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

Contents:

• IS MY BROTHER GAY? QUIZ (BOYS ONLY)
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU LEARN A BROTHER/SISTER IS GAY
• THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
• ARE YOUNGER BROTHERS MORE LIKELY TO BE GAY?
• TELLG FRIENDS AND RELATIV ABOUT A CHILD WHO SAYS HE’S GAY
• PARENTS ASK: SHOULD WE WA FOR OUR SON TO E OUT — OR ASK HIM OURSELV IF HE’S GAY?
• MY LTLE BROTHER IS GAY.. WHAT DO I DO?
• DEAR THERAPIST: MY PARENTS WON’T LET ME TELL MY BROTHER I’M GAY
• RPONDG TO A “GAY CHRISTIAN” THE FAY
• HOW TO TELL IF YOUR GUY FRIEND IS GAY
• HIS BROTHER IS GAY; WHAT ARE HIS RPONSIBILI TOWARDS HIM?

IS MY BROTHER GAY? QUIZ (BOYS ONLY)

If somethg is odd about your bro, like him actg spic around other boys - or somethg else that jt seems odd - take this quiz to fd out if he might be gay. Omg I'm a girl and I'm only 11 and my bro is 9 I thk he is gay and why would he watch gay ?OR?? Bee when I put no he don't stare at me that would make him be gay ( the sense of this quiz) but the quiz would terperate as he's straight if that mak sense at all?

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU LEARN A BROTHER/SISTER IS GAY

If you thk your brother is gay bee he watch a "girly" TV show or his voice sounds a certa way, that's relyg on stereotyp.

THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

If you live a particularly homophobic or transphobic area, discs safety plans wh the fay member se of vlence om others. If your fay member has e out as gay or bisexual, accept that they will end up seeg someone of their own genr, and that's perfectly okay.

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

Don't be aaid to rearch beg gay, bisexual, transgenr, asexual, or whatever your fay member me out as. If you saw your brother kissg another guy and he said he is not attracted to women, y, he is gay.

I have a gay brother and I hope this helps you figure out if your brother is gay ^_^ remember that outg people is not kd and that if your brother is gay, he will e out when he is ready!: P If you want to e this quiz for your iends and not brother, that's okay, but I n't guarantee that 'll be as accurate XD. As a rult, many aterny brothers and sorory sisters more than likely have never knowgly enuntered someone who is gay, lbian, or bisexual and/or may not know what to do when they learn a brother/sister is gay. Such lack of knowledge and preparatn perpetuat the ignorance and fear surroundg homosexualy and jeopardiz brotherhood/sisterhood for both gay and straight aterny brothers and sorory sisters.

This list provis some suggted ias to keep md when a aterny brother or sorory sister learns that another brother/sister is gay, some remendatns on what you need to do when you learn that a Brother/Sister is Gay.

ARE YOUNGER BROTHERS MORE LIKELY TO BE GAY?

Rpect his/her choice to tell you by lettg him/her know you will not tell anyone he/she is gay. Remember that your brother/sister may be gay, but he/she may not be ready to acknowledge this to himself/herself or others.

Be supportive of your brother/sister, possibly brg up gay topics to munite that you would be a person wh whom he/she n talk.

TELLG FRIENDS AND RELATIV ABOUT A CHILD WHO SAYS HE’S GAY

They will also need assistance nouncg and bullyg their peers when others fd out that they have a gay or lbian siblg. As a siblg, here’s a list of what NOT to do when you already know you have a gay brother/sister:. Do not be ashamed or fail to fend a brother/sister who is gay if, otherwise, he/she is a good sister.

Do not be aaid to e the word gay/lbian or bisexual, and do not ignore him/her when he/she brgs up gay topics.

PARENTS ASK: SHOULD WE WA FOR OUR SON TO E OUT — OR ASK HIM OURSELV IF HE’S GAY?

Do not try to rtrict the brother’s/sister’s eedom to share beg gay and/or to be a public role mol. Revised om Out on Fraterny Row: Personal Acunts of Beg Gay a College Fraterny, eded by Shane L.

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. "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.

Im jt super unfortable about and i dont want to nont him or embarrass him if he's gay or whatever, bee my relatnship wh him means everythg to me. Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love. There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia.

MY LTLE BROTHER IS GAY.. WHAT DO I DO?

'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022. Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife.

The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage". There was a recent high profile story the news about an 11-year-old boy who mted suici, apparently bee he uld no longer tolerate beg lled “gay.

DEAR THERAPIST: MY PARENTS WON’T LET ME TELL MY BROTHER I’M GAY

Many anti-bully activists sist that anti-bully laws should specifilly mentn sults agast gays and those of non-heterosexual orientns. If be a crime to sult people, then, is hoped, no one will be attacked wh the “gay” sult, and the associated vlence will disappear.

RPONDG TO A “GAY CHRISTIAN” THE FAY

One of the problems wh makg illegal to ll someone “gay” is that vlat the First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. The tth is that society has e a long way recent s toward rcg hatred and discrimatn agast gays. If people get punished for sultg gays, do you thk they are gog to thk, “Now I rpect gays so much bee I was punished”?

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR GUY FRIEND IS GAY

If we go to school together, are the same class, and I always treat you this way, you may even bee my iend even though you hate gays.

" The ia that I may be gay disturbs me and I don’t want to adm that I am unsure about my sexual orientatn. Scenar Number Five: I’m not gay, and you e to tell me that other people are spreadg a mor that I am.

You are gog to keep on tormentg me, and you are not gog to have rpect eher for me or for gay people general.

HIS BROTHER IS GAY; WHAT ARE HIS RPONSIBILI TOWARDS HIM?

I may also want to e the opportuny for a “teachg moment, ” so I’ll ask you:] How do you feel about gays?

And you will certaly stop tryg to torment me for beg gay bee your efforts to torment me won’t work. They may not know their own te sexual orientatn yet, and they may not even know the sexual meang of the word “gay. When parents learn that their child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, they n experience a range of emotns.

As a matter of fact, you might someday look back and fd that you are grateful for the experience of havg a gay or lbian child.