I have a few teachers in my family and they are teaching the middle and high school levels. We were having a discussion about the things the kids were doing now days and how their behaviors are compared to what we used to do in school. All of them said that suddenly there is a big thing going on where kids that are as young as 10 years old are saying they are gay and actually having same sex relationships.
When I was in school, being gay was not cool and people would laugh and kids would get beat up for being gay which I think was wrong but it was socially unacceptable at that time. But now days kids find it to be cool and they don't seem to have a true understanding of what being gay is all about. How can they say they are gay when they have little to no understanding of how their bodies work and how their sexuality works? Do you think this is a fad or are they born like this or are we as a society making being gay the cool thing to do?
2006-09-23 04:26:47 · 22 answers · asked by chocolatebabycakes 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The exuberance is not because I believe kids that age should be having any sort of sex. It's because curiosity is so much healthier than ostracizing and beating on kids that are perceived as different.
To answer your question, yes, a lot of LGBT ppl begin to grasp that their sexual orientation is different at early puberty. For some, it's really clear, for others muddy just like everything else at that age. I'd guess that there are a lot of dynamics going on. Part of it may be simple curiosity and part of it may a way for kids to "shock" adults - the new rebellion like punk/goth once was. And, yes, it probably reflects a safer world for gay kids to be who they are instead of hiding and hating themselves for not being "normal". In any case, the curious and fad followers will not end up living gay if they are not gay. Sexual orientation is a central, innate part of being, not an intellectual decision. When these kids mature, they will realize who genuinely attracts them and what they experiment with when they're young isn't going to have much influence. That is, much influence over they're choice of partners - but hopefully a whole lot of influence over their attitudes towards other cultures, types of personalities, and yes, sexual orientations.
2006-09-23 05:26:49 · answer #1 · answered by Alex62 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As society has become more open to those with differences, those who are born different and feel different have more confidence in themselves. They also have better support from friends and family.
As far as your question about "knowing what being gay is all about"? Don't kids as early as kindergarten have girlfriends and boyfriends? Don't straight people know they're straight before having sex?
It has nothing to do with being cool. It has everything to do with a better understanding in a culture that, as you said, used to beat kids up for being gay. The only thing that isn't cool is beating a kid up for being gay.
2006-09-23 08:11:43 · answer #2 · answered by WBrian_28 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kids are one heck of a lot more 'hip' today than they were when you were their age...TV, etc. has made them "grow up" fast. IF I had known what I know today, and IF it were relatively acceptable, I would have said I was Gay at age 11 or 12, for I knew that I was different than those about me...in fact, I knew that at age 6. I truly do not believe that things have changed greatly in the past 50 years biologically, but socially, things have change immensely. Does a 10 year old know if he/she is gay or not....probably. Should they feel free to discuss it? ....probably. Will parents get blown away by all of this...definitely. Such is life in the fast lane we have created. Good luck and peace.
2006-09-23 04:56:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
In 15 years you'll see if it's a fad or not.
It is more acceptable now to be gay than it was 10 years ago and I'm glad the kids are comfortable enough with that, even if it is a "fad".
As for not knowing how their body works at that age, can we not argue then that STRAIGHT 10 year olds don't know for sure if they're straight?
They are all talk at that age, at least to my recollection they were, and if they knew adults were having conniption fits about it then they wouldn't let up.
2006-09-23 04:37:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think today it is much more socially acceptable to talk about ones orientation so the kids come out earlier. (I also think it is much more acceptable to talk about sexual matters in general at a relatively early age.) This type of thing was not acceptable when we were their age.
On the other hand, do the kids grasp that opposite and same sex attraction is normal at a certain stage of development? I doubt it.
Gay people know they are different very early in childhood; bisexual people a little later. So when a gay or lesbian child comes out early today, it probably is due to the cultural acceptance of coming out, in the protective atmosphere of school.
2006-09-23 05:46:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, for some it is. I knew that I liked girls for the first time when I was about 8 or so. I didn't know anything about sex, but being gay is always about sex. I felt a 'stronger-than-friendship' attraction for some of the girls I was in school with.
But now, especially in high schools, it's "cool" to be gay or bi-which makes it bad for the rest of it. I was late coming out of the closet, so I have slept with men in the past, so for other lesbians, that makes me look bad. It makes me look like I'm "trying it out" and I'm not.
2006-09-23 06:25:23 · answer #6 · answered by Agent Double EL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I' think it's partly a fad, party the fact that it's easier for kids to come out know and be more vocal about it...and partly that kids are willing to experiment...I don't think society is making it a cool thing for them to do.....I'd much rather kids talked about it now than treated anyone the way we were treated years ago...
2006-09-23 05:52:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people claim to have discovered their sexuality as young as 7 (kinda young, I know) while it took me a little longer.
It's easier to come out now too. And while I don't really think it's a fad or anything, coming out is more popular in younger kids now and coming out in general is more frequent.
-Alika613
2006-09-23 07:09:28 · answer #8 · answered by alika613 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think that because its acceptable to be gay more people are going to head down that path and if the adults are doing it then the youngsters will copy too! we are getting used to hearing about kids having sex with each other as in boy-girl an now its boy-boy or girl-girl. they see it on tv an in magazines an from their friends so its no wonder that they are trying it out for themselves!! i dnt beleive that someone can truely know their sexuallity at 10 years old i think that they are simply being curious.
2006-09-23 04:50:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
i just graduated from an all girls catholic high school 2 years ago, an di waited to come out until after high school because it was a fad. and half the people that said they were "gay" aren't. it is getting the attention you want. so like i wanted people to take me seriously, and thats why i waited. its a fad!
2006-09-24 08:58:36 · answer #10 · answered by Katie R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