What are the demographics of children who come out gay during puberty?

I was just curious if there are any strong demographic trends for teens who come out as gay when they reach puberty? For example, are young boys who don't play sports during youth, or who grow up with single mom households (or girls in single dad households) more likely to be gay?

 

Flamebait. Newsflash, I ran track, cross country and still play competitive hockey. My parents have been together for over 50 years. I like my dad, he's awesome. I had two brothers, no sisters. So why am I gay?

And no, I was never molested. Christ, when will you people get it? You're not curious about anything. You just want to try to slam gay men as being "not men". I'm really sick of it.

 

You've told me that before, I'm aware of that. I was curious though what type of childhood environments tend to result in the most gay children

 

And your answer is this- none. Most kids who are raised by gay couples are heterosexual, just like most of the rest of the country. We've given you stats on this before, so why are you asking again?

People are what they are. I didn't get to choose being gay any more than I chose my green eyes. This has been studied to death. There is no correlation between parenting and gay folks. It just happens. If I knew why, don't you think I'd tell you?

Christ, I'd be a genius with tons of money right now if I knew. Do you have any idea how hard it was to hide that as an athlete in high school? I would date girls because my friends did, even though it was a lie. I bullied kids too. It was awful. At my 20th high school reunion, I spent time apologizing to people I'd done wrong. Thankfully, they forgave me. I don't know if I would have been so nice.

 

So there's no environmental contribution whatsoever?

 

I think environmental contribution has more to do with a kid's gender identity rather than their sexuality.

 

I grew up in a sports oriented family, very Christian too. My dad was a baseball player in a local league, and I loved going to his games. It was my dad, and my dad is awesome. What kid does not like his dad? I got into hockey later, and fell in love with it. My Dad had a different feeling. It's very dangerous, he would rather I did not play, but he has always supported me playing. He's said since that he wished he knew how much I loved it when I was a kid. He said he would have gotten me into it earlier.

Well, I didn't know. We didn't have hockey in rural Ohio. He comes to watch me play a few times a year now in Chicago. He cheers me on and is a great dad. He's the dad everybody wants. So tell me, why am I gay SpaceCricket? Because my dad doesn't pay attention to me? Please.

And trust me, he brags all the time.

Bottom line, we are who we are. We don't get to choose. All we can hope for is family who loves us, and helps us grow.

 

I got sick of it too; and that's why I'm more and more intolerant of deliberately expressed homophobia. If certain low-minded idiots think they can insult and demean others on a whim... they soon learn that the push-back isn't necessarily pleasant at all.

 

Yeah, getting ready to walk away. There are other places on the net to go. This place is more about right wing dishonesty. Lies about us are tolerated here. I feel less welcome every day. I get called out for calling someone a homophobe, but no one gets called out for saying I destroy society, etc. That stands.

 

Great point.

 

I thought this would be good place. Nope.

 

I guess I fit into some of the stereotypes. my parents divorced young and I grew up without a father figure for several years. Then again, so did many of my friends, none of which are gay. I also did play sports and was raised mormon for most of my childhood.

Anyway, I'm not sure that the OP's speculation would mean much even if he found something... correlation doesn't = causation. Given the historical stigma against homosexuality, it seems quite likely that a gay boy may tend to have a poor relationship with his father and avoid sports (and other places where homophobic and anti-gay rhetoric is/was traditionally common) because he's gay, and not necessarily the other way around. Proving that this is what CAUSED the kid to be gay is a whole other story, and nothing in any of my study has ever shown that to be the case. Further, gay people have and continue to exist at remarkably similar rate across time and cultures regardless of cultural differences, in the prevalence of sports and differences in gender roles, and regardless of the social tolerance or rejection of homosexuality.

The only thing that seems to be different is the age at which someone is comfortable and willing enough to reveal it and act upon it, and I wouldn't doubt that culture and demographics plays a huge role on that. If that's the only point the OP's trying to make, then I concede the point and gladly advocate for it.

 

I don’t think it is out of line to suggest that environmental factors play SOME role in determining one’s sexual orientation. Even identical twins can be of different sexual orientations. That doesn’t mean it isn’t genetic, but something is causing the related genes to be activated in one while not the other.

And of course in the end none of that should make a lick of difference in how you treat people.

 

I doubt environmental factors at the demographic level you're talking about impact an individual's fundamental sexuality though I could see it impacting when and how they might come out. Anecdotal evidence suggests homosexuals can brought up in all sorts of social environments.

 

flamebait OP--thread closed