The LGBT community accounts for 6.7 percent of the United States population. There are so many people who are a part of this community whether it be through their sexual orientation, gender identity, or both. We see them in our musicals and favorite tv shows. So many of them are work as firefighters, teachers, lawyers, or just stay at home parents. No matter where you may see them, LGBT people contribute to society and they matter to society. However, there LGBT youth who feel that it would be better if they had never been born. With more and more teens questioning their sexuality and gender identity, teens are becoming more in tune with who they are inside instead of who they have been socialized to act like. But that doesn’t mean that there are more people who accept LGBT people or youth. Often times, these people are parents of LGBT youth and that can have a negative impact on their mental health.
Between the ages of 15-18 or maybe even before that, teens spend a lot of time trying to fit in or trying to find their bae. However, not all teens think in the heteronormative way that their parents may have taught them. But many kids are bold and come out to their parents and their peers and that doesn’t really work out like they might imagine. Many young kids listen to music or their parents that might say homophobic things and they think that these messages are okay to repeat. Therefore, when they actually meet a peer of their own who is gay, they will react to that in the way they think is appropriate not realizing the impact of their words. Bullying is one of the many factors that impact young LGBT people’s mental health. Recent US studies in the past year show that 25% of adolescents have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and 10% indicate signs of mood disorders (Kessler et al. 2012). Many LGBT students miss school, don’t go to extracurricular activities, and avoid gender separated spaces because they feel unsafe at school. It can be for the reason of their gender expression or sexual orientation. Social acceptance among peers is an important impact on LGBT youth’s future mental and physical health.
One landmark decision for LGBT rights for young people was when Former President Barack Obama decreed that all US schools must allow transgender or gender nonconforming students to go to bathrooms that are consistent with their gender identity (LaCapria 2016). Of course, Number 45 withdrew federal protections for transgender students because he’s trash. However, it is important to acknowledge LGBT youth because they are 4 times more likely to take their own life or experience suicidal tendencies. Many LGBT students miss school, don’t go to extracurricular activities, and avoid gender separated spaces because they feel unsafe at school. It can be for the reason of their gender expression or sexual orientation. A new study shows that allowing transgender teens to transition shows a significant decrease in anxiety and depression (Lohr 2015). Recent studies show that many transgender youth show higher rates of suicidal tendencies, such as self harm than their peers (Connolly 2016). It is very true that transgender youth experience high rates of mental health challenges, but that is based on how they are treated for being transgender (Ford 2015). It is very important to have a LGBT inclusive curriculum so that students learn about people who are like them. However, this is not pushed in certain school systems because there is a lot of push back from school administrators and unrelenting parents.
Fear of rejection from family members is another factor that can dramatically affect young LGBT people’s future mental health (Maza 2010). Serious negative reactions can keep many LGBT people from coming out to their family members. Studies show that LGBT teens from accepting family members are known to have high self esteem. Many family attitudes are aware of the LGBT experience and how acceptance can positively impact their overall health in the future. However, LGBT teens who struggle with family values and religious beliefs that they have been taught their whole life can lead them to look to substance abuse, depression, and suicidal tendencies in order to feel hope. Many parents think that being gay is a phase or that they should at least wait until they are an adult to be sure. Nonetheless, there is a lot more information that family members can access than there was when they were younger and unaware of the LGBT community. The Family Acceptance Project did a study and found out that the average age people come out as transgender is 16. There are many behaviors that families practice that negatively affect their child, such as physically and verbally abusing, blaming the child when they are discriminated against, pressuring them to act more feminine or masculine, excluding them from family activities, telling them to keep their sexual orientation or gender identity a secret, and other behaviors. It is very important for families with LGBT children to gain access to information to create positive experiences for these children because it truly matters to overall mental wellness.
There is so much more that affects LGBT mental health in adult life as well. Discrimination within the workplace is still legal in many states in the US. There is also laws in place that can take away healthcare from LGBT adults and they can be kicked out of their apartment as well. Many LGBT people who came from religious households have low self esteem and are more likely to be exposed to HIV/AIDS because they did not have access to that information when they were young. Moreover, parents can still subject their LGBT children to conversion therapy or those children can be vulnerable to sexual assault because of their sexual orientation and gender expression. Mental health of LGBT student is something that affects their whole life. But it can be monitored and taken care of. We need to start right now when they are young people. They will face more troubles in their future, but right now, we need to protect them while they are still kids.
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