Identifying as LGBTQIA+* often means not seeing yourself and your identity reflected in the media you watch, read and love. If you’re the “A” part—asexual (“ace”), aromantic (“aro”) or both (“aroace”)—this can feel especially…
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Gender stereotypes are everywhere. Sometimes, they show up in obvious ways, like when parents-to-be have gender reveal parties and then use that to determine how they’ll decorate the nursery and what baby clothes they’ll buy. Sometimes, they show…
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Content Warning: In this story, traumatic experiences will be shared that may elicit strong emotions. As you read, be aware and conscious of your feelings, and take a break at any time. My former partner and I met when I […]
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From my very first day of high school, I was introduced to a wide range of authors, books and ideas. While studying literature, my English class also became a place for personal growth and self-reflection. I found new ways to […]
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I first discovered Ella Fields in 2019 after her short film Bubble Gum landed on my YouTube recommended page. Over the course of nine minutes, I watched two young girls fall in love as they frolic on a beach, scream […]
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My high school may have posters in the classrooms claiming that discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation will not be tolerated, but the reality can feel much different. Time and time again, the administration has not assisted those…
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I was so happy to celebrate my first Pride Month a few months ago in June! When I went to PrideFest in New York City with some friends, it was a lot of fun, and amazing to see so many […]
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Nineteen-year-old Mae Lexi Zurita (pictured in the center above) is determined to make a change in the world. As a member of the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), she has been involved with a number of projects aimed […]
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Young people in the U.S. today were not around a few decades ago to see the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic at its peak. Since then, there have been advances in the prevention and treatment of HIV.…
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I grew up in a pretty conservative, rural, stuck-in-its-ways small town. It’s a town of crops and cattle where church parking lots are full on Sundays and the gravel dirt roads are paved by trucks with flat decks. Its residents […]
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Scrolling through social media, I often see people who identify along many parts of the gender spectrum. It makes me so happy to see teens showing the truest version of themselves. Teens often have a strong sense of their gender […]
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For many people who identify as LGBTQ, coming out can be a way to show your true colors. Coming out is the process of sharing your sexual orientation and/or gender identity with others. Homophobia and transphobia—the irrational fear or hatred […]
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In my first year of high school, I got my ears pierced for the first time. When the lady at the mall finished, I checked myself out in the mirror. I loved the way I looked and couldn’t wait to […]
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The idea of coming home from school and talking to my mom about how a girl I was flirting with asked me out is a completely alien concept to me. To this day I’ve never addressed anything about my sexual […]
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Nadya Okamoto is a 20-year-old junior at Harvard University. She is the Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD (period.org), one of the fastest growing, youth-run women’s health nonprofit organizations in the United States. Since she co-founded…
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I was 13 when I hinted to my dad that I was gay. We were in his car, and he was driving me home from my usual weekend visit with him. (My parents are divorced.) I asked him, “What would […]
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In many sex education classes, LGBTQ topics aren’t included or, if they are mentioned at all, it’s brief. For instance, in my sex ed class, we spent one lesson learning what the L, G, B and T stand for and […]
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Sex, Etc. has provided teens honest and inclusive sexual health information since it started in 1994. Our readers represent all sorts of backgrounds and identities, and for some, it might be the only place they can see themselves reflected and […]
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On June 12, 2016, a man entered a bustling gay nightclub in Orlando with a semi-automatic rifle, killed 49 clubgoers and injured 53 others. It was the deadliest anti-LGBTQ hate crime America had ever seen, and it had taken place […]
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Ose Arheghan, 18, of Shaker Heights, OH, came out as queer in the eighth grade. Ose (who uses the gender-neutral pronouns “they” and “them”) soon found themselves facing challenges caused by a lack of LGBTQ-friendly school resources and laws,…
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Coming out. This process can be liberating but also anxiety-producing and in some cases downright terrifying, whether you identify as bisexual, gay, transgender, asexual, gender-fluid or any other LGBTQ identity. Just after my eighteenth birthday,…
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I felt like I didn’t belong. It was like I was listening in on a conversation about everyone else but me. My teacher clicked on a PowerPoint, the guys in the back of the class giggled on cue, and I […]
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Labels are all around us. For example, I procrastinated writing this article by scrolling through Tag Yourself memes on Tumblr, while Googling and taking personality quizzes. (I might have felt more joy than I should have when my results for […]
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Today, I sat with a group of friends, most of them LGBT. We ended up discussing relationships, how to get a girl’s attention and how to know if she’s queer. I don’t know how it is outside of Africa, so […]
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