Quote from: Cvalda on Feb 28, 2013, 09:25:12 PM
Quote from: KirklandSignature on Feb 28, 2013, 09:22:52 PM
I don't know why you've chosen to embrace a negative approach to my questions. Where are these news stories of transgender kids in the time before high speed internet made such stories common place? To me, there seems to be a noticable increase in the amount of transgender children being in the news. Back then, you would only hear about young adults who identified as transgender with maybe rare cases of pre-pubescent children identifing with the '3rd' gender.
Where were all the news reports about gay and lesbian kids from before high speed internet? Are all the reports of gay youth now a result of some sort of growth hormone too?!!
Seriously, stop trolling.
Here's one article
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-02-19/news/8501100392_1_gay-children-film-respect-and-acceptanceand here's another
Young people and coming out
http://www.avert.org/coming-out.htm"LGBT youth are coming out younger than ever before. Studies have shown that the average age gay and lesbian young people begin the process of coming out is now 16, compared to the
1980's when it was between 19 and 23.19 This means that many more young people are coming out when they are still at school, which can seriously impact upon school-life and work. One study found that half of students who experience homophobic bullying have skipped school because of it.20 Schools that openly acknowledge and include LGBT students, and explicitly oppose homophobic bullying, create a positive environment in which all students feel safe and able to learn.21
Coming out as LGBT for many young people can also mean risking rejection and even the loss of support from family. As young people are less likely to have the resources to support themselves if they are cut off from family, this can lead to considerable hardship, for example homelessness, mental health problems and substance abuse. In the US, LGBT young people represent a disproportionate number of homeless youth - between 20 and 40 percent.22
Young LGBT people need more than just practical support when coming out; acceptance and understanding are crucial. Many young LGBT people are undermined when they try to talk about their sexuality and gender identity, by parents, teachers, and even doctors dismissing their feelings as a phase. Many young people experiment as they are learning more about their sexuality. However, for young LGBT people, coming out is not a phase but an important part of their life. When this is not recognised by close friends and family, young LGBT people often find coming out much harder."
Modern culture and society in general has allowed more adults to come out much sooner, thereby explaining to some degree of more people coming out as gay or transgender at a younger age.
