straight people: what is so awful -- or, what do you think other straight people think is so awful -- about having a gay child?
be honest.
When my sister in law first came out, I think her mom was initially disappointed because it shattered an image of her little girl one day walking down an aisle in a white dress, getting married. I also think she was sad because she knew how hard it would be for her (my S-I-L) in our society. She was in the Air Force at the time and we know how that is. Ultimately she came out there and was discharged due to don't ask don't tell. It was a very difficult time for her and it was hard for her mom to watch her going through this. So for my mother in law, I think her aversion was more that she didn't want her daughter to have a difficult life.
My father in law on the other hand, while he loves his daughter very much, has moral issues with it, I think. He's very conservative and he had a more difficult time accepting it. I think both of them however, just want the best for their daughter and being gay in our culture, while more universally accepted, is still difficult and it's hard to see your child suffer.
For some, a woman who's granddaughter plays soccer with my daughter for example, it's just immoral, against the bible, not normal, etc. and she just thinks it's wrong. She was very supportive of prop 8 because she didn't want homosexuality taught in schools. And parents I think don't want their children looked at funny. Think about the stereotypes and what that comes with. You look at a lesbian like Portia De Rossi, who looks just like a supermodel and compare her to a very "butch" looking lesbian and you'll see that people or a parent would probably be more accepting of the "pretty" lesbian because she looks like she's "supposed" to, she looks like a girl. The same for the gay man with the feminine voice.
Honestly, for the parent that will accept their gay child and love them no matter what, the disappointment comes from knowing that life's road might be made more difficult for their child because they're gay. For the parent that has a moral aversion to homosexuality, I think the disappointment comes from that. They might still love their child, but can not accept the lifestyle as anything more than a sin. "Love the sinner, hate the sin".
I'm so far on the accepting side, that it's hard to fathom a different opinion, but anyway, this is just my 2 cents.