Too young to be LGBTQ+?

“But… but how can you possibly know that you’re LGBTQ+?! You’re so young!” 😱 Says the person who raises their children with strictly heteronormative, gendered language, pushing expectations onto their children from day one…! 👀🤔

People with ‘a certain mindset’ will claim that the ‘rise in LGBTQ+ people’ is due to a trend, or peer influence. What they fail to recognise is that we’ve always been here, we just finally have:

A. The tools to explore, learn and talk about sexuality and gender in different ways than before
B. The ability to be OPEN about the above due to progression in societal understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people

Because of this, young people are able to figure out who they are earlier than ever, and I would say that’s a great thing. There’s no such thing as being too young- or too old- to be who you are!

Fun fact: I remember having crushes on girls when I was as young as 4 years old! …it was Rogue from X-Men (can you blame me???😍)

Regardless of your sexuality, who was your first celebrity/character crush…? 💖

#LGBTQYouth #InclusiveParenting #MentalHealthMatters

[jennifers]

I knew I liked girls at 8 years old. I just thought everyone else felt the same way I did. I was 11 when I came across the word “gay” and realized that’s what I was. I also unfortunately learned that I should not talk about it. At 27, I fully came out. I’m 53 now and wish I would have come out sooner. Happy Pride!

[angelsnaiilz]

i never understood the “aren’t you too young” because kids start getting a grasp on things like crushes and relationships at a really young age yknow

[kathavb]

The only reason I didn’t come out earlier was a lack of language and visibility. People won’t stop being lgbtq+ if you try to criminalise it. They’ll just be much more depressed.

[Carla-xsuc]

And if they're too young and think they are something and later realize they are not, they can always say the whatever thing they now identify as. People give these things too much importance. People aren't different just because they are LGBT+, it's just society that treats the different. So don't. And everything will be alright.

[duz_machines_]

If kids are old enough to have adults make remarks like "ladies man" and "daddy will have to shoo the boys away", they're old enough to know whether they're LGBTQ or not imo.

(Btw, I HATE when adults make comments like that about young kids and even babies)

[spongecakes]

I knew I liked girls by the time I was in kindergarten. I also knew I liked being a boy more than being a girl by that age. I hated being feminine and whenever I played games, I played a boy and pretended to be with girls. It's wild that kids are allowed to have crushes when they're tiny if they're straight, but they're too young to know if they're gay. My second grade teacher even asked our parents if it was okay for me and my best friend (who's a boy) to sit with each other because people thought we were dating. My mom didn't know what the problem was, since we were like eight. What were we gonna do? Yet apparently that's too young for me to like girls. The double standards are wild.

[dutchvanl]

I knew I was a little boy when I was 5. It wasn't for another 20 years that I came across the language and acceptance to talk about it openly. That was 7 years ago and I've since gone from contemplating "why bother with life" to living my best life, happy as a clam!

[asmokeus]

i saw this tweet from a teacher about a kid in her class who had been SUPER quiet and reserved, until the day he asked to read romeo's part in R&J and read it out loud and clear. he started using his new name not long after that & the teacher saw him finally starting to flourish ❤❤❤

[ThisAccountIsSoOld]

I knew I wasn't a girl when I was 4. Being a chronic people pleaser, I held it in until I was about 16 and then moved heaven and earth to transition. It's been tough to say the least. Turning 30 this month. No regrets. I didn't think I'd make it this far.

Happy Pride, folks.

[Feirgheim]

When I was 11 or so, I was scared, I didn't know anyone gay, I even started to think that gay people weren't allowed to even become doctors or stuff like that, it almost got me into a spiral, but then I saw a show with a gay couple between a teacher and a doctor, and that was enough, I knew I was gonna be fine

[aprildawnsunshine]

Based on my education in childhood development, I expect the ages kids will be identifying these things is going to end up somewhere around age 5 for gender (usually when kids realize boys and girls are different and identify with their gender) and age 8 for their preference in romantic partner, though some may still not be sure until older and some people change over time. This is just based on what we know about how children develop, but more and more research is showing that these are the ages kids started to self identify, even if they didn't have the term they knew they were different.

