They call them adolescents for a reason.

August 7, 2009 by Pastor Dan.

“Among teens, who’s gay is less clear than in past” — USA Today August 7, 2009

“TORONTO — Who’s gay and who’s not is less clear than it used to be among today’s young people — and that’s complicating how researchers conduct studies on the sexual behavior of teens and young adults, a developmental psychologist who studies gays, lesbians, and bisexuals told a session today at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association here.”

Well, yes, but what it means to be adolescent is also less clear than in the past, and adolescence has never been the time of life for clarity.  I remember being 15 at a time when I, and most every body else I knew, were sort of sullen and non-communicative, at least around adults, even if we were brash, wacky and highly verbal when running in our own packs.  The generation gap is hardest to bridge with teens because teens don’t want to bridge it.  They have good reason to be wary of adult motives in prying into their inner lives.

And adolescent feelings are about as firm as Jell-O.  They can be squished, mashed and remolded easily by the press of peer pressure, and may or may not return to their original shape.

“In his presentation, Savin-Williams [Ritch Savin-Williams of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., a clinical psychologist] cited several studies on the way teens categorize their sexual preferences and behavior, to illustrate the difficulties researchers have in studying adolescent sexuality. Some describe themselves as ‘mostly heterosexual.’”

Knowing whether one is lesbian/gay may not be easily identified by anyone who is trying to surf the waves of pop culture, 21st century America, adolescence, endless war, 24/7 communications, global shortages and an economy that continues to circle the drain.  We are a nation of people who don’t want to commit—and self-revelati0n takes a form of commitment, is it not?  The only thing that forces young adults to be less fluid and more self-revealing about their sexual behavior is if it somehow gets entangled with love. 

Why bother to identify as LGBT or heterosexual if I have no particular love object? As we used to say about homosexuals two generations ago, you can always excuse your sexual behavior:   “Jesus I must have been really drunk last night.”  But when you actually (intended or not) fall in love with someone of your own gender, it is almost impossible not to admit to yourself or at least one or two friends that yes, you are queer. 

Peer pressure forces many teens to conform to their social group’s expectations.  If you think of our entire culture as also another social group, perhaps today’s adolescents are trying to read the tea leaves in America to see whether it is safe to come out or to self-disclosure a sexual orientation.  After all, we have people ranting and screaming out there on both extremes about human sexuality and homosexuality.  Which one will win when the dust has settled?  If the striaghts win the culture war, then maybe I better say I’m mostly heterosexual, or if I’m courageous I might say that I don’t like labels and don’t want to be labeled.  Or if the LGBTQ people are winning the culture war, I can gradually push my closet door further open.  Are today’s adolescents uncertain of themselves or just evasive?

Adolescence is just too unstable and fluid by almost every other measure as well as sexuality.  So these findings do not contribute a lot to the “nature vs. nurture” arguments about the “cause” of homosexualty.  Today’s kids, like the generations before them, are clueless about what they want to do/be when the grow up and nearly everything else because, … they are adolescents.

“Savin-Williams, who has written several books on adolescent development, including the 2005 book, The New Gay Teenager, says he’s in the midst of work to find out more about those who are particularly vulnerable.”

I’m not familiar with this book, but it be worth a look. Has anybody out there read it?

— Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

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