Kordale and Kaleb, the gay black fathers who went viral after photos of their family on Instagram were blasted by critics, have been enjoying some time in the spotlight this week.
Hailed as the fathers of “the new modern family”, these men have unabashedly shared their life with the world and opened up to the press.
In a statement to HuffPo, the couple says their “main objective as parents is to provide love, educate, support, encourage, and love some more!” They also reveal that they co-parent with their children’s mother:
"In regard to the negative, people fail to realize that we are people too with kids who love us. We do what is necessary for them to succeed in this ever-changing world but it’s sad that we’re discriminated against because of our sexuality and/or what we do behind closed doors — which is no one’s business. In the same breath, we take all of what’s been said in stride. The picture was put out on social media for an opinion so we can’t be mad when people give just that: an opinion. People tend to think that gay people cannot raise their children to be heterosexuals. Instead, they have derogatory thoughts of us “tainting” our children or “confusing them” with what society sees deems as wrong an unmanly because we’re gay. But this is all comical because people forget where a lot of gays come from: a heterosexual household."However, a lesser-shared interview the couple did with BlogTalkRadio last year reveals that the men have two separate bedrooms and don’t want their children to know they are in a gay relationship. Kaleb says he doesn’t want to influence the children to believe they must also “grow up to be gay”:
"We live in a five-bedroom home. We have three beautiful children. There’s a room for Kordale. There’s a room for Kaleb and there’s a room for each individual child. The oldest child says, “Kaleb, you’re my daddy’s best, best, best best friend in the whole wide world.” I say that meaning the kids do not know that we are in a relationship. We don’t portray that image in front of the kids because we don’t want to put them in the mindset of being gay and that’s what you’re going to be because we are gay."Architects of the “new modern family,” maybe. A progressive modern family? Maybe not.
It’s one thing for a same-sex couple co-parent with the biological mother/father of their children and teach them acceptance regardless of sexual orientation, but it’s an entirely different thing to do this while the children believe their same-sex parents are just “best friends” living in the same house. [QUEERTY]
It's easy for Queerty's Matthew Tharrett or anyone else to portray these men as being hypocritical, but with the interview having been done over a year ago--who knows what their current stance is on sharing their romance with their children. In their statement they did make note of the fact that "People tend to think that gay people cannot raise their children to be heterosexuals," and that"a lot of gays come from: a heterosexual household." Could this mean that since that year old interview, they've "come out" to their children?
One must also take into account the age of these children. Matters such as these may be too much for a child to understand, and not something that a child should have to think about. Children should be afforded the opportunity to grow up freely without being apart of political and moral issues that they may not fully understand.
On the other hand, Kordale and Kaleb have become internet sensations by using their family unit, their bond as a couple, and lets not forget their looks. The message becomes confusing when you are celebrating your relationship on public platforms such as Twitter and Instgram, but continue to shield their children from same-sex relations.
Do you agree with raising children to assume the relationship between their same-sex parents is strictly platonic?