High school is a challengg time for most teens. It n be even more so for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr stunts. Judy Chiasson of the Los Angel Unified School District and Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network talk about beg openly LGBT school.
Contents:
- WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
- WHAT IS LIKE GROWG UP GAY?
- YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?
- WHAT'S LIFE LIKE FOR GAY KIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
- GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
All gay have been raised to share some tras wh a mon source. Some hered behavrs for survival have been eply programmed our bras. However tim are changg, so are we. A tailed look at how current kids are raised and how we are livg for the first time a full generatn of openly gay people. * what would you do gay kid *
While navigatg sexualy and genr inty has typilly been difficult for most lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, or queer (LGBTQ) youth, dog so durg a global panmic may be tensified by other mental health issu.
None of the parents approached me wh fear or embarrassment, nor sadns or anger; rather, they turned to me for any salient advice that I — as an LGBTQ expert, queer iend, and gay parent — uld give to them. They immediately clocked as gay, while we immediately clocked them as we warmed up to another, one mom anxly said: "I have a qutn: I am pretty sure my son is gay, but I don't know what to do. "For example, if someone the word "gay" place of "stupid, " remd them that the two are not terchangeable, and suggt they should say what they actually mean stead.
WHAT IS LIKE GROWG UP GAY?
* what would you do gay kid *
"The rourc n help:PFLAG: The untry’s largt anizatn ung parents, fai, and alli wh people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and Spectm: Offers groups, trag, and rourc promotg genr sensivy and cln for all youthGLBT Natnal Rource Database: LGBTQ+ digal directory of rourcNatnal Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network: Directory of therapists/unselors who are people of lorNatnal LGBTQ Task Force: The progrsive advocy arm of the LGBTQ+ movementDurg LGBTQ Pri Month, TODAY is sharg the muny’s history, pa, joy and what’s next for the movement. So your child jt me out as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr.
YOUR CHILD JT TOLD YOU HE'S GAY. NOW WHAT?
"How you react to your gay or transgenr children has a ep and lastg impact on their liv, " the Fay Acceptance Project says an rmatn gui. Project director Cal Ryan utns parents agast exprsg shame that their child me out or preventg them om fdg an LGBT support Montgomery of Chandler, Ariz., wasn’t sure what to do when she realized her then-13-year-old son Jordan might be gay. "Comg om a very nservative, very Orthodox, multigeneratnal Mormon home, I didn’t know any gay people, " she says.
If I knew gay people, I didn’t know they were gay. " The three of them did rearch together to learn more about homosexualy and to try to fd lol LGBT anizatns and rourc. Comg out, fdg a good therapist and attendg gathergs wh other LGBT teens and those who are acceptg “really helped get me to where I am now, where I feel like I’ve never been more mentally healthy, ” said Jordan, now 18 and who jt fished his first year of also helped Jordan is when his mom troduced him to happy, succsful gay upl.
WHAT'S LIFE LIKE FOR GAY KIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS?
Fay Acceptance Project rearch shows that the average age that kids realize they were gay was a a ltle over age 13.
GAY PARENTS RAISG KIDS: HOW WILL THEY FARE?
"I’m a better person for havg a gay child, " she says. The group (formerly Parents, Fai, and Friends of Lbians and Gays) has 400 chapters across the untry. But providg support isn't always easy — pecially if you are the parent of a lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or qutng (LGBTQ) child.
Advote for a gay-straight alliance (GSA), which has been shown to make schools safer and boost amic performance among LGBTQ stunts.