are kids feeling a pressure to identify to their peers?

[Anonymous]

First: +1 to above poster who said that its obnoxious for a parent to post about the orientation of their child. The fact that the child came out as pre-sexual.... isn't that just being a virgin?

Second: Yes, based on the anxiety I've seen with my children there is pressure at school to "identify." Its a topic that is promoted by the school with just by the vary nature of announcing teachers as being "allies" and reiterating that there are "safe spaces" where such topics can be discussed. It gets turned into a whole thing among various cliques. Many of them don't appear to make it an issue but some more "woke" directed cliques associated with certain clubs (drama, music/band, appear to make it a topic of focus).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First: +1 to above poster who said that its obnoxious for a parent to post about the orientation of their child. The fact that the child came out as pre-sexual.... isn't that just being a virgin?

Second: Yes, based on the anxiety I've seen with my children there is pressure at school to "identify." Its a topic that is promoted by the school with just by the vary nature of announcing teachers as being "allies" and reiterating that there are "safe spaces" where such topics can be discussed. It gets turned into a whole thing among various cliques. Many of them don't appear to make it an issue but some more "woke" directed cliques associated with certain clubs (drama, music/band, appear to make it a topic of focus).

No. Didn’t you feel sexual before you actually had sex? Weren’t you attracted to someone, or several, before you had sex?

[Anonymous]

OP, of course you weren’t asked to come out. Everyone presumed you were straight. And you were.

I think the shift today is nice. I would have had a much more pleasant teenagehood if I wasn’t pressured/presumed straight and if it was normal for everyone to come out, not just gay kids.

As far as identifying as a potato... I have no words. Honestly that kind of nonsense is a mockery of LGBT people and the issues we have to deal with. That “potato’s” parents should have knocked some sense into “it”

[Anonymous]

Could we have a picture of the onesie-wearing potato???

[Anonymous]

"Where my concern kicks in is the potential for kids to feel they MUST have an answer to this question for their peers"

I think you are worrying about a problem that doesn't exist. What I see among a very diverse group of teens as that as young people have become more accepting of "not-straight" they are also more accepting of "I don't know" "I don't have a label" or "I don't want to talk about it."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When no one cares how other people identify, the whole process of identifying oneself will go by the wayside.

I live for that day and so does my trans DD. Thanks for the post.