LGBT Love: The Truth About Introducing New Partner To Family

48% of gay couples were totally open with their PDA in front of mom and dad.

By Amanda Chatel — Written on Dec 01, 2014

With Thanksgiving over, and Christmas and Chanukah just around the corner, it's safe to say we are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. Woohoo! And, of course, this means bringing home your boyfriend or girlfriend to meet the family, because what better time than the holiday season? Nothing says, "I'm in to win it," like introducing your new love to the wackiness from where you came and the traditional family drama.

But with bringing your partner home comes the whole issue of whether or not mom and dad will let you sleep in the same bed, along with general question of what an appropriate level of affection to display in front of the family. Should it stop at holding hands? Or is kissing acceptable, without dad flipping the dinner table on its side and reaching to ring to the neck of your partner?

Target 10, which focuses on marketing brands to LGBT consumers, asked 150 gays and lesbians about their experiences when they go home for the holidays. Affectionately titled, "Home for the Holigays," the infographic and stats give some insight into what it's like for our gay friends to bring home their main squeeze during the holiday season.

Of those polled, 83 percent had gone home for the holidays during the last three years, and 60 percent of them were in a relationship at the time of these visits. When it came to bunking with their partners whom they brought home, 90 percent of gays and lesbians did sleep in the same room, even, as Target 10 notes, "when the home was outside the more progressive east and west coast regions."

These couples, at least 48 percent of them, were totally open with their PDA in front of mom and dad, which is awesome considering most straight couples I know keep their kissing and cuddling to a minimum in front of the 'rents.

For those who went home single, 55 percent were asked about their dating/love life by family members, and 47 percent of those singles used apps like Scruff and Grindr to find a hook-up while in their hometown, with 39 percent indulging in the gay nightlife back home. Of both groups, the partnered-up and the single, the majority (over 60 percent) of them actually did take time out of family stuff to meet up with old friends.

It might seem daunting to bring a home a new love for the holidays, but considering how unique and a bit crazy every family is, if you're hoping your relationship will last, you may as well introduce them to the whole kit and caboodle at once.

At least then, if you find out they can't handle your Aunt Edna's weird Jell-O marshmallow roll or your sister's incessant babble about how she's psychic, you can let them go sooner rather than later. Because, honestly, if you love someone, truly love someone, you take the bad with the good, even if that bad is a second helping of Jell-O marshmallow roll.

Check out the infographic below to see more stats.