Mom, Dad, I'm Gay.: How Families Negotiate Coming Out

As mainstream America becomes more aware of the nonheterosexual community, gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual teenagers are revealing their sexual identities to their parents at a younger age than ever before. Often this happens while teenagers are still living at home. How do they decide whether and when to take this risky step? What is involved in negotiating a new identity with parents? And how common are the coming out "horror stories" published in the popular press? At the end of the book, readers will find tips on how parents can be helped to negotiate the coming out process and learn to support their child's emerging sexual identity. This book will be an excellent resource for those who counsel or work with lesbian, gay, transgendered, or bisexual children and their families and for psychologists and researchers interested in this under-researched subject.