My Son Has Discovered a New Beloved Hobby. But My Mother-in-Law Has Some "Warnings."

"You don't need my permission to tell your mother-in-law to lay off, but it would be more productive to do so in a way that doesn't just insult her but also makes it clear where you stand: "Karina, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There's nothing that 'turns' a person gay- or straight. We are who we are. And by the way, whatever my kid's sexuality turns out to be matters not a whit to me." (Lord knows, I hope this is true.)"

"Say this in front of Caleb, if she has ever said in his presence that taking ballet classes will "make him gay." Better yet, say it in both Caleb's and your husband's presence, since it seems you can't count on him to recognize that what your mother-in-law is doing isn't venting. What she's saying is hate speech, it's ignorant, and he, too, should know that it's not to be tolerated."

A seven-year-old boy named Caleb has been taking ballet lessons for three months and is enjoying them. His mother-in-law, Karina, repeatedly claims that taking ballet will "turn him gay." The boy's father allows Karina to continue making these remarks without intervening. The appropriate response is to confront Karina directly and firmly, stating that nothing makes someone gay or straight and that the child's eventual sexuality is irrelevant. Deliver the rebuke in front of Caleb and the husband when necessary. Label such comments as hate speech, ignorant, and intolerable.

Read at Slate Magazine