with some of the later evening conversations i've been having this week. one happened around youth and their claims to homosexuality or bi-sexuality earlier & earlier. no one seemed to have a legitimate reason for this, except to say, it's more acceptable. so i was intrigued to read this latest piece from usa today (not to mention they always have the best looking, and usually skewed graphs) on youth coming out earlier.
Gay teenagers are "coming out" earlier than ever, and many feel better about themselves than earlier generations of gays, youth leaders and researchers say. The change is happening in the wake of opinion polls that show growing acceptance of gays, more supportive adults and positive gay role models in popular media.
i suppose there are more positive role models. i would not be able to name them (i could name shows & their characters, but those are not necessarily role models). john amaechi, whom i watch play basketball at penn state, has now come out as openly gay nba player. he could be a positive role model.
still youth face bullying, persecution, and fear. interesting enough, it isn't just "gay bashing" anymore.
The worst off, experts say, are young people in conservative rural regions and children whose parents cannot abide having gay offspring. Taunting at school is still common. Cyber-bullying is "the new big thing," says Laura Sorensen of Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center in Ferndale, Mich. "Kids are getting hate mail and taunts on MySpace or Facebook."
this is not to be a theological breakdown case for or against homosexuality. i think we should all be able to agree though that youth (and adults alike) do not need to be persecuted or bashed as they sort through their lives. otherwise we stand to help our young people find worse ways to deal with themselves.
Researchers traditionally have emphasized that gay teens have worse mental health and higher suicide rates than straight teens. But Cornell's Savin-Williams says these conclusions are primarily based on small, older studies skewed to troubled youths. A few newer studies suggest teens who are attracted to both sexes may have the worst problems. But most research has grouped them with homosexuals.
Gay kids are more likely than straight teens to think about or try suicide, but there's no evidence they're more likely to kill themselves, says sociologist Stephen Russell of the University of Arizona. He has analyzed findings from a study of 12,000 teens followed up to a decade so far. Those with same-sex attractions are more depressed and anxious, Russell says, but there's also evidence that many who say they're attracted to others of their sex grow up to be heterosexual. He says stigma and prejudice still prompt undue stress for gay kids.
