Boy 1 and His “Loving” Parents

In a July, 2010 feature story by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Ginger Gorman, Peter Truong and Mark Newton of Cairns, Queensland, Australia were celebrated as loving, caring, gay parents of their son, Boy 1.  According to the story, headlined “Two Dads are Better than One,” Boy 1 was the biological child of Newton and a Russian surrogate mother.  Gorman’s story was part of a special focus on homosexuals in Queensland, Australia, their lifestyle and the troubles they face in everyday society.   She said:

There’s evidence that if you are gay, bisexual or transgender it can be a tough journey. You are more likely to have physical and mental health problems. You are more likely to have depression, experience violence, be homeless, take drugs and have suicidal thoughts. 

The more I researched, the more compelled I was to cover the issue. This struck me as a significant opportunity to explore diversity in our community and hear the voices of those who usually aren’t heard. While we don’t always get it right at the ABC [Australian Broadcasting Corporation], we try to reflect a complex, changing society with many faces.

As for Newton and Truong, Gorman’s article was sympathetic to same sex parenting and critical of the apparent extra scrutiny they experienced by the authorities when returning to Australia with the infant.  “Mark said he’s sure that they were under suspicion of paedophilia.  But despite the difficulties, he said the couple would do it again with no hesitation,” she wrote.

Gorman quotes Newton, “’We’re a family just like any other family,’ he said with pride.”  (more...)

Boy 1 and His “Loving” Parents