Bay Area mother, adult son recall lesbian household upbringing, prideful parenting

CBS News

01-07-2025

A Bay Area mother and her adult son are recalling with pride their family journey in a lesbian household that bucked traditional expectations of masculinity.
Playing a game of pickleball recently, Robin Lowey and her son Sam Waterstone reconnected back to the days when Lowey and her partner as "queer moms," as she put it, raised two boys in Fairfax.
"It was just a joy to bring this difference to the community and be totally out," said Lowey.
It was an adjustment for their young family after moving out of San Francisco and into the suburbs of Marin County, finding a new, but often curious, community.
"The kids would ask, 'What do you mean you have two moms, that can't be true. That isn't possible," said Lowey.
Lowey and Waterstone recently contributed to a new anthology called, "Boyhood Reimagined: Stories of Queer Moms Raising Sons".
It weaves together interviews and personal essays from LGBTQ+ mothers seeking to provide a blueprint for progressive parenting.
Lowey taught her boys to surf and coached Little League baseball.
"She wasn't like all the other moms. She wasn't afraid to get out there and get after it and maybe even tell the dads that her way was just as good as theirs," said Waterstone.
It's that idea of equality and progress toward a more inclusive society that Lowey is yearning for, just as she did when raising her children decades ago.
But she's now concerned that LGBTQ rights and others are being stripped away.
"All these rights are being threatened right now," said Lowey. "It's very important for us to stand up for those things and talk about why our families are particularly gifted and just take a stand."
Growing up in a family outside the traditional expectations of masculinity is where Waterstone finds his inner strength.
"Being raised by queer moms was kind of my superpower in life" said Waterstone. "That I'm able to move through the world with a unique perspective as a straight white male in a male-dominated world.
Lowey says real change occurs when allies push against societal norms.
"It's really important to bring the message that toxic masculinity is not okay and that healthy masculinity is possible," said Lowey.
She sees her boys as examples of men who can be sensitive and feminist, to foster a more inclusive world.