Sexual+Orientation+in+Adolescence

Created by __Mercedes__ Muniz and Migdalia Tamlin **Sexual Orientation in Adolescents** **Knowing, Accepting, and Respecting Yourself and Others**

// What this Wiki is all about... //  This wiki is for everyone! Students, teachers, parents, and everyone who thinks that tolerance and respect should be part of our daily life. Sexual orientation is a very important subject that should be discussed respectfully within our community. // First things first...who are you? //  Vocabulary is a communication tool that is constantly changing within our society and within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) community. Please use these terms and definitions as a suggested guideline for appropriate language with people that identify as LGBTQQ and as a starting point to open dialogue with clients, students, staff and families. []
 * ** Sexual Orientation ** || Sexual orientation is a person’s emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and sexual attraction and the expression of that attraction. ||
 * ** Bisexuality ** || A sexual orientation in which a person feels attracted to some members of both genders. ||
 * ** Heterosexuality ** || A sexual orientation in which a person feels attracted to some members of the opposite gender. ||
 * ** Homosexuality ** || A sexual orientation in which a person feels attracted to some members of the same gender – commonly, gay or lesbian. ||
 * ** Anatomical Sex ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Anatomical sex is a person’s genital sex often as assigned at __ birth __. Anatomical sex is also called biological or physiological sex. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Gender covers a wide range of issues that affect everyone. Subcategories of gender include ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Characteristics ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Characteristics that are used by others to attribute gender to an individual, such as __ facial __ hair or vocal pitch. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Expression/Gender Presentation ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">The way a person expresses gender through gestures, movement, dress, and grooming. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Stereotypes ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Preconceived ideas about how each gender should look, dress and act. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Identity ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A person’s understanding, definition, or experience of their own gender, regardless of anatomical sex. Gender identity may or may not be the same as the individual’s anatomical sex. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Binary ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A social system that requires everyone to be raised as a boy or girl (dependent on what sex you are assigned at __birth__). It is a system in which those who fall within “gender norms” benefit at the expense of those who do not. This system results in transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia (see below definitions) as well as intersex discrimination. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Nonconformity ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Expressing gender or having gender characteristics or gender identity that does not conform to the expectations of society and culture. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Role ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Culturally accepted and expected behavior associated with biological sex. The feelings, attitudes, mannerisms, and behaviors that is culturally associated with men or with women. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Intersex ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A person born with full or partial genitalia or reproductive organs of both sexes, or with underdeveloped or ambiguous sex organs. About 4% of all births are Intersex to some degree. Intersex replaces the previously used “hermaphrodite,” a term found offensive by many. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Genderqueer ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Increasingly popular terms used by people who feel their identities do not easily fit into a male/female binary. Maybe a genderqueer person feels they are both male and female, or neither one, or flexibly transform between expressions or identities. It is a term used by people who redefine or play with gender, who refuse gender altogether, and/or who bend/break the rules of gender and blur gender boundaries. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Gender Baiting ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Taunting intended to harass or humiliate an individual because they are perceived as insufficiently masculine or feminine. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Transgender (TG) ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">An umbrella term used to refer to individuals for whom their anatomical sex does not accurately or adequately describe their gender identity. It is a term for designating those who transcend or transgress gender by not looking, acting, being or identifying as traditionally male or female; this umbrella term can include cross dressers, transsexuals, intersex people and other gender nonconformists. Because sexual orientation and gender identity are two separate identity issues, transgender individuals may also self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Transsexual (TS) ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">A person who transitions from one gender to another. Their transition may or may not involve medical transition (i.e. surgery or hormone use). ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Cross-living ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Living full-time in the preferred gender (other than assigned sex at birth); sometimes in preparation for gender reassignment surgery, sometimes not. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Crossdresser (CD) ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Used by people who privately or socially present in clothing, name, and/or pronouns that differs from their everyday gender. While some trans and gender variant people begin their self-discovery by cross-dressing, many people who self-identify as cross dressers are not transgender and do not seek transition. Most transgender people find it disparaging to be called cross dressers. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">** Drag King/Queen ** || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Used by people who present socially in clothing, name, and/or pronouns that differs from their everyday gender, usually for enjoyment, entertainment, and/or self-expression. Drag queens typically have everyday lives as men; drag kings typically live as women and/or butches when not performing. Drag shows are popular in some gay, lesbian, and bisexual environments. Many transgender people consider it offensive to be called drag queens or drag kings. ||

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Is my sexual orientation a choice?...

