Years My Mum Insisted I Was ‘Too Young’ To Know I Was LGBT. This Was My Birthday Present This Year, I Think She’s Come Around
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#68 Today I Asked My Dad When He Knew I Was Gay. He Grabbed This Picture From An Old Photo Album And Said - “I Pretty Much Always Knew.” I Feel Very Loved
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#69 My Dad Thought He’d Given Me The Perfect Gift At An Early Christmas Gathering. He Did
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#70 My Formerly Homophobic Dad Bought These At A Fair For Me Today Because - "It Has Two Things You Love. Cats And Rainbows For LGBT." Love him
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#71 The Way Her Mom Supports Her
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#72 No Matter Who You Like You Matter
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#73 My Dad I Swear. I Love That I Can Laugh With Him Like This
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#74 I Think It's Safe To Say I Have A Supportive Family
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#75 I Came Out To My Parents In April Of 2018. This Year For My Birthday, My Mom Had These Delivered To My Dorm. It Makes My Heart So Happy
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#76 I Came Out To My Dad, And It Went Well. Here’s What He Messaged Me The Next Day
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#77 Came Out To My Mom Yesterday, It Went Pretty Well
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#78 Supportive Family
I came out to my family about four months ago. They were very supportive, but I didn't want to force them to come to the pride this weekend. After casually mentioning it to my mom earlier in the week, she surprised me by turning up with two of my sisters.
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#79 Came Out To My Mom A Few Months Ago. Saw This On Her Shelf Of Books She's Currently Reading. Made Me Smile
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#80 My Mom Made Me A Gay Cake For My Birthday
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#81 He Took It Really Well
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#82 Made This Birthday Cake With My Mom To Come Out To My Whole Family
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#83 Ever Since I Came Out My Mom Has Sent Me Rainbow Hearts
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#84 My Super Gay Sister Just Sent Me This Picture Of My Incredibly Supportive Mom At Pride
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#85 Saw This Awesome Dad At The DC Dyke March
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#86 I Came Out To My Mom And Woke Up To This Flower Arrangement In My Studio
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#87 My Mom Posted This On Her Facebook Today. I'm Not Sure What I Did To Deserve Such An Amazing Mom. I Feel So Validated And Supported
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#88 Came Out As Bi To My Mom This Year. We Buy Each Other Ornaments For Christmas Every Year. She Sent Me This In The Mail Today
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#89 Earlier This Year I Came Out To My Parents And They Were Accepting, But Ever Since Then It's Just Kind Of Been Ignored. Until My Dad Made This Cake For My Birthday Today
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#90 I’m So Proud Of My Mama. Happy Pride Y’all
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#91 My Grandma Got Me This Card For My Birthday And I Thought Everyone Should See It Too
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#92 My Mom Crocheted Me This Awesome Rainbow Afghan
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#93 Today Is My Birthday, And My Parents Have Sent Me A Card
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#94 I Came Out To My Parents And Now I Feel Mushy Inside
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#95 I Am Out To My Parents But I Don't Talk About It Much With Them. Yesterday My Mum Sent Me This Card In The Post. Made Me Feel Super Seen And Loved
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#96 I’m A Proud Mom. Celebrate Pride
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#97 Finally Came Out To My Grandpa And His Response Is So Wholesome
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#98 The Way It Should Be
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#99 I Am A Trans Man (FtM) Who Does Drag - And My Mom Is My Biggest Fan
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#100 Notes My Father And Mother Left Me After I Told Them I Was Gay
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#101 I Only Found Out That I’m A Lesbian A Few Weeks Ago And Came Out To Parents. Yesterday Was Lesbian Visibility Day And I Posted A Story On Instagram And My Dad Replied This
(English is not his first language)
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#102 Recently Came Out And My Parents Got Me A Bi Hoodie For My Birthday
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#103 I Didn't Think My Mom Cared, Guess I Was Wrong
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#104 My Mom's Supportive
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#105 When I Was 6, I Asked For A Toy Princess Castle But My Parents Refused Because I Was A Boy. 10 Years Later, As A Sign Of Acceptance For Who I Am They Gifted Me The Exact Same Castle
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#106 It's My Daughter's Birthday Tomorrow And Her Mother (We're Separated) Tries To Squash Any Notion That Our Kid Is Bi, So I Got Her The Gayest Card And Wrapping Paper I Could Find
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#107 I Put Off Coming Out To My Mom For A Long Time Because I Was Afraid. I’m So Glad I Was Wrong
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#108 Just A Proud Mom Who Baked A Trans Flag Cake For My Son! Needed To Share In A Space That Won’t Result In People Telling Me I’m A Bad Mom Who Just Didn’t Raise Her Kid Right
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#109 My Mom Is Making Polymer Clay Dragons And She Made Pride Themed Ones Recently. I Love Her So Much
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#110 My Mom Got Me The Pride Skittles I Don't Really Ever Eat Skittles But I Love What They Did With Taking The Rainbow Out
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#111 My Mom Got Me A Pride Blanket Made
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#112 I've Been Out As Trans To My Grandparents For 4ish Years Now. And This Is The 1st Year My Grandparents Started Using My Pronouns And They Got Me This
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#113 Dad Came To Visit Me And My Boyfriend, And Bought Breakfast
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#114 I Was At My Friend's House And Saw This Post-It Note On Her Mom's Computer. I Thought It Was Really Sweet
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#115 How I Came Out To My Mom
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#116 My Mom Made Me A Bisexual Flag Blanket. I Came Out Last January And Was Extremely Scared To. This Is Her Ultimate Form Of Support And I Cried Soon As I Opened The Box
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#117 I Came Out As Bisexual A Year Ago. My Parents Have Been Very Supportive, And My Mum Has Just Surprised Me With These. I Just Wanted To Share How Happy This Has Made Me
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#118 Mom's Revenge. Match For Drop Off. Proud LGBTQ+ Mom
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#119 I Came Out To My Mom Yesterday, And Today She Gave Me This Before Leaving For Work. It’s The Small Things In Life
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#120 My Grandma (90) Brought This To Me Today. She’s Mostly Very Traditional And Knows I’m Bi But Has Never Really Said Anything About It To Me
This means a lot and I can’t wait to hang it in my apartment.
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#121 My Mum Sent Me This
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#122 I’m Making My Daughter A Pancake For Her Birthday. She’ll Either Love It Or Call Me An Idiot. Just One Way I Can Show My Support
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#123 I Love My Mom
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#124 5 Years Ago When I Came Out My Mom Prayed I Would Turn Straight. Today I Spotted This On Her Car
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#125 A Few Months Ago, I Came Out To My Mom, Really Scared She Might Not Accept Me. This Week, She Helped Me Make Pride-Candles For Me And My Friends
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#126 Today Is My Birthday And My Mother Made Me A Sparkly Cake In The Colors Of The Trans Pride Flag
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#127 New School Clothes From Mom
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#128 I Told My Mom And Her Boyfriend That I Was A Girl
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#129 From My Mum And Dad. I Cried. A Lot
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#130 My Mom Gave Me This And It Just Made Me So Happy
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#131 My Mom Made A Cake For Me For The End Of Pride Month
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#132 I Came Out As Trans A Few Months Ago And I Got A Ton Of Small Trans Things From My Parents. Genuinely Started Crying After Getting This Stuff
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#133 My Mum Got Me Pride Shoes
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#134 My Dad Is Helping My Girlfriend Build Furniture For Her New Apartment. Their Relationship Is So Sweet
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