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My mum just told me that I was too young to be affected by the AIDS crisis. I put her straight, tho she just does not get the concept of gay shame, stigma and fear. I feel for her, but don’t tell me it’s something I’ve made up by looking back.
This feels similar to conversations I’ve had about whiteness and privilege. It hard to see prejudice when you are the beneficiary of the system. Plus, my mum likes to equate it to being a woman. I get that there are similarities but it’s not the same!
FYI I was born in 1976,I get where she is coming from. I was 6 in 1981, when the aids crisis started, when section 28 was introduced in 1986 I was ten. She’s still hung up on the actual sex, but it’s the wider acceptance of lgbt people and visibility in society I’m talking about
It’s so hard to talk about growing up with feelings of shame and isolation with your mum, I have no desire to make her feel bad. This is in no way about blame, but she is open to conversations about gay culture in a way she hasn’t been before.
