20 LGBTQIA+ stories with upbeat endings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHaiodEPbSM

2. Saving Face

A family is difficult. Even for cisgendered, straight people, familial relationships can be fraught. Drama knows no sexuality or gender, it seems.

However, being LGBTQIA+ obviously complicates things further. Family can be confused or frightened by someone’s coming out. Even the best-meaning relatives can be hurtful and homophobic at times.

And parents who desperately wish that their children would just settle down already and get to the business of making grandbabies may be especially vocal in their disappointment. Hopefully, that doesn’t stop someone from living a life that’s true to themselves and their loves, but family pressure remains a realistic and painful hurdle for many.

It’s certainly present for Wilhelmina (“Wil”), one of the central characters in Saving Face. She’s doing pretty well, considering she’s a successful surgeon living in New York City. You’d think that her mother, Gao, would be delighted, but there are no men in Wil’s life. Gao invites her daughter to a family gathering, where she plans to match Wil with the son of a friend. However, that’s where she meets Vivian, a dancer.

Turns out that Vivian’s dad is also Wil’s boss. If that weren’t bad enough, Gao eventually reveals that she’s pregnant, but without a husband. She’s been kicked out of her own family household by her own father, Wil’s grandfather. Gao lives with Wil and tries to find someone who will act as a father to her soon-to-appear child.

Between the unexpected pregnancy and homophobia, both Gao and Wil have a lot on their plates. Eventually, however, they learn that love in all forms trumps societal expectations.