It's not unlike what you'd encounter in any parenting support group, straight or queer. They invite one another to Disneyland's annual 'Gay Days' gathering, ask questions about surrogacy options, and commiserate with other dads about their moody teens. Members run the gamut from burly to skinny, jocks to nerds, young to old, and hail from every race and ethnicity they post heart-melting photos standing alongside their children on front porches, trekking through national parks and mingling at backyard barbecues. Like the posse of gay fathers in the most recent season of Bojack Horeseman, it contains dads from seemingly every subculture. 'We want to be the Disney World of gay fatherhood online,' Copeland told me.Ĭopeland founded the online community in 2013, and it's grown to nearly 5,000 members since. Through questions answered, stories shared, and advice given and received, members of the group are making fatherhood easier for one another, whether they live in Kansas or the Castro. But this playful cajoling seems to come naturally to Copeland, the creator of a Facebook group named ' Gay Fathers.' The community's mission is to connect current gay parents-who know firsthand the inherent struggle and attendant joy adoption brings-with prospective parents from across the country.
