Melanie and Vanessa Iris Roy, a beautiful lesbian couple from North Carolina, made news last week when a picture they posted on Melanie’s Instagram account went viral. A sweet picture of the pair, kissing on the beach shows them happily and blissfully in love, but here is something else that makes this picture newsworthy. What makes this picture different from countless other cliché kissing on the beach pictures is that this picture shows not one, but two, happy healthy mom’s to be.
Both Melanie and Vanessa are pregnant, a son Jax and a daughter Ero. The pair decided to become pregnant at the same time, from the same donor, so that their children can be as similar as biological possible given the circumstances. The photo has gone viral, with over fifteen thousand likes on Instagram, giving the new mommies some hope as they embark on this new adventure in parenting.
By showing them both holding their pregnant bellies, they are able to encourage other lesbian couples to both carry children. Non-traditional families have every right to experience the beauty and the pitfalls that accompany childbearing and parenting, and Melanie and Vanessa are helping to make this idea a reality. There shouldn’t be any gender expectation in any relationship, but especially in LGBTQ+ relationships. Parenting is a role that should be carried out by two people who love each other and want to pursue a life together, full of mutual admiration and care. If both women have the ability to carry a child and desire to do so, they should. Nobody should feel like one person has to fill the masculine, fatherly role while another fulfills a biological right to bear a child. The way families look are changing every day, and I for one, could not be happier to see two people creating new life.
