Amber
Amber is a 21 year-old who has been in and out of foster care since she was six. She is a Lesbian. She is homeless. And this is her story.
Amber’s parents were all but nonexistent during her childhood, “All I remember is all the babysitters or my mother’s different boyfriends, many different boyfriends,” she says. “My father was only around when I was conceived, so technically my whole life he was never there. So, I don’t know him."
Luckily, Amber had grandparents who could lend an unconventional hand when they were able, “My grandma and grandpa, when they were together, owned their own bar so I was kind of like, raised in a bar. I mean it’s messed up, I guess, but it’s true.”
After several years of ping-ponging between caretakers, Amber was placed in foster care. Soon after, Amber realized that she was different from the other kids she was growing up with. “I realized I was a lesbian at an early age and I was like well…, I know what I am,” she says.
Despite Amber’s strong conviction in knowing herself at a young age, the strict beliefs of those around her intimidated her about communicating her sexuality. “I was more or less scared to say it to everybody because of all the religiousness around me. Even my foster home, they were Baptist, so they made it clear and even said, ‘We don’t deal with homosexuality.’”
The silencing role that religion plays in Amber’s life is just one of many struggles faced by several of the Out of Respect documentary characters. Tess Gallun, project director explains, “We’ve witnessed the painful impact that religion can have in tearing apart families. Some of our subject’s parents believe if they accept their child as gay they are condemning their child to hell. So they make the choice to abandon their child and this truth.”
The suffocating scrutiny surrounding religion and sexuality makes it difficult for young people such as Amber to trust if anyone will ever accept them for who they really are. Amber explains, “I grew up and this is who I am. Is everybody going to just shun me and not accept me? Am I just gonna end up by myself ‘cause like, my sexuality is not gonna change.”
Back to Out of Respect
Amber’s parents were all but nonexistent during her childhood, “All I remember is all the babysitters or my mother’s different boyfriends, many different boyfriends,” she says. “My father was only around when I was conceived, so technically my whole life he was never there. So, I don’t know him."
Luckily, Amber had grandparents who could lend an unconventional hand when they were able, “My grandma and grandpa, when they were together, owned their own bar so I was kind of like, raised in a bar. I mean it’s messed up, I guess, but it’s true.”
After several years of ping-ponging between caretakers, Amber was placed in foster care. Soon after, Amber realized that she was different from the other kids she was growing up with. “I realized I was a lesbian at an early age and I was like well…, I know what I am,” she says.
Despite Amber’s strong conviction in knowing herself at a young age, the strict beliefs of those around her intimidated her about communicating her sexuality. “I was more or less scared to say it to everybody because of all the religiousness around me. Even my foster home, they were Baptist, so they made it clear and even said, ‘We don’t deal with homosexuality.’”
The silencing role that religion plays in Amber’s life is just one of many struggles faced by several of the Out of Respect documentary characters. Tess Gallun, project director explains, “We’ve witnessed the painful impact that religion can have in tearing apart families. Some of our subject’s parents believe if they accept their child as gay they are condemning their child to hell. So they make the choice to abandon their child and this truth.”
The suffocating scrutiny surrounding religion and sexuality makes it difficult for young people such as Amber to trust if anyone will ever accept them for who they really are. Amber explains, “I grew up and this is who I am. Is everybody going to just shun me and not accept me? Am I just gonna end up by myself ‘cause like, my sexuality is not gonna change.”
Back to Out of Respect
