By:  Audreyanna Garrett, Feature Writer

In the last five years we have seen this generation greatly experiment with sexuality.  More teenagers are engaging in same sex relationships and are more confident and open with their decisions.  It seems as if this is the most popular homosexuality has ever been amongst middle and high school students.  So we question, “Is it more or less a ‘fad’?”  Is it more openly experimented because it is more widely accepted?  In this article I will ask the question most of us know the answer too and others ponder assumptions. 

More teenagers are open to the experiences.  I know when I was in school homosexuality existed but it was not confronted.  It was ignored by those students who did not partake in it.  No, I do not believe that those students who choose to be homosexual were not denied friends but I believe that their thoughts would have been that they were scared to put their sexuality in the face of other students.

When I questioned a recent graduate of  Willowridge High School, “Why do you think that homosexuality is common amongst your generation?” She replies, “I think it’s because it is so widely exposed now and about two years ago same sex marriage was as an option; with certain laws that are passed, it is no longer prohibited.  People are not getting stoned anymore.  It is on TV more often, there are no longer penalties for homosexual scenes.  There are more homosexual parents raising children and it’s ok.”

A general assumption is that we are not as provocative enough when discussing sex to all children and teenagers.  The more we leave to question the more they want to explore.  The exploration is taken to another level when children and teens are not properly sexually educated.  With that being said, nothing taught to me by professors in Sexual Education class could have prepared me for the real thing.  But I was also never pressured or influence to experience same sex relations.  The one question left unanswered is, “Is pressure a factor in the popularity of homosexuality amongst teenagers?”

Maybe you can help me answer that question…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 9:28 am and is filed under Decisions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.