The Social Construction of Teenage Homosexuality, Related to Suicide
Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011
by Rose-Marie Chaperon
Chaperon Consulting, LLC
Homosexual teenagers are at the greatest risk for the more serious suicide behaviors. The American Psychological Association defines Sexual Orientation has been an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affection attraction to another person (American Psychological Association, 1999). Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges from exclusive homosexuality to exclusive heterosexuality 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. Persons may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors (Kinsey, 1995).
Teenage homosexuality is an important issue given that how a person develops and behaves early in life can have profound effects in later life. For example, it is important the teenagers are knowledge about the causes of homosexuality. Also, given the existence of ex-homosexuals, if a teen has already engaged in homosexuality or is a homosexual, there is certainly hope concerning overcoming homosexuality since the best evidence indicates that engaging in homosexuality is ultimately a matter of choice and so is leaving the homosexual lifestyle. In addition, teenagers and parents should be aware of the negative health effects of homosexual activity and the implications it can have on them once they are out of the closet.
The pro-homosexual publication The Advocate, in 1992 made the following admission in regards to homosexuality and HIV infection in American youth: “ Gay boys and straight girls who are having sex for money, shelter, love - they are at risk. And our community, the gay and lesbian community - and I particularly fault gay men here - has done nothing to try to help our youth. Gay men view these boys as recreational toys to be used. I have heard many stories of HIV-positive men having unprotected sex with boys. They don’t think it matters (Bagley, 1997).
The teen years can often times be very difficult in general, but for homosexual teens their problems can turn out to be more than they can deal with. With no place to go and no one to help them, homosexual teens can feel alienated which may force them think of more harmful ways of dealing with their problems, so at times gay teens may turn to suicide rather than having to deal with their problems. The suicide rates among both homosexual and heterosexual teens have been on the rise. In a study done in 1997 on 4,000 high school students, the statistics show that about 10 percent attempted suicide. Gay teens have significantly higher rates of both attempts and thoughts of suicide. In his study on gay teen suicide, Patrick Healy concluded that gay teens are "five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers"(2001). Of the 4,000 students who were surveyed in 1997, 40 percent out of the 10 percent of high school students who attempted suicide were gay (Gabe, 1997). For many gay teens their everyday existence can cause severe psychological damage. The school environment can be a very unsafe and scary place for an "out" gay teen.
The Bell and Weinberg report that, out of 105 homosexually oriented males who had attempted suicide at least once, 62 percent reported that "homosexuality" was associated in their first suicide attempt, a percentage replicated in a 1993 study and 43 percent of these suicide attempts were related to problems in a homosexual relationship. These "first time" attempts were also distributed over given age ranges, with half (52%) occurring by the age of 20 years. However, researchers have not explored this aspect of the problem (Martindale, 2003).
Positive family attitudes and behaviors towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens reduce their risk of depression, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts when they become young adults, a new study finds (Kinsey, 1995). The study authors also found that those adolescents with highly accepting families have much higher levels of self-esteem and social support when they're young adults. Examples of positive parental and caregiver support include supporting their gender expression or advocating for their children when they are mistreated because of their LGBT identity. "At a time when the media and families are becoming acutely aware of the risk that many LGBT youth experience, our findings that family acceptance protects against suicidal thoughts and behaviors, depression and substance abuse offer a gateway to hope for LGBT youth and families that struggle with how to balance deeply held religious and personal values with love for their LGBT children,".
I had the pleasure of interview a friend who stated he was born gay. For the purpose of this paper of this paper I will refer to as Ronnie X. I asked him questions about his high school experience and about his sexuality and how this made him feel throughout his teen years. I have learned a lot about how hard and traumatizing it was for kids in high school to be gay. Ronnie X. said that he was constantly harassed throughout high school. He was tripped on the bus, called "fag" and "queer" and was sometimes beaten up. Ronnie wasn’t "out" at school, but the kids all assumed that he was gay, and they felt it was okay to beat him up because of his sexuality. Ronnie was okay with his sexuality. He was gay, and he didn’t care. He knew there was nothing wrong with homosexuality, and he wasn’t going to try to change just because everyone else was ignorant to the issue. I think this realization made it easier for Ronnie to deal with his everyday live. Although Ronnie was ridiculed in school, he had no suicidal ideation because he knew that the kids at school were just ignorant, and he just dealt with the harassment.
From my research I have found that many gay teens felt very alienated in high school and in some cases still do in college. Through my interview and information from different discussions, I have also realized that suicidal thoughts were very common in gay students. I learned that just being a teen was hard for them but to have to deal with harassment just because they were "different" from their peers explains why gay teen suicide is such a problem. I just hope that one day homophobia is no longer a problem and that we can all live together in peace. More high schools are starting alliances for gay students and people in general are becoming more tolerant than in the past of homosexuality. I think that the world is moving in a positive way and this should help gay teens forget about suicide.
References
American Psychological Association . (1999, 01 13). Sexual Orientation: Binaries and Definition Problems. Retrieved 01 23, 2011, from American Psychological Association : http://www.youth-suicide.com/gay-bisexual/a-gay-male-youth-suicide.htm#binaries
American Psychological Association. (1999). Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality. Retrieved 01 19, 2011, from Definition of sexual orientation: http://helping.apa.org/daily/answers.html
Bagley, C. (1997). Children. Sex and Social Policy: humanistic solutions for problems of child sexual abuse. Aldershot, England: Avery.
Gabe, K. (1997). Gay and lesbian homeless /street youth: issues and concerns. Journal of Adolescent Health , 12-518.
Kinsey, A. P. (1995). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Los Angeles: W.B. Saunders.
Martindale, S. S. (2003). Evidence of Psychologic Distress in a Cohort of Young Gay/Bisexual Men. BC AIDS , 18-45.
Minton, H. (1935-1945). Deconstructing Heterosexuality: Life Stories From Gay New York. Internet Availability: History of Psychology Newslette.
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