A daughter's gift to her gay dad

Last night, I was reading to my 11 year old daughter before bedtime and, out of the blue, she asked me if it was OK to tell her friends that I'm gay. I asked what prompted the question and she said a girl at school had called another girl a lesbian in a mean way. My daughter said she wanted to respond that it was offensive and, to emphasize the point, to say that her own dad is in fact gay.

I told her I was so proud of her for wanting to stand up for her principles. I told her it's her decision if she wants to tell her friends I'm gay and that it's fine with me because it's not a secret and nothing to be ashamed of.

I also advised her that some mean kids may use it as something to tease her about and asked her how she'd feel about that. Without hesitation, she said she wouldn't mind at all. She is such a brave and confident girl! I told her it was hard for me to be a confident kid, knowing there was something different about me, and that I admired the confidence I see in her.

I also advised her that if she tells people, they may start spreading it around the school as gossip and I asked her how she'd feel about that. Again, she said emphatically that she wouldn't mind. She said if someone approached her trying to confirm the rumor, she would simply tell them that, yes her dad is gay and there's nothing wrong with that. So proud of my amazing little girl!