Gay dads share how they feed their babi — and why 'there should be a more clive approach' to the breastfeedg vs. formula bate

Contents:

• CAN TWO MEN HAVE A BABY? GAY PARENTG OPTNS
• EXCLUSIVE: 'I FELT LIKE JT A RENTED UTES': SURROGATE MOM SPEAKS OUT AFTER GAY DADS REFE TO ACCEPT PREMIE BABY LIVERED EARLY TO FACILATE NCER TREATMENT
• GAY DADS AND A SON WHO THOUGHT HE WAS GAY
• GAY DADS SHARE HOW THEY FEED THEIR BABI — AND WHY 'THERE SHOULD BE A MORE CLIVE APPROACH' TO THE BREASTFEEDG VS. FORMULA BATE
• SURROGACY HORROR: GAY ‘DADS’ MAND ABORTN
• ‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD
• MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
• AFTER ORLANDO, 21 PHOTOS OF GAY DADS AND THEIR KIDS TO HELP YOU SE AGA

CAN TWO MEN HAVE A BABY? GAY PARENTG OPTNS

This is thanks large part to the growg number of adoptn and surrogacy optns available to gay upl today, pared to what was available a ago. Other optns for gay upl clu adoptn and foster re.

And for gay upl, surrogacy mak that dream a realy. However, is still not possible for a gay uple to have a child g DNA om both fathers. A gay New York uple has sued to ga that verage unr their surance plans.

EXCLUSIVE: 'I FELT LIKE JT A RENTED UTES': SURROGATE MOM SPEAKS OUT AFTER GAY DADS REFE TO ACCEPT PREMIE BABY LIVERED EARLY TO FACILATE NCER TREATMENT

“Is OK I’m not gay? Gay partners, life partners, bs partners. Formula bate rag on, gay fathers — for whom the feedg qutn is pecially plex — are often left out of the nversatn.

"Derek and Hector Del Valle of Gaville, Fla., have ed their Papi & Papa platform to chronicle their experience as gay dads to son Oliver Rye, who was livered via a gtatnal surrogate last month.

GAY DADS AND A SON WHO THOUGHT HE WAS GAY

"A lack of breast k is not a gay/straight thg. ”While the Del Valle and Michael fai still have young babi at home, other gay dads are beyond the years of bottle feedg.

Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love. There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia. 'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022.

GAY DADS SHARE HOW THEY FEED THEIR BABI — AND WHY 'THERE SHOULD BE A MORE CLIVE APPROACH' TO THE BREASTFEEDG VS. FORMULA BATE

Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife. The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage". Brtney Pearson, a California mother of four, has claimed she was told to termate a surrogate pregnancy at 24 weeks by the two gay men who hired her.

While Pearson wanted to attempt to save the baby and duce an early livery, the gay uple refed — even when Pearson and her fay members offered to adopt the child. ” When the gay uple found out about her diagnosis, she rells them not beg “very nice. ” After the ncer had spread to Pearson’s liver, the gay uple refed to discs any optn other than termatg the pregnancy and threatened any doctor who livered the baby wh a lawsu.

SURROGACY HORROR: GAY ‘DADS’ MAND ABORTN

Heynen planned to photograph for a book of photography featurg gay fathers and their children.

‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD

”Amerin culture has not been particularly starved of imag of gay fatherhood, particularly recent years. Celebri like Anrson Cooper have helped normalize the ia of gay men raisg children, and no longer feels revelatory to see them on televisn, as did when “Morn Fay” premiered mon, Mr.

Heynen said, are imag of gay fathers who aren’t Instagram ready — like two men bg their dghters’ hair or tossg a football the ont yard. It’s an unrstandable impulse, which he attribut to a sire among gay parents to feel “normal” after havg their pabili as parents ntually lled to qutn.

Heynen said, but rather a celebratn of the day-to-day liv of gay Jt for the YoungCly Rose, 61, and Ryan, 12Cly Rose, who liv Manhattan, was first photographed for “Dads” three years ago after meetg Mr. Heynen at an event at the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgenr Communy Center New York Cy. Heynen “a lot of cred” for cludg a father like him — a sgle dad his 60s — sce he said there is often a lack of reprentatn of olr gay people art and media, which tends to foc on young, f men.

MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI

As a Black, gay man raisg a son on his own, Mr. But to actually be lockg ey wh Ellen and hold her, shakg hands as she said, "I'm gay, " on natnal televisn and for the first time, as she has shared outloud that way publicly, was such a profoundly extraordary and timate gift to that moment that I will forever be grateful for.

Such a photograph would have been extraordarily rare jt s ago, but now is one of many published the book “Dads, ” a four-year visual archive of gay fatherhood across Ameri that began 2016.

AFTER ORLANDO, 21 PHOTOS OF GAY DADS AND THEIR KIDS TO HELP YOU SE AGA

“I felt a ltle b lonely as a gay dad – although there are two of – but lonely the sense that all the other fai I knew were straight parents, ” Heynen said a vio ll, explag why he began photographg the seri. “I also thought was important for (my kids) to see other fai wh gay dads.