“An Open Letter to my Mom” by “Odette” is a beautifully- crafted short story about identity written in the form of a letter to her mother, who only ever mentions loving and getting married to a male, never the female demographic (as her mother doesn’t support LGBT+ rights) . “Odette,” as a bisexual woman, writes this letter to her beloved mother, creating a path to the mindset of rather acknowledging and respecting the phrase of “or anyone,” conveying how love isn’t resorted to only one gender; as depicted in “Odette’s” contemporary, emotion- felt piece expressing her inner identity, love has no label.
I can definitely relate to this situation, even though I am straight; I can feel every sting, every agonizing but relieving and victorious sting that pierced “Odette’s” heart while writing this piece. It’s almost unbearably hard to express and change my mother’s views of almost anything, especially controversial topics; we were born in, not only different time periods, but also different places (she was born in China in the 1960’s, I was born in the U.S. in the 2000’s). There’s absolutely no doubt that we wouldn’t share similar views at all. So when I asked her, face to face, one day if she supported gay marriage, she said that she didn’t like the idea of gay marriage; I was clearly dissatisfied with the answer, but again, that’s just how she was raised (unlike me and many of my generation; we are being raised in a revolutionary era in the U.S., where ideas such as racial equality, gender equality, etc. are stressed). Anyway, it really shattered my heart when she expressed her perspective of gay marriage. I conspicuously see “Odette’s” purpose for writing this piece (and showing it to her mother, if she did), not to purposely offend her for her views (which was probably so agonizing for “Odette” to do) but to lead her to a path of respect and acknowledgment towards “or anyone” (which was probably so relieving and made her feel victorious) Such a gorgeous and relatable piece, “An Open Letter to my Mom” definitely deserves a read to anyone who’s either suffering with the same situation “Odette” was in, or even anyone who supports/ doesn’t support gender equality. So to conclude, as conveyed in “Odette’s” masterpiece, love has no label.