Littlejohn, Daley and One Little Baby

Another beautiful newly married celebrity couple are ‘expecting’ their first child. They’ve taken to social media to announce it, and the world greets the news with rapture. Tom Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black are seen holding up a scan from someone’s womb. Presumably, the baby shown will belong to them when it has been born.

Richard Littlejohn, a controversial columnist for the Daily Mail, questioned the media’s portraying the ‘normality’ of two gay men ‘expecting’ a child. I don’t consider it a homophobic article- he explains that he supports civil partnerships, and would prefer a child to be fostered by "loving gay couples" rather than be "condemned to rot" in state-run institutions. However,

"… despite the fact that countless single parents do a fantastic job, I still cling to the belief that children benefit most from being brought up by a man and a woman."

This is what I believe. Having been brought up by a single mother, I’m particularly qualified to say this. What is most surprising though, was the storm caused by Littlejohn’s words. Centreparcs, the expensive UK-based holiday park chain, has withdrawn all future advertising in the Daily Mail for daring to challenge the normality of two blokes ‘expecting’ a baby:

We take where we advertise very seriously and have a number of steps to prevent our advertising from appearing alongside inappropriate content. We felt this placement was completely unacceptable and therefore ceased advertising with the Daily Mail with immediate effect. (Source: Twitter) 

More disturbing than two men apparently pre-ordering a child (rather than adopting an unwanted baby) or a child being taken from its mother, is the near-hysterical frenzy resulting in one columnist questioning the situation. It seems that in Britain, we value free speech, until someone says something we don’t like.

You can read Littlejohn’s article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5397713/Please-dont-pretend-two-dads-new-normal.html#ixzz57JbdtGIu