LGBTQ+ Kids are Hurting and Nobody is Helping Them
Logan*, a 21 year old from Georgia, was a senior in high school when he was forced to come out.
His mother had asked to see his phone to look at something on Audible, having no intention of doing that.
With no time to clear his phone and make it “parent friendly”, Logan* knew what was about to happen.
His mother quickly saw the messages and realized the boy she loved was a part of the community she not only hated, but feared.
She realized that what she had denied, was true. She then told his father, a deeply religious man.
Logan* entered a dark depression at this point, struggling even more with his identity and the impact it had on his religion.
Crying himself to sleep most nights, Logan* decided that he needed to get out of Georgia. That’s when he moved to North Carolina to attend college.
Since then, Logan* has struggled as his parents refuse to allow him to come out to his younger brother and other family members.
Nearly five years after Logan* accepted himself, he is still not himself.
According to The Trevor Project, only 1 in 3 youth reported a home which is LGBTQ+ affirming.
Additionally, The Trevor Project says that LGBTQ+ youth who reported a home which is LGBTQ+ affirming also reported lower rates of attempting suicide.
While these statistics are alarming, Logan’s* story perfectly demonstrates them.
While it has not been proven, one is led to wonder how the stigma of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community affects the mental health of these individuals.
“I live in Georgia on a 117 acre farm, so I live in the middle of nowhere. Great community, small town got all that kind of stuff. The issue is in a town that size, everyone has the exact same beliefs and everyone is a carbon copy of every other person. It’s all white, deeply religious, deeply Republican, fill in the blank. And that can be tough when you are very liberal and gay and not of the same mind as everyone else around you,” said Logan*.
Like many, Logan* struggled to accept himself for many years, often crying himself to sleep in the bedroom he shares with his brothers.
His parents, his church, his community, and his world all said that he was wrong. His identity was bad. He was going to Hell.
What Logan* was experiencing is all too common in a country which legalized gay marriage in June 2015.
With bills popping up all over the country which seek to challenge the identities of many, Florida has become a talking point for many as the Parental Rights in Education Act, also called the Don’t Say Gay Bill, was recently signed into law.
Prior to the bill being signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, many people had thoughts on the bill, some supporting and others opposing it. Listen to the mini podcast episode below to hear a little bit about these varying opinions.
Florida is not the only place with a bill like this, with other states following suit. If *Logan were younger, the new bill in Georgia which follows Florida’s lead would have prevented him from hearing about sexual orientations and gender identities different that what society prescribed as “normal.”
Many supporters of the bill argue that there is no place for conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school. They believe that these are conversations for parents to have with their children if they choose, not for a school to teach their kids.
However, opponents of the bill make the argument that this will not only damage the mental health of kids, but confuse them even more.
One TikTok user showed an email which a teacher sent that made the argument that since the bill does not say the word “gay”, but rather says gender identity and sexual orientation two times each, no conversations should be had about any identities.
The teacher went on to say that any books with couples or he/him and she/her pronouns should be banned.
With all this debate, many are loosing sight of the issues at hand. The only people this bill truly harms are the LGBTQ+ students who will be forced into the shadows, caught in the crosshairs of politics.
Many claim that if a conversation naturally occurs, such as a student with two moms or dads talking about their family, it will not be stopped. Yet teachers voice concerns about getting in trouble for this and now tip toe around these topics.
Laura Anderson recently told The Guardian, “We all have processes around clarifying who we know in our heads and hearts we are and who we are drawn to or attracted to.” The Hawaii based psychologist who focuses on LGBTQ+ youth and their families went on to say, “To make an increasingly large percentage of the population’s experience invisible and taboo is just so harmful and unsafe for all kids.”
It’s time that people take a step back and look inward.
As politics infects schools, children are forgotten.
As debates occur about identities, LGBTQ+ people are ignored.
It is time for people to realize that while they legislate the lives of a vulnerable population, people hurt.
A 2021 study from Penn Medicine showed that not only are thoughts of suicide increasing among LGBTQ+ youth, but attempts by this population are also increasing.
It’s time people stop debating the lives of LGBTQ+ people and start debating how they can best be helped.
As *Logan said, if he had even just one person who supported him, his life and journey would have been completely different.
If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1–866–488–7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
- Denotes a name which has been changed to protect a sources identity
