Writer Michelle Theall about her memoir
TEACHING THE CAT TO SIT about growing up gay and Catholic in the Texas
Bible Belt and her quest years later to keep her four-year old adopted
son from being expelled from Sacred Heart of Jesus School because of her
sexuality with Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of
OUTTAKE VOICES™. Dealing with religion and faith continues to challenge our
LGBT community especially when it comes to marriage equality.
When her son’s Colorado Catholic school expelled all children of gay
parents, Michelle found herself wrestling long-buried shame in order to
stand up for her son. The result was a public battle with the Church and
a private one with her parents that challenged everything she knew
about family and faith. It was in this process that Michelle realized
that in order to be a good mother, she might have to be a bad daughter
and risk losing her parents for good. We talked to Michelle about the
difficult decisions she made and her spin on our LGBT Issues.
When asked what her personal commitment to LGBT civil rights is Theall
stated, “I speak at LGBTQ events and at churches too. I think that a lot
of the divide happens at the
ostracisation and kids being torn away by their families and all this
kind of thing stems from religion and religious beliefs. That divide
between gay and Christians is at the heart of what remains in terms of
our fight. I feel I’m a bit of an oxymoron to a lot of people because
I’m a gay Christian and I’ll go and talk about my faith and my partner
to show that the two are not incongruous and hopefully start mending
that divide rather than make it bigger. The other issue that is
important for me and our rights would be adoption and gay adoption in
particular. The fact that other married couples can adopt children for
instances from foster care or other places and not have to go through
extra hoops to be both parents on the adoption certificate and that sort
of thing I can’t do that. My partner and I have to go through extra
lawyers and all different other things because we can’t marry in the
state we live in which is Colorado.”
Michelle Theall is an award-winning health, fitness and travel writer
and the founder of Women’s Adventure magazine. Her feature essay in
5280, the inspiration for her memoir, was nominated for a GLAAD Media
Award. Theall is also the editor-in-chief of Alaska Magazine. She lives
with her partner, their son, and three dogs in Boulder, Colorado.
For More Info: michelletheall.com
Hear 300+ LGBT Interviews @OUTTAKE VOICES™