What to Do When Your Child Says: "I'm Gay" | Psychology Today

Contents:

• HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY
• I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?
• FROM ‘GLAD TO BE GAY’ TO ‘SAD TO BE GAY’
• SAD TO BE GAY
• SAD GAY QUOT & SAYGS
• MY "SAD GAY STORY"-- AND WHY I TELL IT
• SAD TO BE GAY
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
• I HATE BEG GAY SO MUCH

HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU'RE GAY AND LONELY

Part of realizg you're gay, or bi, or trans, or non-bary, or anythg other than cisgenr and heterosexual is acceptg you’re different—and somewhat separated—om the majory.

I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?

At the time, there were no real gay role mols except for Graham Norton and Jack om Dawson's Creek—and I certaly didn't intify wh him bee I wasn't a football player.

If you’re lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, or queer(LGBTQ) or are explorg your sexual orientatn or genr inty, and you stggle wh anxiety or prsn, let’s start by puttg thgs to ntext. All of , whether gay, straight, cisgenr, or not — or somewhere between — are more than a nstellatn of the difficulti that we’ve had to face. NHS England claims the new stctns are necsary bee lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) people are apparently ‘disproportnately affected’ by health equali such as poor mental health, and are at a higher risk of self-harm and suici.

FROM ‘GLAD TO BE GAY’ TO ‘SAD TO BE GAY’

The ma argument seems to be that gay people, particularly a homophobic society, are more vulnerable to mental-health problems and therefore need specific attentn. What’s more, earlier generatns of gay activists rebelled agast the notn that they were mentally ill, and rejected the pathologisatn of homosexual sire.

In 1972, the veteran gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell – at the time a leadg member of the Gay Liberatn Front – was physilly asslted and ejected om a talk given by the psychologist Hans Eysenck.

SAD TO BE GAY

Such mpaigns, alongsi changg social norms, fluenced the cisn by the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn to remove homosexualy om the 1974 edn of s Diagnostic and Statistil Manual.

But today’s emphasis on mental vulnerabily is not only ditive of the changg form of polil mpaigng, also risks re-medilisg homosexualy as somethg that requir monorg by doctors and social workers – albe a more palatable, pro-LGBT form. Documentary followg David Aksanya as he attends a ntroversial treatment center Ameri that promis 'eedom om homosexualy through the power of J Christ'.

SAD GAY QUOT & SAYGS

He probably is gay, but if he was nfed by an attractn to women (rather than jt a sire for change), s sad that he never nsired the possibily of beg bisexual. Cast & crewTV Movie200550mDocumentary followg David Aksanya as he attends a ntroversial treatment center Ameri that promis 'eedom om homosexualy through the power of J Christ'.

MY "SAD GAY STORY"-- AND WHY I TELL IT

Read allDocumentary followg David Aksanya as he attends a ntroversial treatment center Ameri that promis 'eedom om homosexualy through the power of J Christ'. High school iends who had e out to her as gay didn’t believe her when she told them that she was bisexual, cg her past relatnships wh men. She felt like her queerns alienated her om her straight iends, and her relatnships wh men prevented her om fully relatg to her gay iends.

SAD TO BE GAY

A 2017 review of 52 studi, for stance, found that when pared wh heterosexual people, bisexual people had higher rat of prsn and anxiety, and higher or equivalent rat of those ndns when pared wh those who intified as gay.

People unr 25, nclud somethg siar among Ameri’s youth: Bisexual high school stunts reported more feelgs of sadns and hopelsns and more thoughts of suici than those who intified as heterosexual or ’s also some evince that bisexual people fared worse than their heterosexual and gay unterparts durg the panmic, cludg greater strs, lonels, psychologil distrs and fatigue; and poorer mental and physil health than those intifyg as straight or dispary is often a rult of the prejudic bisexual people face, Dr.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"

The study found that much of this discrimatn often om gay and lbian people, followed by fay members and straight people; and n directly impact bisexual people’s mental health, cludg ntributg to prsn, strs and exacerbated or triggered anxiety (cludg panic attacks and post-trmatic strs disorr).

I HATE BEG GAY SO MUCH

She said she was never ashamed of her sexualy until her 20s, when both gay and straight iends and fay started tellg her they didn’t believe she was really attracted to women, and that she was gog through a phase. LOG IN WITH FACEBOOKHome›Polics and Activism›My "Sad Gay Story"-- And Why I Tell It›The text of this op-ed was origally given as a speech to Unterweg’s Cafe English Tübgen, Germany on June 8, 2016.

If you’ve seen "Wt Si Story, " you probably know about the much giggled-at le om Maria’s song “I Feel Pretty” where she sgs: “I feel pretty, oh so pretty, oh so pretty and wty and gay!