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Unlabeled: A teenager uses comedy to open up about their sexuality

Keith Board
Basim Blunt
/
WYSO

Teenager Keith Board, shares a story about a conversation that happened one day when he and his mom were driving in the car.

My name is Keith Board. I live in Springfield with my brother Charlie, who's ten, and my brother Joshua, who's 12. I also live with my mom, Beth Board, my dad, Justin Board. I do Performing Arts for Youth Arts Ambassadors, which means I do plays and musicals all around town and even perform across the country. I strive to be a famous comedian one day. It feels so good to make somebody laugh, cause I know for a moment they just don't have any worries, at least for a moment.

I'm 15 and I'm in the 10th grade. I use comedy every single day. Even the day I told my mom I was queer. "You see, Mom, Kevin and I have been dating for the past five months."

Silence.

She looked at me for a quick second and said, "Yeah, I kind of knew. You aren't very good at hiding it."

(Editor's note: Transcript edited lightly for clarity.)

Keith Board: How did you feel when I first came out to you?

Mom (Beth Board): Well, I don't think anybody really knows at your age anyways.

Keith: I mean, yeah.

Mom: ...I mean, people change all the time. Yeah.

Keith: I did. How did you feel about that? Like, did you accept me or was it more of a...

Mom: Yeah, just like I accept you don't play soccer very well. You can't play clarinet.

Keith: I'm not a sports person.

Mom: You're not. You're not a sports person. *laughs*

Keith: Even though my mom's response wasn't what I was expecting, I wasn't complaining. When it comes to your own parents, you can't tell what they will support or not, especially if you don't talk to them about being LGBT. Too often.

Mom: I think as a parent, it isn't any different than if you were a straight kid. It's no different to me. My job is to build a good relationship with my children and then teach them how they're supposed to model that behavior. The hope is that you retain my values, but I don't think sexuality is not necessarily about you choosing to have sex or not to have sex before marriage is more of a value than whether or not who that's with. I want you to treat people well. I want you to live the values that we live. And I don't think that necessarily determines who you choose to have relationship with.

Keith: What do you feel is the next step for parents of LGBTQ children who don't believe in that kind of lifestyle?

Mom: It's not my job to get in the middle of that kind of. I always used to say, 'Once you let your parents into your marriage, your marriage is over.' Like it's you. There's not there's nobody supposed to be in the middle of those kind of relationships. I've never been nosy about those kind of aspects of your relationship. You build your relationships however you're going to build your relationships.

Keith: What would you say to our audience at WYSO?

Mom: To me, who your child chooses to spend their life with regardless of what they are or who they are? You know that that's really nobody's business but their own. That's their choice. I think a lot of people just forget that, you know, we don't control things outside of our. I don't want you to be raised like I was raised in a mold. Right. You've got to be able to have your own view because in another few years, you're going to be on your own. I guess my advice would be less for the parents and more for the kids. And it's that you're really just not going to change your parents perspective unless you are open and honest and, you know, able to be accepting of yourself.

Keith: Even if there is pushback from people, I'm prepared for it. I'm confident that nothing is going to stand in my way when I get back to school. Even if something does, I'll find a way through it. Bullying is going to happen, but you just got to chug right through it. Too many kids feel afraid to share their true selves to the world. And I want other teens to feel safe coming out. Some adults just need some proper education.

Which could just mean listening to your kids.