“Bye, I love you!” I said as I hung up the phone. My 15-year-old daughter was in the car at the time and asked who I was talking to. “My friend, Leslie, from Texas.”

“A woman?” she said. “That’s just weird, mom.”

I laughed. “No it’s not. She’s my friend and I do love her very much. Why shouldn’t I tell her that?”

My daughter just shook her head and said, “It’s kinda gay, don’t you think?”

“No, it’s not gay. I have friends I kiss, too — on the lips! And I hug them and I get excited when I see them. I adore them, and I’m devoted to them. I have friends who captivate me with their beauty and intelligence. I tell them so. I tell them I think they’re beautiful and amazing. It’s nothing sexual. It’s phileo.”

“What’s phileo?” she asked.

Read the article “How to Stop Sexualizing Everything” on thefederalist.com.