Is life easier for gay teens now compared to when you were a teen?

malcstep: Is life easier for gay teens now compared to when you were a teen?
When I was a teenager in the 1980s no one dared come out until they were in their twenties and had some kind of independence and security. Now it seems young people are coming out earlier, often quite soon after they have their first gay feelings. Or is this actually only the case for a small minority of teens? Is it really any easier for teens now?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Jonathan T
never noticed

Answer by I♥EvilCarlton
I am 16, and I came out when I was 14.
Well, actually, I was “pushed” out of the closet =/

Answer by rugger
It certainly seems to be easier for kids nowadays to come out!
I also remember that solid scientific information was not available about AIDS then.
I recall my mother telling me that I would get AIDS if I even kissed another gal. She was so beside herself because I was such a tomboy even in my teen years.
In school, even a rumor breathed about someone POSSIBLY being gay, meant social isolation.

Answer by Sissy Space-Sick !!
In the sixties we faced imprisonment or a Mental hospital ! In the ’50’s = lobotomy !!

Answer by Atom74, the sexiest SFCU
I really hope so

Answer by **blah**
i hope it is
it should be getting easier…

Answer by Brandon
I think teens have it easier today. I’m only 23 but when I was in grade school during the 90’s I didn’t hear much about GLBT nor did I know any other students at my school that were GLBT.

Since the new millenium, I think with all of the awareness on GLBT issues, it’s making it a bit easier for GLBT youth to come out of the closet.

Answer by michell
i’m not sure if it is or not. but it does seem like there are a lot of young teen gays out there. so good for them. i’m glad society is accepting gays with more open arms than they ever have.

Answer by Boom Boom Boy
I think it is easier. I was outed when I was 17, it was hard, but no one killed me.

Answer by BIG E
i was a teen around the same time you were i deffinately notice the difference it is much easier to come out now then it was for us. people are alot more understanding now then they were before.

Answer by jaysays
If it isn’t easier, what have we done wrong, historically speaking. I wasn’t far behind you in high school and graduated in the mid 90’s. While there, a few of us “out of the closet gays” decided we should have an LGBT group (which included straight friends of gays) . The school silently authorized but our meetings had to be a secret between group members (otherwise I suppose we could recruit). After our first few meetings at school, they said we could no longer have the meetings on school campus, but during the “gay 90’s” knew better than to say we couldn’t have the meetings at all. Needless to say, the off campus thing was difficult considering: (1) not everyone had a car at that age; (2) where do gay high school kids get meeting space without parental consent; and (3) not everyone was out to parents.

The point is, now many schools have those meetings and allow for them to be held on school grounds. Further, Walt Whitman Community School, one of the first schools for LGBT youth, closed in 2003 due to lack of enrollment and funds (it opened in 1997). Perhaps the lack of enrollment was due to the lack of need…

“I once walked 10 miles in the snow barefoot up hill both ways to get to one of those gay meetings.” 😉