For most kids, the social prsur of middle school are tough enough. But an creasg number of young teenagers, some as young 10 or 11, are g out as gay or lbian middle school. Beno Denizet-Lewis, who wrote about the trend the New York Tim Magaze, discs what social factors uld be leadg young people to e out earlier.
Contents:
- IS YOUR CHILD GAY?
- GAY YOUTH COMG OUT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
- WHEN DO GAY KIDS START “ACTG GAY”?
- COMG OUT AS GAY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
- EARLY SIGNS TO TELL YOUR CHILD IS GAY
- HOW TO TELL IF YOUR KID IS GAY
IS YOUR CHILD GAY?
* can a 12 year old be gay *
Homosexual (gay or lbian). People who are homosexual are romantilly and physilly attracted to people of the same sex: femal are attracted to other femal; mal are attracted to other mal.
Homosexuals (whether male or female) are often lled "gay.
GAY YOUTH COMG OUT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
A Mnota school district is facg a Department of Jtice vtigatn and a private lawsu over s alleged failure to bat antigay bullyg.... * can a 12 year old be gay *
" Gay femal are also lled lbian.
WHEN DO GAY KIDS START “ACTG GAY”?
Beg straight, gay, or bisexual is not somethg that a person n choose or choose to change. It is timated that about 10% of people are gay.
Gay people are reprented all walks of life, across all natnali, ethnic backgrounds, and all social and enomic groups. Beg gay is also not nsired a mental disorr or abnormaly.
Dpe myths and misnceptns, there is no evince that beg gay is ed by early childhood experienc, parentg styl, or the way someone is raised. Efforts to change gay people to straight (sometim lled "nversn therapy") have been proven to be effective and n be harmful. Knowg one's sexual orientatn — whether straight or gay — is often somethg that kids or teens regnize wh ltle doubt om a very young age.
COMG OUT AS GAY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Some gay teens say they had same-sex csh childhood, jt as their heterosexual peers had oppose-sex csh.
By middle school, as they enter adolcence, many gay teens already regnize their sexual orientatn, whether or not they have revealed to anyone else.
EARLY SIGNS TO TELL YOUR CHILD IS GAY
Those who didn't realize they were gay at first often say that they always felt different om their peers, but didn't exactly know why.
But the experienc, by themselv, do not necsarily mean that a teen is gay or straight. And spe genr stereotyp, mascule and feme tras do not necsarily predict whether someone is straight or gay. Once aware, some gay teens may be que fortable and accept their sexualy, while others might fd nfg or difficult to accept.
How Gay Teens Might Feel. Like their straight peers, gay teens may strs about school, gras, llege, sports, activi, iends, and ftg . But addn, gay and lbian teens often al wh an extra layer of strs — like whether they have to hi who they are, whether they will be harassed about beg gay, or whether they will face stereotyp or judgments if they are hont about who they are.
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR KID IS GAY
Many gay teens worry about whether they will be accepted or rejected by their loved on, or whether people will feel upset, angry, or disappoted them. It n take time for gay teens to procs how they feel and to accept this aspect of their own inty before they reveal their sexual orientatn to others. In some suatns, teens who are openly gay may risk facg more harassment than those who haven't revealed their sexual orientatn.