B.C.'s new Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculum was controversial and divisive in several of the school districts when it was first introduced, but for one mother and daughter, it was something that brought them closer together.

Geraldine McManus and her daughter, Katie, a student at R.E. Mountain Secondary School in Langley, were driving home from a rally together when the teen said she had something to tell her Mom.

"I had known I was gay for a while and I had told a lot of my friends but I hadn't told my family yet because I wasn't sure how they would react," Katie said.

Seeing her mother become involved in supporting SOGI — a program that includes education on inclusive language and learning and focuses on safety and anti-harassment messaging for students — was reassuring for Katie.

"When my Mom got involved in all this, it was like 'OK, if she is willing to support all of these kids, then she is willing to support me too,'" Katie said. "It was a clarifying moment of 'I can do this.'"

Parent support

The SOGI curriculum has been adopted by 54 of 60 school districts across the province so far.

In many school districts, some parents have rallied against SOGI and in one high-profile case, a Chilliwack school trustee made homophobic and transphobic statements pertaining to the program.

For McManus, that was partly why she was so vocal in her support of the program.

"[For] kids who are in the LGBTQ community and in the Langely school system, it was important that they see and know that there are parents out there who stand behind them," she said.

At the time, McManus said, she had no idea her own daughter was part of the LGBT community or would be impacted.

"We laughed and cried and I just had this huge sense of relief that I had been a parent who was vocal and supportive," McManus said.

"She knew that she'd be supported when she came to us."

Katie said she recognized that not all teens have as positive an experience coming out as she did.

"I'm hoping to use my absolute, I guess, privilege of being able to be out and be accepted by my family to try to create more of a safe space for other students who feel like they can't come out yet," she said.

This story is part of a series called Pride and Progress that airs on CBC Vancouver News at 6 and The Early Edition throughout Pride Week, July 30-Aug. 3.

With files from CBC Vancouver News at 6.

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