Gay and Lesbian Teens – Healthy Children

Adolescence is a time for exploring one’s sexuality. It starts with socializing and flirting. Perhaps a boy and a girl are in the same ninth-grade Spanish class, and they find themselves talking and laughing together every morning until the teacher calls everyone to attention. They exchange shy smiles during the lesson, then part company in the hallway to go to their next classes. The chemistry between them is unmistakable, to them and to their friends.

Gay or lesbian adolescents may have those same feelings, but to express them openly would be unimaginable to most of them, even if they live in relatively tolerant communities. Homosexual youth often have to conduct their sexual exploration in secret from their peers and their families—most of all their families. In a survey of students in public high schools, 97 percent said they regularly heard other teens make antigay (homophobic) remarks. Fearing ostracism, or physical harm, many gay and lesbian teenagers try to keep their sexual orientation a secret or suppress it altogether.

What Determines Sexual Orientation? – Read more - Healthy Children

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/dating-sex/pages/Gay-and-Lesbian-Teens.aspx