“I knew I was gay in the eighth grade,” said Loy Norrix senior who wishes to stay anonymous.

Even though it has recently become more common to be openly homosexual, some people do still struggle with being able to be open about it. In the 2012 presidential election, 5 percent of the national electorate openly identified themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. There are many factors that contribute to a person’s sexual orientation, and the factors may be different for different people.

“I’m a tom boy, people could always tell by how I acted,” said the anonymous senior.

Even though the senior says she hasn’t lost any friends over coming out, she has yet to tell her mother about her attraction to girls and therefore has chosen to remain anonymous.
“She will probably trip about it but she will eventually accept me,” said the anonymous senior.

The senior says her mother is a church-going Christian so she is unsure about telling her. This can be very common among young teens. Most people are still living by old beliefs that being homosexual is a sin. This can cause many problems among teens and their parents because teens will hide their sexual orientation rather then express it.

For many years homosexuality was not accepted in the U.S. Before the 1950s, homosexual activity was considered a criminal act. From 1953 until December of 1973, homosexuality was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a mental disorder.

Sophomore Aryionna Williams says her mom is accepting to her sexual orientation rather than being upset or completely oblivious.

“My mom was shocked when I told her, but that’s when our relationship started to improve and we became closer,” said Williams.

It seems as though some teens are not yet committed to identifying as their sexual orientation. Despite the fact that Williams is currently in a committed relationship with a female, she plans to eventually partner with a male.
“I plan to marry a guy and have kids,” said Williams.

The senior is not as sure as Williams. She said that she does wants to have kids but is unsure of who her partner may be. She knows she is attracted to males buts says she is more attracted to and comfortable with females.