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<span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">//I am sure you have heard it all, or at least some of it!// <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">These are some Myths and Thruths about Sexual Orientation:

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">// Please note that the following information is adapted (with a few revisions) with the kind permission of the Counseling Services office of the State University of New York at Buffalo. It is taken from the self-help section of their website: []. // <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #1:** //It's okay to call LGB persons names like "queer," "faggot," and "dyke" because they are "deviant."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** A gay man or lesbian is someone whose primary sexual and affectional preference is for a member of his or her own sex. These preferences fall outside the statistical norm, but difference does not equal deviance. If it did, blue-eyed people and left-handed people - who are also in the statistical minority - would be considered deviant. Male homosexuals generally prefer to be called "gay," while female homosexuals generally prefer to be called "lesbian," although the term "gay" is often acceptable for both sexes. To be called "queer","faggot", or "dyke" is derogatory and insulting. [Note that some people within the LGB community have adopted the word "queer" to describe their non-heterosexual orientation. For some in the community, this term is used as a political statement.]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #2:** //LGB persons are mentally ill.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Homosexuality is considered normal in most of the world's cultures. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and declared that homosexuality is as healthy as heterosexuality. Like anyone else, however, LGB persons can become maladjusted when they are treated with hostility.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #3:** //LGB persons are not "normal."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Sexual behavior and orientation exist along a continuum that ranges from people who are exclusively attracted to members of the same sex, to people who are equally attracted to members of both sexes, to people who are exclusively attracted to members of the opposite sex. All are normal.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #4:** //LGB persons are few in number and "hide out" in __careers__ like theater, interior design and cosmetology.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** A generally accepted statistic is that approximately one in 10 persons is gay or lesbian. Gay men, lesbian women, and bisexuals are found in all walks of life and in all professions. For example, consider the following professional associations: the National Lawyers Guild Gay Caucus, the Association of Gay Psychologists, the Gay Nurses Association, the Association of Gay Seminarians and Clergy, the Gay __Airline__ Pilots Association, and the Gay __Prize__ Fighters of America Association, to name but a few. 3

