Comg out to iends, fay, and loved on n be a major hurdle for lbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenrs, and qutng (LGBTQ) dividuals
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COMG OUT AS LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENR
For lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people, realizg their sexual orientatn or genr inty and sharg that rmatn wh fay * lgbt coming out essay *
For lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people, realizg their sexual orientatn or genr inty and sharg that rmatn wh fay and iends is often a gradual procs that n unfold over a seri of years. Lbians and gay men are more likely than bisexuals to have told at least one close iend about their sexual orientatn (96% of gay men and 94% of lbians, pared wh 79% of bisexuals). And they are much more likely to say that most of the people who are important to them know about this aspect of their life: 77% of gay men and 71% of lbians say all or most people know, pared wh 28% of bisexuals.
'Comg out as Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr' published 'Encyclopedia of Adolcence' * lgbt coming out essay *
Among all LGBT adults, those wh a llege gree are more likely than those who have not graduated om llege to say all or most of the important people their life know they are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (64% vs. Lbian, gay and bisexual survey rponnts were asked how old they were when they first felt they might be somethg other than straight or heterosexual.
The vast majory of lbians, gay men and bisexuals say they were their teens or younger when they first started to feel they might not be straight. Gay men are the least likely to report first havg the feelgs their twenti or beyond: 3% say they were 20 or olr, pared wh 14% of lbians and 15% of bisexuals.
15 Among LGBT adults who say they know for sure that they are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (92%), 17 is the median age at which they say they knew. One--five say they knew for sure they were lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr when they were their twenti, and 8% say wasn’t until they were 30 or olr. Fully two-thirds of gay men and lbians unr age 30 say they shared their sexual orientatn wh a iend or fay member before they were 20 years old.
* lgbt coming out essay *
The age gaps may be related to the fact that younger adults who may not yet intify themselv as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (but may the future) would not qualify to be clud the survey. As the public has bee more acceptg of the LGBT populatn, may be that gay men and lbians feel more fortable sharg their sexual orientatn at an earlier age.
Overall, LGBT adults are much more likely to have told a close iend that they are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr than they are to have told one of their parents.
Bisexuals are much more likely than gay men and lbians to say their sexual orientatn never me up wh their parents or that raisg the subject was not important to them. Among those who have not told their mothers, 34% of bisexuals and 16% of gay men and lbians gave this type of explanatn when asked why they hadn’t told her.