Australian Story: July 19

“The only reason that I do what I do is because I want my gay son to have equality and to be seen as equal to anybody else … and because I want that and I want it badly, I will stand up and face anybody, if it’s going to make a difference.” – Shelley Argent OAM.

Monday night’s Australian Story talks to a mother who stands up for the rights of her gay son.

Shelley Argent is national president for PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a group that has been in existence in Australia for several decades and doing a lot of work to represent diversity amongst Aussie families. A mother’s unconditional love for her son drives her quest for legislative reform.

Awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2006 for her work in encouraging understanding and acceptance of the gay community, Shelley invested both her time and own money to ensuring the issue of gay rights remained on the political agenda; while at the same time providing support and guidance to other parents experiencing their child ‘coming out’.

“I realised very quickly there’s a big difference between thinking you have a gay child and knowing, because when you know, you have to deal with it,” said Shelley.

While Shelley quickly came to terms with her son’s homosexuality, the revelation was initially met with resistance from her husband Don, who admits he felt a sense of shame and a fear of ‘losing face’.

“The immediate reaction, it’s ‘what’s the impact on me? What are my mates going to find? How do they feel? Are they going to talk behind my back at work?’ The thing about all of this is that we’re more concerned about ourself in the first case and… the loss of pride,” he said.

Beyond her manicured and forthright exterior, it is in fact her very ordinariness that makes Shelley truly extraordinary. She is simply a suburban mother who expects the law to provide her gay child with the same equality and opportunities afforded to her other, heterosexual child.

Including personal accounts from other PFLAG members, Mum’s the Word reveals how a parent’s inherent love for their child, coupled with the courage of their convictions, can create a powerful force for change.

It airs 8pm Monday on ABC1.