Nice to see you demolishing some silly old stereotypes!

Let me add to the mix. :-)

I'm a gay man, and I've known I'm gay since I was 11 years old. No, really. I discovered that label as I was sitting in church listening to an anti-gay sermon with my family one day, but that's another story.

My point is that my father was everything yours wasn't. He was strong and caring. He spent a great deal of time with me. He was kind. He praised me a lot. He constantly told me he loved me, even after I came out as gay, which didn't shock him but which did present a problem for his deeply held religious beliefs.

He took me hunting and fishing and camping. He organized sandlot baseball leagues that I took part in. He taught me how to box, a passion of his that I did not enjoy. Once he figured that out, he was okay with me not pursuing his passion.

My mother was not strong and controlling. I mean, she was strong but she didn't use her strength to bully her children or to smother us.

So, none of stereotypes about why little boys "turn gay" apply to me. And yet, here I sit, gay as can be.

Thanks for story about the other side of the coin!