The Atlantic

Dear Therapist: Do I Need to Have ‘the Talk’ Again With My Daughter?

She just told me she’s gay. I’ve already talked to her about sex with boys—how do I talk to her about girls?
Source: Bianca Bagnarelli

Editor’s Note: Every Monday, Lori Gottlieb answers questions from readers about their problems, big and small. Have a question? Email her at dear.therapist@theatlantic.com.

Dear Therapist,

As a parent, I firmly believe that it is my duty to prepare my kids to be positive, healthy, and productive people both in the world and in personal relationships.

So when my 12-year-old daughter announced that she is gay, my mind started spinning. Don’t get me wrong—I have no problem with her sexual orientation. But I am completely lost when it comes to how to prepare her for future relationships.

We’ve had “the talk”

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic3 min read
They Rode the Rails, Made Friends, and Fell Out of Love With America
The open road is the great American literary device. Whether the example is Jack Kerouac or Tracy Chapman, the national canon is full of travel tales that observe America’s idiosyncrasies and inequalities, its dark corners and lost wanderers, but ult
The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic4 min read
Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was

Related Books & Audiobooks