My family of orientation is pretty blended, but stayed the same throughout most of my childhood. My family of orientation consisted of my mother, step father (who I call my dad), my half brother, and half sister. My mother married by step father when I was five years old and he was married to my mom until I was about seventeen years old. I took the Family of origin expressive atmosphere scale test and my score was very high, but that confuses me just a little bit. I feel like my family wasn’t as expressive as I wanted them to be growing up. If they were expressive though, it was only because they were angry at one another. If my siblings and I disagreed with my parents, we would be told we were wrong. My mom, at least, has gotten better at…
I had kept the cottage on the hill in sight all night and can sense there are two humans in the dwelling. The sun started to rise and the darkness faded, an older human female leaves the dwelling. She gets into a small car and drives down the road towards town.…
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Are you pleased, or do you immediately come up with an endless list of insecurities? As a child one of my favorite memories was laying around the house with my older sister on rainy days. We would leave the windows open so we could hear the rain coming down on the tin roof over our patio, while watching reruns of our favorite tv show “America's Next Top Model”. I always thought that these women were gorgeous and I would catch myself constantly comparing their looks to my own. I wanted to be just like them until I realized the unrealistic expectations that they had to live up to. A sizeable butt and breasts, but not too large; they have got to be proportional. A skinny waist, impeccable hair, blemish free face although even with clear skin you are expected to cake on makeup because no one is actually pretty without mile long eyelashes, the perfect smoky eye, and exemplary contouring. Society has idolized these things as “beautiful” and shamed the girls that do not meet these standards; however, society should be making everyone feel confident in their bodies. Girls need to know that it is okay not to have an “hourglass figure” so they don’t…
A phone call from my school robbed me of the chance to come out to my family. My father hinted that he was unable to accept my sexual orientation, but I didn’t blame him, because even I couldn’t accept my sexual orientation.…
My mother, sister, and I were driving down Highway 124 on a hot July day when my mom screamed and slammed on the breaks. Fear rushed through our bodies. Outside the car window, a short young African American man was launched into the air. As he came down, a loud boom sounded as his body helplessly rolled off the hood of the faint green Toyota Corolla in front of us. The man lay motionless in the road while we waited for what seemed like hours for the driver to exit the car. His red shirt and gym shorts were ripped. The driver of the opposing car threw the vehicle in reverse in a spasmodic action in an attempt to end the man’s life. The injured man made an effort to crawl onto the Wendy’s sidewalk, forcing his body up on the curb to evade the car. The driver drove up onto the curb and blew its tire, just barely missing the wounded man. Realizing the driver would stop at nothing, my mother drove her white suburban in front of the car, blocking the violent perpetrator from doing any further damage.…
I was an emotional wreck for no reason. They knew and continued to love me. I was so relieved and excited at the same time. People cannot help who they fall in-love with, and that is just life. Like Ellen Page said, I am here because I am gay. I like the opposite sex and although it is not right to some people, I am me. I am happy in my own skin and I think everyone else should be too. I am me, my own person, and I cannot change that. Instead of being embarrassed of who I am and what gender I prefer, I will embrace it. Never belittle yourself because of another persons opinion.…
Through all my years in school I have never sat in a class remotely close to the way Meeting12 was conducted. I was sitting there and asking myself where was this class when I was in high school? I understand why this type of communication is so difficult, I have never had an open forum of sorts to talk with the opposite gender and really communicate the topic of sex. To me it seems like such an undervalued and under utilized part of relationships. I think if more classes take on an approach like meeting12, communication between genders can greatly increase.…
The definition of sexuality is different for everybody. The sexuality definition of people is formed by the some factors such as culture, religion, sexual orientation etc... Sexual orientation is important factors for the form of sexuality. People have very different sexual orientation. But homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality are best-known and prevail among people. We start to explain the meaning of key words. Homosexuality involves a variety of behaviour related to a same-sex sexual orientation. Although definitions of term often focus mainly on sexual acts and attractions between persons of the same biological sex ( Herek, 2000, p.1). Heterosexuality is attraction to member of the other sex. And finally accoding to LGBTQI (Lesbian,…
When our children and our youth comes to terms with their sexuality and identifies themselves as being a lesbian, or gay, bisexual or perhaps a transgender human being, they are facing this unrelenting teasing and bullying their peers in school or in public. This aggression can be sexual in nature or the effects can closely resemble those of sexual harassment and then can constitute sexual harassment. Middle and high school students are dealing with verbal and physical bullying in school to where these students are either dropping out or transferring schools or even becoming a home…
I am the eldest of three to a school teacher and professional musician turned deli clerk. I grew up on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Like most of my classmates, I qualified for free or reduced lunch. It is difficult for families to find any house to rent year-round, never mind a safe one. I remember in one house we weren’t allowed to jump, or run for fear the floor collapsing. I had classmates who didn’t have enough to eat; one of my best friends in middle school was a foster child whose mother struggled with addiction. I was among the few who, though poor, was well cared for and loved by my happily married parents. I believe that in a “civilized” society no one should have to struggle for the most basic necessities. At first, I was not…
I have never been a fan of the phrase “You couldn’t understand”-especially when it was directed at me. As a young girl, I loved asking questions, as many kids do, until the dreaded words were said to me directly.…
It is during early in middle adolescent years that sexual identity begins to form. It is at this stage that some LGTBQ teens often struggle with many problems. Many feel isolated, suffer from poor self-image, mental health concerns, and conceal their sexual orientation. Counselors, therapists, and social workers are often called upon to help this disadvantage population deal with the many issues they experienced both individually and in a group setting. “ Sexual minority youth (SMY) is a term that is used to describe young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer. The higher prevalence of mental health problems among SMY suggests that successful prevention and intervention strategies should target this population in particular.”( Craig S, Austin A, Alessi E. 2012). Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been well-known as a best practice for adolescent populations who have difficulties with mental health problems. Research now suggest that incorporating CBT to address the complex experiences of SMY. The adaptation of CBT has been known to help SMY plot a course in the coming out process along with teaching SMY populations to develop skills to manage stigma and…
Identity and personality are what makes each individual unique. Everyone has experimented different life periods which come with different life experience. Self-identity develops who we are and how we are shaped into the person we are today. In my 16 years I have learned life lessons that come from past experience and that have influence on me in many different ways.…
Our school didn't have a GSA for about three years until now. When I was a ninth grader I was very sure of my sexuality. But the thing was that the school I went to wasn't very friendly when it came to LGBTQ+ people. The administration were fine, the issues usually came from the student body. I was surrounded by homophobia, and I had not one safe place to allow myself to be me. I wasn’t allowed to be as open as I wanted to be but eventually I thickened my skin and came out. Looking back at that time I really wished I had a safe place, a place where I did not feel oppressed. So senior year the original advisor for our school GSA came back. It was time to make that safe space I had so needed back at the beginning of my high school experience. So along with a few other LGTBTQ+ allies and family we breathed new life in our GSA. We had decided that it was time to hold elections because when it first began out club had no executive cabinet. So since we only had a handful of members, I’d volunteered to be president and since we had no objections and no opposing party I was voted in. We now had a full executive cabinet. So I started advocating for our club in my classes since everyone knew me and all that. And we’ve now added about two more members another gay teen and a lesbian.…
Tired, with a headache, and not in capacity to maintain my eyes open, I remembered next day was Halloween, which was the last thing I remembered before falling sleep. I woke up and saw the watch, it was three o’clock a.m. I listened to a weird sound that came from my closet; it was soft, but I could hear it like a rat scratching the walls. Intrigued about what was happening, I woke up and walked towards the closet. The sound gave me the chills.…