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #5:** //Gay men like to dress as women; gay men wish they were women and lesbians wish they were men.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Gay men and lesbians, for the most part, are comfortable with their identities as men and women and have no desire to change their sex. Some gay men dress up as women (e.g. for drag shows). Many men who enjoy dressing up in women’s clothing (crossdressers) are heterosexual.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #6:** //LGB persons are a menace to children.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** The overwhelming majority of child molestation cases --90 to 95 percent-- involve heterosexual men and are committed against females under the age of 18.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #7:** //LGB persons are promiscuous.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** LGB persons are neither more nor less sexually promiscuous than heterosexuals. Like heterosexuals, many gay men and lesbians are involved in monogamous relationships, considering themselves partners and committed to each other for life. Some gay men and lesbians may also choose to remain celibate, and others may have multiple partners, just as some heterosexuals do.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #8:** //Parents cause their children to become gay, lesbian, or bisexual.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Reasons that a particular sexual orientation develops are unknown. Current research indicates that it is a very complex matter that involves both biological and environmental influences. Just as we cannot explain what makes some people heterosexual, we do not understand what makes other people gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #9:** //If a gay man or lesbian could just meet the "right" member of the opposite sex, then he or she could fall in love and be "cured."// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Many gay men and lesbians have dated members of the opposite sex but find it more fulfilling to date members of their own sex. Most LGB persons have no desire to change their sexual orientation. Those who do are usually reacting to negative societal attitudes toward homosexuality.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #10:** //If a friend tells you he or she is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, then that friend is coming on to you.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Being gay involves more than a person's sexual activity. When friends "come out" (reveal their sexual orientation) to you, they are essentially inviting you to know them as whole people. If a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person chooses to come out to you, then that person has decided to share part of his or her identity with you. Such a disclosure means only that this friend trusts you, not that he or she would like to become sexually involved with you.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #11:** //If you have friends who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, that must mean you are also gay.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Liking or loving someone who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual does not make you gay any more than liking someone who is Catholic or Jewish makes you Catholic or Jewish.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #12:** //AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a gay disease.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** AIDS is caused by a virus. Viruses infect all kinds of people, regardless of their sexual orientation. Worldwide, the majority of HIV transmission occurs through heterosexual contact. AIDS is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as blood, semen and breast milk. Some people have contracted AIDS from sharing intravenous needles. While AIDS has been contracted by a large number of gay men in the United States, it has also been contracted by heterosexual men and women as well as and children and even infants. Associating with gays does not mean you will get AIDS. For further information about AIDS, contact the National Gay Task Force Hotline ( 1-800-221-7044 ) or the National AIDS hotline ( 1-800-342-AIDS ).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #13:** //Gay men and lesbian women are unfit to be parents.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Research has shown that the available data do not support negative stereotypes about same-sex parents. For example, children raised by gay or lesbian parents are not more likely to be gay or lesbian themselves and not more likely to experience problems in development or in relationships with friends/peers compared to those with heterosexual parents. There are many national organizations that support same-sex parenting, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Bar Association, and the American Psychological Association.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Myth #14:** //LGB persons should not be schoolteachers, because they would bring their sexuality into the classroom.// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Fact:** Sexuality is neither more nor less a central or defining part of an LGB person’s life than it is for a heterosexual person. Thus, sexuality would not influence an LGB person’s teaching any more than it would for one who identifies as heterosexual.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Interesting...Sexual Orientation issues affect more than just humans... <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">According to a study published in the following medical website: [], homosexuality is very common among herding animals in the animal kingdom. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same gender sex. <span style="color: #ff4f00; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">About 1,500 different species of animals practice homosexuality. media type="youtube" key="VUwza5Grxos" height="315" width="420" align="center"

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;"><span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Did you know that one of the most famous pair of same sex animals live in the New York City Central Park Zoo? They are Penguins! Their names are Silo and Roy, and they even have a book written about their life as homosexual penguins. This book can be used a a tool for discussion amongst younger students or children in every household. It can be beneficial for the understanding of sexual orientation at any age. In the following video, you can see and hear Silo and Roy's story. media type="youtube" key="WyPjUa908hM" height="315" width="560" align="center"

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Well, this is how Sexual Orientation has influence the world throughout <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">history ...

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<span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px;">**How do I Tell: <span style="color: #ffc000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Parents, Friends, and Family ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">For LGBTQQ youth, coming out to parents, friends and family is a decision with potentially life-altering consequences. While all youth hope for their parents’, friends’, and family’s acceptance, many fear rejection.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Although many parents do react negatively at first to finding out their child is LGBTQQ, over time most come to accept this fact, especially if the parents receive support in dealing with their own feelings. For youth who are supported and accepted by their parents, coming out can even improvetheir relationship. Being honest about who they are allows them to be closer to their parents. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">For other youth, however, the decision to come out has negative consequences. Some youth are forced to leave home, cut off emotionally and/or financially. Other parents may become abusive toward their child. In such cases, the family relationship may never recover because of the parents’ overwhelming negative reaction. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">[]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #7030a0; display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">**Because of the potential hazards involved in coming out to parents, the following are some questions young people should ask themselves before deciding to come out:**

