Since I, a gay mom myself, have been home on maternity leave, I've watched an unexpected amount of daytime TV.  I think I've actually watched every episode of Kathy Griffin's reality show, "My Life On the D List," in which she mixes unabashed attempts at self promotion with lots and lots of celebrity roasting.  Poor Clay.  She really doesn't hold back on the guy.  I'll admit that it always bothered me that someone seemingly in a  position to so easily come out of the closet would so earnestly attempt to stay in. Why?

Hmmmm.  This is a tricky one.  The answer is fairly simple, though.  Coming out is hard.  Even when one is an international superstar.  The scariest thing in the world is to think that someone you love, like your mom, will just stop loving you.  

Now, he is coming out because he is a daddy.  Again, as a gay mom, this is fascinating to me.  Was he just afraid that he would have too many unanswerable questions now?  That it would be impossible to stay in? Or is he really thinking about being a role model for his son?  Is it just harder for people to reject you when you have an adorable newborn in your arms? Probably a little bit of each.  When I came out at age 22, I felt like I needed to have a girlfriend to make it valid.  Like people wouldn't believe me if I didn't have living proof or couldn't say, "I just fell in love, and it happens to be with a woman."  I didn't just fall in love and it didn't just happen to be with a woman.  I knew I was gay.

This isn't the deepest or most thorough post in the world.  Mostly because my baby is going to get bored under that play gym any second now.  I just want to say that one of my other favorite Kathy Griffin moments is when she totally bombs during a stand up routine at a gay resort because she's making fun of gay men who have babies.  She calls them gaybies.  I love it because she bombs. 

Here's something to think about.  How would you react if your own child one day tells you he or she is gay?  Would your reaction be any different if your child were holding a grandchild in your arms?