ALL ABOUT SEX: SEXUAL DIVERSITY DURING CHILDHOOD
Most children are not aware of their sexual orientation until they become teenagers. Most assume that they are straight. They strive to be what they think is considered feminine or masculine in their culture. They expect to have partners of the other gender when they grow up. They base their expectations on what they observe in their families, their communities, and the images that are presented in the media.
Some children, however, find that they feel somehow different from other children. They may not be able to express how or why they feel different. Later in life, when they are older, they may come to understand what made them feel different. They may have sensed that they didn’t quite fit the gender roles and sexual identities they felt were assigned to them. This insight often happens when young people discover that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
Parents cannot predict if a child will conform to cultural and sexual norms regarding gender identity. They have no way of knowing which, if any, of their children will grow up to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Neither do their children. That’s why it is especially important for parents to allow their children to begin their sexual journey through life without feeling pressured to be feminine or masculine or gay or straight.
Children who experience their sexuality differently from cultural norms may have the impression that their families will not accept their true sexual identities and can have a very hard time growing up. They are much more susceptible than other children to depression. They make more suicide attempts and are at higher risk for using alcohol and other drugs. They are also more likely to leave their homes at early ages and to engage in high risk sex practices in order to survive on the streets.
Parents can let their children know, from the very earliest ages, that they will be loved and supported, no matter what their sexual identities and orientations prove to be.
It’s a very important responsibility to prepare children for their sex lives, but it’s really important to do so before their next stop on their sexual journey—adolescence.
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Tags: Men’s Health
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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