Coming out tests bonds with friends and familyAlexa's father believes homosexuality is a sin, and he's tried to bring her back to his church to prevent her from remaining gay, she said.
According to "The New Gay Teenager," a book by Cornell University Professor Ritch C. Savin-Williams (Harvard University Press, 2005), the average gay teen comes out before entering high school or right after high school. About 5 percent of American high school students -- or 750,000 students nationwide -- identify as being lesbian or gay, according to a 2004 national poll by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Trent Nauth, 18, decided to come out to his mother because he hoped that it would make their relationship more open.
"She kind of flipped out, (and) didn't really like hearing such things," he said. Trent's mother kicked him out of the house. His dad, divorced from Trent's mom, has been more accepting.
Gay Teen Resources Posting of the above story.
