Modern society stands in the way of moral and civic recognition of sexual minorities, which is expressed in the adoption of loyal laws and the public visibility of issues related to the oppression of LGBT people. However, tangible improvements to this agenda lag far behind; today’s sexual minorities can only wait for society and legislation to treat them the same way as heterosexuals — until then, such people find themselves discriminated against. The problem of LGBT identity is compassionate in the case of teenagers, for whom parental acceptance is a crucial value. As teenagers, all of us wanted our parents to recognize our capabilities and take pride in our autonomy, but life practices have often proved the opposite patterns. When parents do not want to recognize a teenager’s identity and reject their values, it becomes a severe blow to the successful development.
Meanwhile, modern society, primarily through media space, actively promotes the possibility of being open and not being shy about one’s identity. Many teenagers who are still figuring out their sexual orientations are exploring this world, and the public is actively helping with this. The question is why society accepts the LGBT identity, but parents are often found to be pessimistic about their children’s “non-classical” orientation. It is a matter of disappointed parental expectations when the parents’ specific desires and plans for the child do not materialize. It is clear that the teenager is not to blame for this, but the parents are responsible for their own identity. Research shows that strict parental behavior causes teens to hide their LGBT identity for fear of their mother or father (Bregman et al., 2013). This does not seem new, as often, parental response to a child’s coming out can develop a tremendous amount of emotional trauma in the teen, undermining trust in the parents and even breaking off the relationship.
The critical question stays in determining what to do for those teens who feel they are LGBTQ but cannot admit it to their parents. One of the most obvious answers is to try to hide this part of the identity from parents: but this is impossible to realize eventually. Not being able to speak up and be heard by parents makes teens feel pinched. In addition, fear of parental reactions is often the cause of teen suicide (Bregman et al., 2013). It turns out that the most effective yet minimally painful solution to this problem is to obtain competent psychological support. Adolescents who feel problems recognizing their identity can seek professional help from counselors they trust. This decision hardly affects the parental response, but the teen will be able to be prepared for any behavior of their mother or father. The more emotionally traumatized teens receive psychological support promptly, the more likely the future society will be morally developed. So do not hesitate to seek help from those counselors you trust, and invest in your health right now before it is too late!