Daughter says she is gay
Inside:Is my teen daughter a lesbian? Maybe or maybe not, but here’s how to handle this sensitive teenage sexuality topic
This post was contributed by Jill Whitney, LMFT
So much about teen sexuality is different from what it was a couple decades ago.
Where once it was awkward, if not dangerous, to be anything other than straight, we now talk openly about a spectrum of orientations and genders. Sexual diversity has broken out of the closet—to the aim where being LGBTQ is compassionate of cool.
So don’t be surprised if your teen or even tween daughter announces at some point that she’s a woman loving woman. It’s more common than you might ponder these days.
But you may wonder whether your teen daughter is a lesbian for real, or whether it’s just a phase. Maybe she’s just experimenting; maybe she’ll grow out of it. Or maybe not.
How do you know?
Acceptance Needs to Be Unconditional
Unfortunately, there’s no way to reveal . Some girls who experiment with same-sex partners end up happily straight. Other young women
I’m so glad you reached out. It’s good to ask questions and to be informed so that you can best endorse your child.
To start with, sexual orientation and gender identity are two separate things. Gender identity is how a person feels on the inside with regard to their gender. There is a whole spectrum of gender that exists, and a person may identify as the gender they were given at birth or a different gender at any point in their experience. Sexual orientation has to do with who a person may be attracted to or not attracted to. This could be a physical, romantic, feeling, spiritual, etc. attraction to another person of a particular gender, more than one gender or all genders across the spectrum. For some people, their gender and sexual orientation stay the same throughout their life. For others, sexual orientation and/or gender identity may change at some point in a person’s life and linger that way for the rest of their experience. Others may experience their gender identity and/or sexual orientation as being fluid, so that it may change throughout their experience. It’s so personal and unique to
5 Powerful Things You Can Do If Your Child Tells You, "I'm Gay."
You may not contain been expecting to hear the words "I'm gay" from your child. Not only did you never envision it, but your religious beliefs and principles also do not align with gay relationships. So, what do you perform now? How execute you respond to your child telling you they're gay?
As a parent, you may have had the inclination that your child may be gay. As a result, the news may simply confirm your suspicions, and the conversation may be uncomplicated. On the reverse, you may undergo angry or shocked. Likewise, you may struggle with the idea and own a natural tendency to shut down the conversation or put it off as merely a phase they're going through. In existence, regardless of how you feel, the way you respond in the first five minutes could set the tone for your infant for years to come.
In this article, we'll discuss the critical moments after your child comes to you and says, "I'm gay." With the facilitate of Dr. Devon Mills is a licensed therapist in Atlanta, GA, we'll highlight five po
Responding to Teen Child Who Says He&#;s Gay
I’m devastated that my son thinks he&#;s gay. One minute I’m so angry I could scream — and the next I just sit and cry. We love our son, but we don’t want the influence of same-sex attraction in our home (we have younger kids in the house).
ANSWER:
Before we speak anything else, know that our hearts go out to you in the pain and confusion of hearing your teen son tell you that he&#;s gay. The emotions you’re experiencing are understandable reactions of a concerned and loving parent. You’re intelligent to ask for input about how to operate things, and we&#;ll cover several thoughts here:
Respond calmly and respectfully
So, how should you respond to what your son told you? Respectfully and in as cool-headed and non-reactive a way possible.
But don&#;t panic if you and your son have already had a blow-up with each other. Ask for forgiveness and the chance to originate over. Agree with him that you’ll both undertake your best to remain away from hurtful attitudes and actions going forward. As with all interpersonal interactions, you can only rule yo