Some young people who are gay have had it tough for a long time —if they have been picked out as different from the other children theymay have been criticised or bullied at school or even in the street.Other young people, who nobody has identified as gay, may still befeeling the pressure of living a lie, hoping no-one will find out aboutthem. To state the obvious, this is not good for their health, especiallytheir mental and emotional health. See Lifeline on page 63.They may have gone through all this alone rather than risking losingyou by bringing you in as an ally. You knowing about it is a great stepforward in helping them cope with whatever is going on in their lives.Now there are two or more of you on the team.Telling parents andrisking losing theirlove is the thing...young people fearthe most42If it takes you some time to get used to the idea, don’t worry — yourchild probably took some time to get used to the idea too. Eventually,most parents of young people who are gay are relieved to know,and pleased to see the improvement in their relationship with theirchild when it is out in the open. Later on, you may experience the joyof welcoming a same-sex partner into the family. And gay, lesbian,bisexual, transgender or queer (GLBTQ) people often have childrentoo.It helps to know that other young people and other families cansurvive and thrive. There is a group called Parents and Friends ofLesbians and Gays (PFLAG) that is well worth contacting for a chatabout the issues, and the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Serviceof NSW (GLCS) counselling line is another important support forparents coming to terms with their GLBTQ children (see page 62 forcontact details).
It seems that your browser's pop-up blocker has prevented us from opening a new window/tab. Please click the button below to open the link manually.