on gay teens and baby gays!
We all have recognized ourselves as gay at a certain age of our existence, usually in late teenage hood years, but recently, this thing is undergoing change, more and more teens of the ages 12-14 are going through the self recognition phase and they're coming out to their families and peers as gay. This change is usually due to the social upheavals, the constant progress of gay communities and how they affect the society in general is the biggest contributor in those upheavals
Another one of the most affecting factors in those upheavals is the way the society is treating gay people nowadays. Before the 1970's there wasn't really much of a gay scene all around the world, the gay acceptance percentage world wide was 20% at it max, but afterwards, with the spread of liberalism and the ideas of freedom all around the globe, people –in some form- embraced the concept "live and let others live". Gay teenagers are "coming out" earlier than ever, and many feel better about themselves than earlier generations of gays. The change is happening in the wake of opinion polls that show growing acceptance of gays, more supportive adults and positive gay role models in popular media.
This change came in the form that gay people felt more comfortable to go out there, and to be who they really are. The percentage of gay acceptance rose to 60% in 2006. But even though, the way the society reacted was a bit disappointing, it was still a new thing back in the 70's and 80's, but now it changed, especially after the 90's era. Organized gay communities and active gay organizations/activists can be found in each and every country across the world, and this caused those younger flourishing teens to feel even more comfortable with sexuality, to face their own truth, and come to the recognition of the ultimate truth: their orientation.
Another factor is the removal of barriers. Nowadays, the internet has provided a huge space for gay people to interact with each other, exchange ideas and gain experience, and even encourage them to come out.
This subject is too critical for its huge impact on both the teenager's life and the reflection of his acts on the people around him/her. It should be dealt with extreme caution, younger gays in the ages of 12-13 (also known as the age of personality developing) tend to be more self confident and independent about their own decisions, and they sound pretty much convinced about whatever they do, and when they're faced with their orientation, they'll most probably act based on it out in public, that might clash and collide with the surrounding atmosphere, such as parents, siblings, friends and schoolmates. The most affecting factor of all of those is parents.
Parents tend to pin a lot of hopes on their kids, either male or female; they greatly desire a son/daughter-in-law, grandchildren and so on. At the extreme, family rejection can get to the point of exodus, but not that often. That leaves gay teens with constant fear of getting kicked out because of their orientation, and it generates a feeling of unsettlement about their sexuality, by giving them indications that it's bad or wrong, and if they are gay, they simply have no place in this household.
The second factor is siblings. Siblings affect a teen's life greatly in the early teenage hood years, siblings may take sides along with parents, either rejecting or accepting having a gay member in the family, rejecting it makes the teen grow more distant, falling past the curtains of a isolation and drifting away from their shelter, their home, and no longer yearn to spend any time at all outside their four walled prison.
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