Dwyane Wade Affirms That LGBTQ+ Families Are 'The New Normal'

Dwyane Wade has habitually been overjoyed of his kids — he consistently posts pictures of his son's basketball games on Instagram, and gamely dressed up as a cactus to join spouse Gabrielle Union and daughter Kaavia get into the Halloween spirit. However he's also using his platform to resemble on how he's learned to be a higher end parent to each of his kids, modeling both the support and perspective that so several LGBTQ+ young people need in their lives.


While in a recent appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, the basketball star opened up about learning "strength and courage" from 12-year-old Zion. "In our household, we talk about making sure our kids are being seen by each of us," he explained. "We talk about making sure our kids understand the power of their voice. We want them to be whoever they feel they can be in this world."


For the Wade family member, that includes showing up for Zion by attending Pride parades with each other, as they did in 2018, and telling bigoted strangers to stand down. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Union posted a family member photo that drew ire from people who imagined it was their right to criticize Zion's crop top and nail extensions. Wade rapidly shut the bigoted commentary down.


"When I respond to things socially, I'm not responding because you hurt my feelings. I'm not responding because I even care enough about what you're saying," he mentioned while in his podcast appearance. "I'm responding because I understand my platform. I understand that I'm speaking for a lot of people that don't have the same voice that I have."


He added that while his speaking out is effectively "speaking for my 12-year-old now serving as proxy is due in part to the fact that "I haven't allowed her to sit in front of a microphone nevertheless. However I'm speaking for so several others in the LGBTQ+ community. So for me, it's just my version of support."


The Miami Heat player also explained how Zion's growth pushed Wade to resemble on whether he was being the perfect father he might would be to his children, no matter their sexuality or gender.


"I had to look myself in the resemble and mention, 'What if your son comes house and tell you he's gay? What are you going to do? How are you going to be? How are you gonna act? It ain't about him. He understands who he is. It's about you. Who are you?'" Wade stressed that he is overjoyed of "who she eventually has come into. And for me it's all about, nothing changes with my love. Nothing changes in my responsibilities. So all I've got to do right now is get smarter and educate myself more. And that's my job."


It's crucial that LGBTQ+ kids receive support from their parents, during their coming out and the rest of their lives. Studies have shown that affirmation and love from family member and close companions greatly impacts young LGBTQ+ people's mental health and in general well-being for the better. Some young people don't feel safe coming out to their parents, or fear being rejected in doing so. Statistics shows that such rejection can lead to a host of negative health outcomes, and family conflict is the most common reason why LGBTQ+ youth experience homelessness.


According to GLAAD, 80 percent of non-LGBTQ+ Residents of the United States want equal rights for LGBTQ+ people, although that manifests has shifted over the years from mobile allyship  towards what GLAAD calls "detached support." The Supreme Court is now deliberating three cases that would decide whether employers can discriminate against LGBTQ+ personnel. And the more people like Wade underscore the power of embracing their children and loved ones as they are, the more other people know that such a response is the right one — and why non-LGBTQ+ allies can position themselves as support systems.


Experts agree that young LGBTQ+ people deciding whether to come out to their family member and friend should habitually feel empowered to do so in their own way, and on their own timeline; many young LGBTQ+ people also imagine their own safety prior to doing so. It's also worth reminding parents and loved ones who they can or cannot tell, and what sort of support you're looking for in the process. Not all parents are celebrities with massive platforms, nevertheless how they stage name their children's stories habitually matters. PFLAG offers resources for allies, as do the Family Acceptance Project and the Trevor Project.


"Everybody get used to it: This is the new typical Wade added, noting that he believes the people who should be seen as "different" are "the ones that don't understand it. The ones that never get it, the ones whose heads are stuck in a box."


At the end of the day, his mantra as a parent is simple: "It's my job to help you, and ensure that you have all of the equipment you've got to be as happy as you could be in this world," he added.


To learn more about issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, head to lgbt.Mtv.Com.