To unrstand the ntext of a person's life urse, is cril to unrstand the age hort to which that dividual belongs. Youth growg up today will see chang that earlier generatns of lbians and gay men would never have expected their lifetim, cludg policians, bs lears, and tors who are openly gay; marriage between same-sex upl; and an evolvg popular and artistic culture that provis many posive portrayals of lbian and gay characters movi and plays, on televisn, and lerature. Today's youth are able to e the Inter to retrieve onle rmatn about LGBT issu, providg social workg opportuni and accs to knowledge a way that was not available to olr horts. At the same time, young LGBT people searchg the Inter and teractg wh their peers will be aware of the pervasive negative views of sexual and genr mori.
Contents:
SEXUAL ORIENTATN AND VELOPMENTAL CHALLENG EXPERIENCED BY GAY AND LBIAN YOUTHS
Jt the Facts provis rmatn and rourc for prcipals, tors and school personnel who nont sensive issu volvg gay, lbian and bisexual stunts. * homosexual orientation in adolescence *
Dpe the persistence of stereotyp that portray lbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several s of rearch and clil experience have led all mastream medil and mental health anizatns this untry to nclu that the orientatns reprent normal forms of human experience. Helpful rpons of a therapist treatg an dividual who is troubled about her or his same sex attractns clu helpg that person actively pe wh social prejudic agast homosexualy, succsfully rolve issu associated wh and rultg om ternal nflicts, and actively lead a happy and satisfyg life. The phrase “g out” is ed to refer to several aspects of lbian, gay, and bisexual persons’ experienc: self-awarens of same-sex attractns; the tellg of one or a few people about the attractns; wispread disclosure of same-sex attractns; and intifitn wh the lbian, gay, and bisexual muny.
Th, is not surprisg that lbians and gay men who feel they mt nceal their sexual orientatn report more equent mental health ncerns than do lbians and gay men who are more open; they may even have more physil health problems. Lbian, gay, and bisexual youth who do well spe strs—like all adolcents who do well spe strs—tend to be those who are socially petent, who have good problem-solvg skills, who have a sense of tonomy and purpose, and who look forward to the future. If they are a heterosexual relatnship, their experienc may be que siar to those of people who intify as heterosexual unls they choose to e out as bisexual; that se, they will likely face some of the same prejudice and discrimatn that lbian and gay dividuals enunter.
Teenagers who are gay, lbian, or bisexual (GLB) are overwhelmgly siar to their non-GLB peers. However, bee of societal stigma or potential rejectn,the adolcents may face var challeng durg their adolcent years and are at greater risk for substance abe, prsn, suici, and sexually transmted diseas (STDs) t... * homosexual orientation in adolescence *
When lbians, gay men, and bisexual people feel ee to make public their sexual orientatn, heterosexuals are given an opportuny to have personal ntact wh openly gay people and to perceive them as dividuals. This booklet provis rmatn om physicians, unselors, social workers, psychologists, legal experts, and tors who are knowledgeable about the velopment of sexual orientatn youth and the issu raised by sexual orientatn nversn therapy and ex-gay mistry.
4 Bee their legimate fear of beg harassed or hurt may rce the willgns of lbian, gay and bisexual youths to ask for help, is important that their school environments be open and acceptg so the young people will feel fortable sharg their thoughts and ncerns, cludg the optn of disclosg their sexual orientatn to others.
Th, the ia that homosexualy is a mental disorr or that the emergence of same-sex attractn and orientatn among some adolcents is any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy has no support among any mastream health and mental health profsnal anizatns. Dpe the general nsens of major medil, health, and mental health profsns that both heterosexualy and homosexualy are normal exprsns of human sexualy, efforts to change sexual orientatn through therapy have been adopted by some polil and relig anizatns and aggrsively promoted to the public. However, such efforts have ser potential to harm young people bee they prent the view that the sexual orientatn of lbian, gay, and bisexual youth is a mental illns or disorr, and they often ame the abily to change one’s sexual orientatn as a personal and moral failure.