I am launching a new blog entitled The Gay World as Navigated by a Straight Mom. Following the tradition of my Branching blog, I intend to publish a new piece every week or two. I hope that some of my regular readers will sample my new blog and/or recommend it to friends who might like its content.

Chances are that if my son had not been gay, I would not have become involved in LGBT affairs. This was not to be. David showed signs of being gay very early in life, and since he became sexually active during the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, I lost him in 1993, when he was thirty-seven. David had been very sad that he could not supply me with grandchildren. To his joy and relief his sister gave birth to twin girls in 1987. My granddaughters were five when David died. Him not being able to share their lives has always been my family’s great regret, especially since his nieces turned out to be gay.

Gay people are like everyone else: good, bad, funny, mean, helpful, smart, dull, and loving. They, however belong to a special group, one that until recently was discriminated against. As a parent of a gay son, this prejudice reflected on me and I felt extremely lonely. Today, when it seems hip to be gay, being the parent of a child belonging to a minority and sharing is less of a problem. Still, prejudice and discrimination are hard to overcome and it may take awhile for some of us to feel comfortable with having gay children.

Though being gay is now legal and considered socially acceptable in most spheres, some members of the LGBT community may still have some difficulties in accepting themselves and/or coming out to their families. Even when everybody is on the same page, communication may not always be easy. Parents may have all kinds of questions; I did when I was getting used to my son being gay.

The Internet is flooded with information about gay marriages, female surrogates for gay men, gay dating sites, transgender hormone therapy, gay travel tours, butch clothes for women or even same-sex divorces. There is, however, little information for the invisible group of parents of this large LGBT community. Some may have questions they feel reluctant to ask. During the past fifty years, as a science writer, mom, grandma and friend of the gay community I have dealt with all aspects of this complex world. On The Gay World as Navigated by a Straight Mom I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. If I don’t know the answer myself, I’ll consult the appropriate experts. Submit your questions and comments at www.gaykids-straightmom.com/contact-me. If you have no questions of your own, please recommend this blog to others who may have unanswered questions.

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Social media update: you can find me on Twitter at @suzanneloebl or, for my new blog, @gaykidsstr8mom. I look forward to connecting with you.