Susan and Gerrie Douglas-Scott were the first lesbians to marry in Scotland when same-sex marriage became legal in 2014. The couple had come out to their families, including their children, many years before, at a time when being out was not widely accepted. Their daughter, Jillian, was only four years old when Susan, Jillian’s biological mother, told her and her brother she is gay. Jillian recalls that it was an easy enough fact for her to accept at the time, and that it didn’t really affect her, most likely because she was so young. Twenty years later, she wants to know how her mums’ coming out affected her siblings at the time, and what has and has not changed for lesbian and gay couples with children.
In the BBC documentary My Lesbian Mums, Jillian seeks answers to questions about what the coming out experience was like for her family back then, including her two mums. She notes that because her siblings have large age gaps between them, having lesbian parents affected them all very differently, highlighting her older sister’s struggle with being teased at school. To add to that, one sister also came out as a lesbian around the same time.
“I’ve learnt from my parents that it was a bit more difficult for some of my older siblings, so I wanted to speak to them about what it was like.” She also speaks to other gay couples with young children who struggle with coming out just as much as her parents struggled twenty years ago. Apparently, society still has a long way to go.
“It’s been the most enlightening experience filming this documentary and the general consensus from all the children is we’re very proud of our mums,” Jillian told BBC Newsbeat. “I would like to think in the future it will change and nobody will judge you for being lesbian or gay with children.”
You can watch the full documentary on YouTube below, as well as on BBC iPlayer.
