Woman 'Didn't Miss Out on a Single Thing' Being Raised by Two Moms

A woman's video on what truly makes a family has gone viral on TikTok.

Kaulyn Lee-McNeill opened up about her experience of being raised by two moms and said that she never felt deprived of a father's presence.

"Growing up with two moms, I felt people looked down on me and my sister, and a lot of people would say a child needs a strong father figure in their life to grow up successful," the 29-year-old told Newsweek.

Lee-McNeill, from Los Angeles, California, described her upbringing as amazing in a household with a lot of love and support. "If anything, it was more normal than people imagine," she said.

"I grew up in middle-class America surrounded by peers with similar socio-economic backgrounds; the only difference was I grew up with two moms.

"I played sports growing up, had great friends, and my moms both worked hard to provide for me and my sister," Lee-McNeill added.

She frequently posts videos about her experience of growing up with two moms because she found a lot of people were uneducated in this area, "so I tried to shed some light on what it was like," Lee-McNeill said.

One of the most striking aspects of Lee-McNeill's video is her insistence that she never missed out on having a dad.

Outlining the emphasis on the father-daughter dance in the U.S., she said that she never felt unfulfilled or lacking in any way as a child.

"I found a lot of my friends' parents felt this way, and American culture really puts an emphasis on men being the leader of a family/household," Lee-McNeill added.

"I never felt that way at all and always knew you did not need a male figure in your life to be happy or deemed as successful."

The video, which has been viewed nearly 1 million times, prompted thousands of comments from other TikTok users who also grew up without a father figure in their lives, with many posting that Lee-McNeill's two-mom household sounded like a dream.

One user, whose dad left when they were 4, commented: "I never once wished I had a dad instead of two mums. I couldn't have asked for better mums."

Another wrote they felt the same as Lee-McNeill: "I was a donor conceived child raised by a single mother and never felt any kind of loss or absence."

Lee-McNeill told Newsweek that, while there will always be negative comments on such videos, the overall reaction on social media was positive.

"I think people were shocked to see how I grew up and how normal I turned out," she said.

"I get a lot of questions from struggling LGBTQ+ families that are worried how their kids will turn out [and] I always reassure them they will be fine and to be as positive as possible.

"I feel, when they see my content, it brings hope and positivity; it gives future LGBTQ+ parents hope that they can in fact raise a family and their kids will turn out fine."

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