Nigerian man comes out to his mom; she learns to cope
Adebayo (not his real name) told NoStringNG.com that he came out to his mother while they were together at church.
“When it happened, I wasn’t scared, because I’d always wanted to, but minutes later I got this surge of fear coursing through me.”
Many Nigerian Christians are homophobic, mostly due to ignorance, scriptural misinterpretations, and the large number of Christian leaders who preach against homosexuality.
It was in the middle of a homophobic sermon that Adebayo, fondly known as Bayo, came out to his mother: He said:
“We were at church and the topic of marriage between a man and a woman, as usual, veered into the topic of homosexuality. I felt like I was choking. I was mad at what I was hearing, and I decided to tell my mom.”
His mother at first did not seem to react in any particular way. But she seemed shocked when he told her again on their way home.
Bayo’s mother, who is a Christian, seemed surprisingly at ease with his coming out, even though she was slightly shocked, curious and with lots of questions. He said:
“She’s a Christian with values that would not make it so easy to change her perception of the gay idea.
“She took it well, I’d say. She wasn’t angry. Just shocked, had lots of questions. Still, does. She even asked up to the point of, ‘How do they have sex?’ ”
Bayo is optimistic that his mother will someday come to a full understanding that being gay is normal, just like heterosexuality. His mother is now planning on speaking to a doctor about the issue, he said.
“I’m still hoping for the best,” he added.
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