By Bil Browning LGBTQ-Nation
Meredith York Carter’s TikTok video has gone viral with millions of views and tens of thousands of comments. Users are celebrating her simple explanation about what it means to be gay to her four-year-old daughter, Ellie.
As one user replied, “Every parent who says, ‘How do you explain this to a child’ needs to watch this video.”
Mom captioned the video with the phrase, “The mind of a four-year-old is a beautiful thing,” and Ellie proves the point in an adorable way.
The TikTok shows Ellie telling her mom that she is gay. Carter patiently explains, “Gay is when boys love other boys and girls love other girls. Like, they get married to them. I, unfortunately, am not gay. I am married to daddy who is a boy.”
This did not sit well with Ellie, who is obviously disappointed in her mother and afraid that she, too, doesn’t belong in her favorite demographic group. As she pouts, she mutters, “I guess I’m not gay.”
“We don’t know yet. You’re too little,” Mom reassures her. “You might be or you might not be and no matter what, it’s okay.”
When Ellie thinks she might be gay because she likes gay people so much, Mom once again tries patiently to explain.
“We love gay people. Of course, we do. But we love straight people too.”
As Ellie pouts and walks away around the room dramatically, Carter tries again.
“You could still be gay. We don’t know. You don’t have to be sad,” she tells the child. “It’s kind of like the color of your eyes or the color of your skin. It’s just how you’re born. So, we just don’t know until you’re older. You might be gay or you might be straight. It’s just about who you love.”
This calms Ellie down a bit, and she comes back with a plush toy in her hands.
“It doesn’t matter who you decide to marry or be with. Right?” Carter asks.
Ellie, mollified, confirms, saying, “It’s because love is love.”
Then Mom movies in with the biggest confirmation possible – both for Ellie and queer people.
“All mommy and daddy care about is that you’re happy and safe.”
“This is so sweet,” one user replied. “As a queer person raised in the Bible belt, thank you for handling this beautifully.”
“The full sigh and the ‘guess I’m not gay’ was PRECIOUS,” another added.
A third commenter complimented Carter and got a reply after they posted, “I love this dialogue. You’re such a wonderful mother.”
“Thank you so much for the kind words,” Mom replied. “We have no idea what we’re doing, but learn a lot from Ellie.”
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