Sidney Clementine knows a thing or two about going viral. In fact, her very first TikTok video reached a staggering 2.3 million eyeballs last summer when she showcased the great lengths she went to in order to get a rock out of a bar of soap. (You can watch it here if that just piqued your interest.)
Since then, Sidney (@sidneyclementine) has steadily grown her follower base while sharing more entertaining videos about her rock "obsession," her fun travels abroad, and her life as a dedicated #PlantMom. But nothing has struck such a cord as the TikTok she shared about the "trauma" of growing up with two moms.
In the clip, Sidney stares straight-faced at the camera as she talks about her childhood
"I was raised by gay moms growing up, and I want to tell you about the times that they did not accept me for who I was," she begins, before listing off the many ways in which her two moms scarred her for life.
@sidneyclementine My gay moms oppressed me. #lgbtq #gayparents #gayparenting #lgbtparenting #lgbt #lgbtparents #lesbianparents ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
No. 1 on her list? The time her moms tried to steer her away from getting a supercool hairstyle — which consisted of hot pink hair and a Paramore-inspired cut.
"I was told that I could get the haircut if I chose to, it was my own head, but that I would look stupid," Sidney shared. "I felt oppressed."
Sadly, it only got worse from there ...
"I believed that if I jumped off of a high-enough ledge, I could fly like they do in Peter Pan," Sidney went on.
But instead of being supportive about it, she says both of her moms said no and wouldn't even let her attempt it.
"I'm not sure why," she said, looking back. "But once again, [they were] not accepting of my life choices."
Time after time, her moms unfairly shot her down
… Never with any regard as to how this might affect her in the future.
"I wanted to go to school dressed like the Disney teens … Lots of layers and clashing fabrics," she continued. "I would have been a fashion icon."
"Alas, my moms did not accept me for who I was meant to be," she relayed. "It was straight-phobia in its purest form, and you can't convince me otherwise."
Of course, the whole video is meant to be tongue-in-cheek
Not only does Sidney absolutely LOVE her two moms more than anything, but now that she's older, she sees just how much they were looking out for her as a rebellious teen. (Whether or not she appreciated it at the time.)
Sidney recently clarified this in a follow-up video, which she posted just a few days ago after her story was featured in The New York Post.
@sidneyclementine I was in the news lol. #pridemonth #gayparents #lgbtq # ️ #gaymoms #lgbtparents #pride ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
As she candidly shares in the clip, her satirical tone was meant to "poke fun at a very real reality" she faced growing up — which was dealing with "supposedly well-intentioned people being ‘very concerned’ about the well-being of a child of LGBT parents."
Though this may have confused her as a kid, she's pretty clear now on what all of that "concern" really meant.
"In reality, you don't really care about children," she declared, "you just hate gay people."
Sidney's original video was actually uploaded in December of 2021
But in the past few days, it's been making the rounds on TikTok again — along with another video Sidney shared of herself "coming out" as straight to her gay parents during Pride Month.
@sidneyclementine Happy Pride Month! #pride # ️ #gaymoms #gayparents ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
As a result, a lot of Sidney's other videos are gaining attention, too, and she's been sparking quite a conversation about what being raised by gay parents is really like.
@sidneyclementine I’m confused about many things, my identity isn’t one of them. #gayparents #lgbtparents #pridemonth ️ #pride #gender ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
In several of the clips, she aims to debunk common myths about being raised in an LGBTQ+ household. According to Sidney, one of the big ones is the fear that gay parents will inevitably "turn" their kids gay by exposing them to their "alternative" lifestyle. But as she explains in one of her videos, that couldn't be further from the truth. (In fact, it's kinda the opposite.)
"It’s almost like accepting your children [for who they are] makes them feel supported and stable…," Sidney wrote in one post caption. "Peculiar."
That reality wasn't always an easy one to live with
Because despite how far we've come toward accepting LGBTQ+ families, we still have a long way to go — especially when it comes to all the negative assumptions made about them.
@sidneyclementine I’m gonna stop you right there, Steve, that’s disgusting. #gayparents #lgbtparent #gaymoms #pride #pridemonth ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
"Having a 'what about the children' mindset is a really great way to rebrand things like transphobia and homophobia as more altruistic characteristics, like 'protecting young children' and 'caring about others,'" she said in another clip. "What makes somebody a 'good' or 'bad' parent has absolutely nothing to do with their sexual orientation or gender identity."
The fact that we're still having the same argument about the definition of "family values" — while some Americans are literally slamming families that look "different" from theirs — is a sad commentary on where the country is right now.
It's also pretty hypocritical, adds Sidney.
@sidneyclementine Reply to @eastonco7 do I love my gay moms equally? No. No I do not. #gayparebts #lgbt ♬ original sound – sidneyclementine
Sidney's honest TikToks are now prompting others to share their stories too
"Somebody called CPS on us because my son has two moms," wrote one TikTok user. "I cried and had panic attacks every day for two weeks. How is that good for my child?"
"I literally couldn’t tell people I had two moms because I’m in Texas and one could get fired bc she was a teacher," another person shared. "Homophobes caused a ton of trauma."
"I havé two dads, and the amount of times growing up that we’d be stopped at airports or they had to explain that they were both my dads to TSA so that we could all go through the family metal detector is insanely infuriating," said someone else.
In fact, a lot of people have expressed frustration with the way the world still views LGBTQ+ families in general — and the intense hypocrisy behind all of it.
"I grew up knowing that I can never tell my parents anything," one TikToker confessed. "I am 37 and still not fully out. I will never tell them. Ever."
"My heterosexual parents were the absolute worst," someone else added. "I always wanted to be at my friend’s house who had two dads."
Ultimately, though, it's Sidney who has the best response to all of this hypocrisy
"To those who are worried about LGBT parents adopting or having their own children, I grew up in a household with parents who I knew whomever I chose to date or whatever gender identity I identified with, I wouldn't not be accepted by my parents and kicked out of the house simply for who I was," Sidney shared in one of her recent videos. "Can your kids say the same?"