<span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***What is your current relationship with your parents like?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Do you feel that you have a good relationship with your parents? Have they shown that they will love and accept you even when they are upset with you or disapprove of something you’ve done? Or do they react harshly when you don’t conform to their standards or wishes? If you generally have a warm, positive relationship and have been comfortable talking with them in the past, then it is more likely that your relationship will survive. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***What are your parents’ general reactions to LGBTQQ people?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Have you heard your parents make positive comments about LGBTQQ people or do they typically put them down or describe them negatively? Do they have friends who are LGBTQQ? If your parents generally are accepting towards LGBTQQ people, they may be more likely to accept you. Parents who have very rigid moral and/or religious beliefs and are convinced that homosexuality is sinful or immoral are likely to have more difficulty dealing with your sexual orientation and/or gender identity. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***Do you have other sources of emotional and/or financial support?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">If your parents’ reaction is overwhelmingly negative, are there people you can turn to for emotional support? If you were forced to leave home, do you have a place to stay and a source of financial support? If not, and you believe that your parents will react very negatively, it may be safer to wait until you are financially independent and until you have built a network of supportive people who can help you feel good about yourself. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***Are you certain about and comfortable with your sexual orientation and/or gender identity?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Parents will usually want to know if you are sure about being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. If you are feeling confused, this will probably increase your parents’ confusion and make them less sure about your judgment. On the other hand, if you are feeling strong and are comfortable with yourself, this can help your parents to be more comfortable, too. For those youth who have truly open-minded, understanding parents, coming out even before you have fully accepted yourself may be appropriate. Such parents can lend their support as you struggle to come to terms with your sexual orientation and/or gender identity. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***Do you feel prepared to deal with your parents’ questions and concerns?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Your parents may have many questions or fears about what being LGBTQQ means for you. Most of their information will likely be based on stereotypes and what they have learned from a homophobic society. They may be worried that being LGBTQQ will put you in danger or make you unable to lead a happy life. If you’ve done your homework, including reading books about LGBTQQ people and experiences, you’ll be able to reassure them and tell them where they can get more information and support. Be able to provide them with a book, brochure, local organization or website that they can use to increase understanding, connect with other parents and receive support. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***What is your reason for coming out now, and is this the best time?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Thing through why you’ve chosen to come out to your parents now. Hopefully, it’s because you want to have a closer, more honest relationship with them. Sharing this reason with your parents may help them be more accepting. Likewise, try to pick a time when your parents are relaxed, rather than stressed out. If they have recently experienced a major loss, such as the death of a loved one or other stress, consider waiting. Most parents who learn that their child is LGBTQQ feel, at least initially, that they have lost the child they knew or grieve the loss of the life they expected for their child. It can be harder for them to get over this “loss” if they are already grieving over other losses or have other stressors currently in their lives. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***Will you be able to give your parents time to accept this?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Remember it may have taken you a long time to accept that you are LGBTQQ. Think about your initial reaction when you first started realizing you were LBGTQQ. Maybe you denied it, decided it was “just a phase,” or felt guilty and wished you could change. Your parents may go through many of the same reactions. While some parents are immediately accepting of their child, others take months or even years before they begin to accept their child’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity. If you do not think you can be patient and deal calmly with your parents’ feelings of shock, anger, guilt, or shame, then this may not be the right time to come out. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//***Is this really your decision?**// <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Be certain that this is really want to do. Don’t be pressured into coming out by well-meaning friends, family or counselors. You are the best judge of how your parents will react, and only you should make this important decision.

<span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 180%;">Bullying <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">...just because you are different. Sadly, LGBTQ is a target for bullyies. People bully, because they can see you have a different way of lifestyle. Comunnication can be crucial in dealing with bullyies. Always try to tell some one you trust (peers, family, teachers, others, etc.) "Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power. Most often, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms: physical bullying (hitting or punching), verbal bullying (name-calling, teasing), social or emotional bullying (exclusion, hurtful gestures), or cyber-bullying (negative messages via e-mail or text messaging). Verbal bullying is the most frequent form of bullying experienced by both boys and girls. Often, even among young __[|students]__, this form of bullying can involve negative language that is sexual in nature." (Jane Riese, LSW) If that doesn't work for you, here are some advices and link where you can find more information on how you can deal with bullyies. [] []

But whatever you do, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">DO NOT KEEP IT TO YOURSELF! media type="youtube" key="yEerjJ0jrlE" height="315" width="420"

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">The good thing about it is that <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">IT GETS BETTER...  <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;"><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">IT GETS BETTER <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">is a movement that seeks to spread hope among the LGBT youth. Here is the link to the webpage: []. You can become part of the movement by taking the pledge that you will find on that webpage. Come on and take a stand!

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;"> THE PLEDGE : Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better." ( taken from [])

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<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;"><span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">REMEMBER, you are not alone. Seek help in people you can trust (family, friends, teachers, other adults, church, counselors...Someone <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">WILL listen!

