“It didn’t matter that I was unhappy, but when my child was unhappy, that’s not acceptable to me.”
A panel of judges at Taiwan’s top court are hearing a case today that could make the island the first place in Asia to introduce gay marriage.
The case has been brought by a gay activist as well as municipal authorities from the capital, Taipei.
Home Is Love – a Taiwanese group that supports same-sex marriage – shot a video in December about a Taiwanese father’s gradual acceptance of his daughter, who is a lesbian, and the video has been widely shared this week.
In the video, the 65-year-old dad talks about his initial shock and confusion upon finding out that his eldest daughter is a lesbian.
But then he realizes that it was one thing to be unhappy, but another to know that his daughter was unhappier than he was.
“Parents always want their children to be happy, healthy, and cared for, and it’s only when he understands his daughter is happy that he discovers that love is simple,” a spokesperson for Home Is Love told BuzzFeed News.