Parent Resources and Frequently Asked Questions
If your child has recently come out to you or you think your child might be LGBTQ, you are sure to have questions.
For more information on the following topics, please call 877.90ZEBRA or write info@zebrayouth.org. If you are having an emergency, please dial 911.
How are sexual orientation and sexual identity determined?
There are many different factors that go into someone’s sexual orientation or sexual identity. Scientists have been studying the broad subject of sexual orientation and have agreed on a few key points.
Firstly, homosexuality is not a mental or psychological disorder. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its official diagnostic manual, the Diagnosticand Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Secondly, sexual orientation is determined by a wide array of different factors. The American Psychological Association has this to say about sexual orientation:
“Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others. It is easily distinguished from other components of sexuality including biological sex, gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female), and the social gender role (adherence to cultural norms for feminine and masculine behavior). Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality and includes various forms of bisexuality. Bisexual persons can experience sexual, emotional, and affectional attraction to both their own sex and the opposite sex. Persons with a homosexual orientation are sometimes referred to as gay (both men and women) or as lesbian (women only). Sexual orientation is different from sexual behavior because it refers to feelings and self-concept. Individuals may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors.”
A person’s specific sexual orientation is determined by a multiple of factors. The American Psychological Association goes on to say this concerning the topic:
“Most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality.”
These issues have come to the forefront of the pediatric community as well. According to HealthyChildern.org, in association with the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child’s sexual orientation is established during the middle years but might not be evident until adolescence or later. This is because the child won’t have an opportunity to act on or test these feelings during their younger years. They go on to say this:
“An individual's physical and emotional attraction to a member of the same or the opposite sex appears to be a biological phenomenon. Some recent research has shown that the brains of homosexual men—specifically, the amount of tissue in parts of their hypothalamus—differ from those of heterosexual men. Only rarely, if ever, is sexual orientation caused by personal experiences and environment… Sexual orientation cannot be changed. A child's heterosexuality or homosexuality is deeply ingrained as part of them. As a parent, your most important role is to offer understanding, respect, and support to your child. A non-judge-mental approach will gain your child's trust and put you in a better position to help him or her through these difficult times. You need to be supportive and helpful, no matter what your youngster's sexual orientation may be.”
American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspxHealthy Children
http://www.healthychildren.org
Is there something wrong with being LGBTQ?
There is nothing wrong with being LGBTQ. Homosexuality has been removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders since 1973 and the American Psychological Association passed a resolution supporting this act two years later in 1975. All major medical organizations, including The American Psychiatric Association, The American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that homosexuality is not an illness or disorder, but a form of sexual expression.
Can LGBTQ people change their minds and be straight again?
In a June 2004 clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics on sexual orientation of adolescents they address the question of sexuality being a choice.
“The mechanisms for the development of a particular sexual orientation remain unclear, but the current literature and most scholars in the field state that one’s sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual.”
If individuals do not choose to be homosexual and they are therefore innately born that way, then they cannot be changed one way or the other. Because there was never a conscious choice to become homosexual from being heterosexual, there is no way that a person can “revert back” to being heterosexual.
American Academy of Pediatrics
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;113/6/1827
How does someone know if they are LGBTQ?
Everyone’s experience with sexual orientation is different, however the commonality is that the same way a person who is heterosexual knows they are straight is the same way that a person who is homosexual knows they are gay. The American Psychological Association says,
“According to current scientific and professional understanding, the core attractions that form the basis for adult sexual orientation typically emerge between middle childhood and early adolescence. These patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction may arise without any prior sexual experience. People can be celibate and still know their sexual orientation--be it lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual.”
American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/orientation.aspx
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