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;"><span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Resources: (Don't just let them sit here...use them!!!!!) <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">__Articles/Journals:__ <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">- “The Association Between Health Risk Behaviors and Sexual Orientation Among a School-based Sample of Adolescents”, Robert Garofalo, MD*‖, R. Cameron Wolf, MS¶, Shari Kessel, ScB#, Judith Palfrey, MD*, Robert H. DuRant, PhD, //Pediatrics// Vol. 101 No. 5 May 1, 1998, pp. 895 -902 []

<span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">- “Demography of Sexual Orientation in Adolescents”, Gary Remafedi, Michael Resnick, Robert Blum, Linda Harris, //Pediatrics// Vol. 89 No. 4 April 1, 1992 pp. 714 -721 []

<span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">- “LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES: Disclosure of Sexual Orientation and Its Consequences”, Anthony R. D'Augelli Ph.D., Scott L. Hershberger Ph.D., Neil W. Pilkington B.A., American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Volume 68, Issue 3, pages 361- 371, July 2010 []

<span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">__Trade <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">books that deal with sexual orientation and adolescents:__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">- <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">**Boyfriends with Girlfriends**, Alex Sanchez. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">After meeting online, Sergio and Lance make a date to get together in person, bringing along their respective best friends, Kimiko and Allie. The first meeting is sweetly awkward, and while the boys hit it off all right, there’s a problem. Sergio is bisexual, and Lance isn’t sure he can handle that or whether he even believes it is possible to be attracted to both boys and girls. Actually, there are two problems. Kimiko is a lesbian and crushes on Allie who, though she has a devoted boyfriend, is questioning and finds herself increasingly attracted to her new friend. How will these four engaging kids resolve the mixed messages their hearts are sending to their brains? <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">- **Down to the Bone**, Mayra Lazara Dole, HarperTeen. "When a nun at her Catholic school confiscates and reads aloud in class a note to Laura Amores from another girl, declaring her love, the teen is kicked out of her school and her home. Soon after, Laura's devoted girlfriend yields to family pressure and accepts a marriage proposal. Abandoned, heartbroken, and confused, Laura takes refuge with another friend and struggles to find a home and identity in both the straight and the gay world. Her story isn't uncommon in the queer-teen-lit canon, but Dole's infusion of lively, spicy Cuban-American culture set against a hot Miami setting makes it rise above other titles in the genre." (School Library Journal) <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">- **I am J**, Cris Beam. Growing up, J (born as Jennifer) always thought of himself as a boy stuck in the body of a girl. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">- **Am I Blue?** Coming Out from the Silence, edited by Marion Dane Bauer (Harper) <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">A collection of short stories written by 16 respected young adult authors, this is an essential book to put in the hands of any teenager dealing with his or her own sexuality or having a gay parent or friend. The stories cover the gamut of “takes” on gayness. The title story by Bruce Coville tells of a gay teenage boy who receives a gift from Melvin, his “fairy godfather”: For the boy’s eyes only, Melvin turns every gay person blue for a day so that the boy can see he’s not alone. What the boy discovers is that there are an amazing variety of shades of blue.

<span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">__Very Useful <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Websites :__ <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">- [] <span style="color: #0070c0; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">-[]

<span style="color: #ff4f00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">__Local <span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Agencies :__

<span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">- **Healthy Families St. Joseph County** <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Provides support to parents through home visitation by promoting a supportive environment that optimizes child growth and development, teaches appropriate parent-child interaction and encourages a resilient healthy family. Healthy Families St. Joseph County is a program of Family & Children’s Center Counseling and Development Services. Services are voluntary, free of charge and available to all people without discrimination due to race, age, color, sex, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, or status as a veteran [].

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**-Michiana //GLBT Resource Center//**
[|www.michiana**glb**t**center**.org] <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">100 North Center Street Mishawaka, IN 46544 (574) 234-1411

**-<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">//South Bend Community School Corporation// ** [|https://www.edline.net/pages/**SouthBend**CSC/] 215 S Saint Joseph St South Bend, IN 46601 (574) 283-8000 Adams High School - QSA (Queer Straight Alligiance) Clay High School - GSA (Gay Straight Alligiance)