Opening the Closet Door for our LGBTQ Kids

In the Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander (API) community, coming out to family can be difficult. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) children feel being open about sexual orientation will shame or dishonor their family, but staying in the closet takes a greater toll, causing isolation, depression, and even suicide.

NQAPIA has launched an international, multifaceted campaign to promote the acceptance of LGBTQ people in API families and to diversify the faces and languages of those who support the LGBTQ community. Our “Family is Still Family” campaign offers a powerful message: offer your LGBTQ child a lifeline, support their coming out, and keep the family strong and unified.

This campaign includes three parts:

9 multilingual Public Service Announcements (PSA) on Asian ethnic television stations and international channels, online and on the air

26 translated resources “Coming Out to API Families: Talking Points for API LGBTQ Youth” that address fundamental questions about sexual orientation and gender-identity for parents and family members

A series of international workshops of API parents who love their LGBTQ kids, where they provide culturally receptive peer-support for API families and for young people struggling to come out to their parents

We hope you share and enjoy our media, workshops, and challenging but important conversations!

NQAPIA worked with the Asian Pride Project to develop a series of short, multilingual videos of API parents who love their LGBTQ children. These groundbreaking PSAs feature parents, some of whom are foreign-born immigrants with limited English proficiency, who declare acceptance and unconditional love for their LGBTQ children.

NQAPIA and several parents developed a series of one-page, translated “fact sheets” for parents who have LGBTQ kids. The multilingual fact sheets answer basic questions about being LGBTQ and dispel common misperceptions. They are in nineteen (25) Asian languages and scripts—the largest number of languages ever translated from a single LGBTQ document.

Join us for a workshop to hear Asian American parents share their experiences of confusion, fear, love, acceptance, and celebration of their LGBTQ children. We especially welcome parents of LGBTQ kids who would like to talk with other parents who understand the unique cultural issues in our communities, LGBTQ people who want to come out to their parents, or people who are struggling with family acceptance and want to understand different ways to bring them together. If you are already out to your parents, caregivers, or other family, we encourage you to bring them along!

Explore the calendar of events.

Sponsors and Supporters

The Family Acceptance Campaign is made possible by NQAPIA, Asian Pride Project, API PFLAG San Gabriel Valley, and PFLAG–NYC API Project, in partnership with Public Impact, Comcast/NBC Universal, and the CJ Huang Foundation.

NQAPIA thanks the generous support of the Arcus Foundation, David Bohnett Foundation, API Dream Team Giving Circle, PFLAG, GSA Network, Advocates for Youth, Project by Project, and countless individuals.

Join us in supporting this work by making a donation.