[GetOfflineGetGood]

I remember being five years old and asking my parents "What if a boy married a boy and a girl married a girl?" And from that moment on they told me regularly how profane and disgusting queerness was, which uhhhh was not good for me, and kept me from understanding myself for a really long time. If a kid tells you they're queer, you should be kind to them and believe them, and answer their questions honestly

[littlelambinparadise]

What I say is “how old were you when you had your first crush?”. A lot of the kids I work with who are 7-8 have crushes. Even a superficial crush can be the blooming of their identity.

[eligal]

i mean it's VERY common for people, after they realise they're queer, to look back at their childhood and go
(also me)

[Anna]

I started questioning my sexuality at 9 years old. At the time, i didn’t know what bisexual was. I knew there was gay and straight but that’s all I knew. I said to myself “well surely I can’t be a lesbian because I definitely like guys.” So it just kinda stayed that way. But I constantly thought to myself “it’d be really cool if I was into girls because I get along better with girls more and we have more in common.” When I was 12 my friend came out to me as bisexual. I supported her but I didn’t ask questions as I thought bisexual was another term for gay.😂 Then at 13, she explained what it was to me and I couldn’t grasp my mind around it. I always supported her but in my head I thought “how can you like both?” Well… I knew exactly how that can happen by the time I was 14. Typical internalized biphobia from my family (my mother specifically.) I heard things like “d!ck or pu$$y. Not both.” And “bisexuals never keep relationships. They break up with who they are with to be with a guy/girl constantly.” I heard that while I was discovering I was bisexual. I just kept trying to ignore and suppress it but I couldn’t anymore. Finally, one day when I was 14 I just bursted into tears in the living room and said “I think I might be bisexual.” My family did a double take because they weren’t expecting it but my Dad was very supportive and even cried happy tears that I felt safe enough to tell him. My Mom on the other hand gave me the impression she was only supporting me because she felt she had to. She actually told me since I’m still going through puberty and figuring everything out I won’t know for a fact until I’m older. I kept explaining to her what it was and what it meant but no matter what I told her it never went through and she just blindly kept believing the stereotypes. One time she actually told me she knows my sexuality better than I do and knows what it means to be bisexual. One time she actually asked me “how do you know you like guys and girls if you’ve never been with either?” I’m not joking. It took me 3 years to get her out of that mindset. She understands what it means to be bisexual now and doesn’t believe the stereotypes anymore and will ask questions in a respectful manner now if she doesn’t know something which is good because she was/is willing to learn but at the same time I never got an apology for those comments so it’s complicated. My response to these people is “isn’t your child too young to know if they are straight?” They usually keep quiet after that.😂

[courtjester]

Thanks for saying this. I'm coming out now in my twenties, and man do I wish I could have way earlier. Some of my earliest memories of attraction are gay, and being socially isolated and involved in organized religion gave me no tools to express or understand who I was.

Only now that I am openly bisexual and free of the institution that damaged me do I actually like who I am, and only now do I not feel constantly dissociated.

[SherbertTheSherb]

As someone who tried to come out in the 5th grade and was told “I was confused and too young” by my family, it’s frustrating and led to me suppressing the idea I was anything but straight. Luckily now thanks to better friends and support I’m able to rediscover my queer identity and not feel bad about it. I think regardless if someone “ends up being straight” or not, support them regardless of age, sexuality is fluid and there is no harm in someone thinking they like the same gender or not.

Anyway happy pride everyone 🖤🩶🤍💚

[BoxOKittens]

I'd rather kids try on labels and then decide they're straight, then growing up thinking something is wrong with them and hiding it. If I'd known about asexuality and aromanticism as a teen then I wouldn't have felt like I had to do things I didn't want to so I could "get used to it".

[FlyToTheRain]

I'm an elementary teacher and just ended the school year with a love triangle drama situation between three of my female students lol

[SteviiLove]

My son came out at 11 as aromantic asexuxal and is 13 now and still identifies this way.
I told him regardless if his feelings stay that way or change, I love him for whom he is and just want him to be happy, healthy and have stability. The fact that he was able to articulate his feelings makes me really happy, especially knowing he trusted me and felt safe enough to confide in me. That tells me I'm doing a good job ❤