Gay youths face serious challenges
Mon 14 May 2007
Robyn Daniels, Journalism
Reports and surveys reveal that homosexual youths have a much harder time fitting in and the situation is no different on the Sunshine Coast.
Jane Thomson, 19, lived on the Sunshine Coast for 10 years, graduating high school before moving to Brisbane last year.
She said as a young homosexual, the Sunshine Coast was not always an easy place to live.
“There’s not really much of a gay scene on the Coast,” Ms Thomson said.
“For young people, there’s actually nothing whatsoever.”
Ms Thomson said she became certain of her sexual orientation when she was about 12 years old and this realisation was easier because of her environment.
“My mum was gay so I was a bit more comfortable with it initially than others (gay youths) might have been,” Ms Thomson said.
Ms Thomson said while she realised her homosexuality at a young age, she did not ‘come out’ to her friends until she was 16.
“I tried to cover it up by lying and making up stories,” Ms Thomson said.
“I was terrified of becoming an outcast.”
It seems many young gay people share these feelings, with their fears sometimes leading to serious depression.
An article from the online Sunday Mail in 2006 said young homosexuals attempt suicide at a rate of four-to-six-times higher than that of other young people.
The article said 25-30 per cent of homosexual youths attempted suicide, compared to 5 to 7 per cent of heterosexual youths. 
Alicia Tilley is a ‘Women’s and Queer’ advocate at the University of Queensland (UQ). Ms Tilley’s role is to support students and provide short-term counseling.
She said she mainly talks with 17 to 25 year olds about ‘coming out’, family issues, first heartbreaks and internalised homophobia.
“Internalised homophobia is due to consistently receiving messages from family, school and society as a whole, that heterosexuality is 'normal' and anything else is not,” Ms Tilley said.
“If they have been brought up to see gay people as abnormal or inferior and then they realise they themselves are gay, they may experience feelings that they are deviant.”
Ms Tilley said she sees many young homosexuals who feel isolated and depressed.
“I think it’s due to feeling invisible in society. There’s a lack of positive representation everywhere. Especially in school, history, texts, novels and everyday life says straight is ‘normal’,” Ms Tilley said.
The fears many gay youths have of being ridiculed for their sexual orientation are certainly justified.
A 2005 study of gay youths in Australia by the La Trobe University in Melbourne, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, revealed nearly half had been victims of harassment. Sixteen per cent had reported being physically abused, with high schools being the most common place of harassment.
The study also noted the extremely high number of gay youths who used drugs, compared to other young people because of the bullying they endure.
UQ ‘queer’ advocate, Alicia Tilley, said high school is difficult for any member of a minority.
“Most would experience a complete lack of representation within school life,” Ms Tilley said.
“The latest popular catch phrase saying, ‘that's so gay’ when referring to something negative, or calling each other ‘poofter’ or ‘fag’ as a put down would make any homosexual feel isolated.”
The 2005 La Trobe University study on gay youths was a follow up from a similar study conducted in 1998.
The recent results were much more positive, with 95 per cent of participants saying they had told someone about their sexuality, compared to only 82 per cent previously.
The 2005 study found more young people were happy to be homosexuals and this was attributed to the better access to support groups and even partly to gay television programs.
Adam Cotterell, 21, is a heterosexual youth who went to a private high school on the Sunshine Coast. He said there were no open homosexuals in his grade.
“If there were any gay guys they would definitely have been bullied a lot and called names,” Mr Cotterell said.
“I know I definitely wouldn’t choose to be friends with a gay guy. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable because they (homosexuals) are just not my ‘type’ of people.”
Mr Cotterell said most males his age would share his views. He said he supported gay marriage and accepted homosexuality, but thought some gay males were unnecessarily “over the top”.
“They change their voices and make the ‘poofy’ hand gestures and everything,” Mr Cotterell said.
Ms Tilley had some advice for young people struggling with their sexual identity.
“Whether you are experiencing confusion or you already know that your sexual orientation is other than heterosexual, you should never be ashamed of yourself,” Ms Tilley said.
“Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is a normal and acceptable way of life. The only shame should be felt by people within the wider community who perpetuate myths and lies about GLBTI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people and who promote narrow mindedness.”
Image(s) designed by Robyn Daniels
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Submitted Comments
Totally agree with this article. There is only ONE source of social activity for young gays to get together, and even that isn't very known about. As a victim of homophobic bullying and a public high-school student myself, I am completely outraged at how we are treated.
Hearing people saying the "catch-phrase" really gets on my bad side! If we said, for example, "That's so Christian" there would be HUGE arguments and possibly even a law put in place. But do we get any respect? NO!
PS I'm using the Christian statement as an example. :)
J.