Don’t Stress – Gay Life Can Still Be Exciting!

April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When you first come out, it feels like you’re really stepping into a whole new world. The truth is that you are but there’s nothing at all wrong with this. In fact, it’s a good thing that you’re trying to find out the things that you like, rather than just hiding part of your identity.

That’s what it really is, honestly — your gay life is truly part of your identity. There is nothing in the world wrong with being gay, and it’s important that you realize that one little fact. If you take nothing else from this exercise, we hope that you take that.

The biggest thing that newly ‘outed’ gay teens need to realize is that gay life can indeed still be exciting. It’s not like the gay culture just came out of nowhere. The truth is that there are deep roots being drawn out to the surface everyday to the public. The gay culture scene has been strong in its own way since the turn of the century, with many historical references to homosexuality.


Some of the greatest writers of our modern era were gays, and they are remembered to this day for the contributions that they have made to our society as a whole.

However, you’re looking for things that you can do right now to enjoy gay life. No problem!

One of the top things that you can do is find others in your area that are doing cool things. Just because you recently come out as a confident gay teen doesn’t mean that the rest of life is going to stop. There are plenty of gays that have common interests with you — you just need to reach out and do what you’re going to do.

Gay nightclubs are popular, as well as gay vacation cruises and just about everything that you can think of. If you’re already into going out to see a play or another theater performance, you’ll definitely find other gays to connect with.

Good relationships are built on good friendships. Don’t feel like you have to go out of your way to get with someone just because they’re gay — there are just way too many gay people waiting to get to know you!

As a newly “out” teen, you may be going through a lot of different emotions. There’s no need to fight those emotions at all. You just need to dig down deep and realize that there’s really nothing at all to fear. There’s nothing at all to worry about. There’s nothing at all to run from. You’re just open about your sexual orientation and that’s it.

Are you ready to get started with the rest of your life? Then dig in, because gay life can be more exciting than you’ve ever imagined!

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Bullies At School Have No Right to Hurt You – Fight Back!

April 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The high school environment is such a hard time for everyone. It feels like you always have to try to prove yourself, try to get people to see the goodness that you carry around naturally, and honestly just try to get from one point to the other without losing your pride completely. Instead of feeling like you just can’t seem to make things do what you want them to do, it’s time to start thinking about the wider world of fighting for what matters most to you.

Yes, there are going to be some challenges. There are going to be people that honestly feel like they don’t have to be good to you because of your sexual orientation. While it’s true that we’ve written about this before, it’s important that you really understand this point more than anything else — no one has the right to hurt you. Words hurt. Physical confrontations hurt. And if you feel that your life is in danger, you will need to find someone that can help you get the problem taken care of.


Of course, if you haven’t come out yet, you might feel like this is going to expose you. It may do that, but the truth is that many people probably already know that you’re gay. Do you really want to risk people hurting you and causing you physical pain if you’re truly being threatened? Not at all.

What you’re going to have to honestly do is make sure that you fight back from the beginning.

Talk to a teacher and let them know that you are being bullied and you are worried. By law, they have to make sure that they acknowledge the threat and deal with it accordingly. If your teacher doesn’t seem to want to help, you can go to the department chair or the principal’s office and let them know what’s happening.

We live in a culture where some people believe that this is “snitching” and it’s wrong, but what’s more wrong is having someone take your life when you’ve done nothing remotely wrong at all.

Bullies by their very nature are extremely insecure, and they’re fighting their own battles. Yet that doesn’t mean that they get to do whatever they want. The more proactive you are about the bully issue, the easier it will be to make sure that you get to enjoy your high school years to the fullest.

Even if you’re not ready to come out yet, you’re going to find that there are actually quite a few people that would be more than happy to help you when you least expect it. Don’t feel like you can’t reach out and get help when it’s time to get help.

Otherwise, you’ll always feel like it’s impossible to move on with your life. Bullying is something that definitely leaves a mark on just about everyone it touches. There’s no reason that you should feel the need to let it affect you at all. Why not look at your support team today and see just how you can fight bullying on your own terms?

Once you grow to a level where you’re comfortable with yourself, you will truly be glad that you took the time to take this very important step!

Filed Under: Gay Teen Tagged With:

Your First Gay Relationship – Here’s How to Work it Out!

April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Ah, love is such a wonderful thing! When you’re a gay teenager trying to feel your way through relationships, you might have a lot of thinking to do. You see, relationships are already tough as it is, then you have to also think about the gay element, so to speak. Let’s say that you find someone that you really like — you’re going to immediately think about whether or not they’re gay or straight. That can be frustrating, because you don’t want to be a walking stereotype. However, if you never take risks you’re not going to be able to find anyone and that’s not very fun either.

So, where do you go from here? Well, it depends on your approach to life in general. You might be someone that actually wants to do more internet dating, where you can really practice your responses. There are plenty of sites that cater to gay teens and young adults.

On the other hand, you might be more old fashioned. You can always look into where the local gay community hangs out and then follow suit. Hanging out in places where there are a lot of new gay people to meet and socialize with can easily lead you to someone wonderful to spend time with.

However, what if you’re already in a relationship? No problem! What you have to do from here is remember that the principles of good communication don’t care if you’re gay or straight. You’ll need to make sure that you follow these guidelines if you’re really going to have a good time with the person that matters most to you. Don’t mask problems with affection — no amount of sexual activity in the world can clear trouble. Yet you’ll soon learn that good conversation can stop a lot of problems before they get out of hand.

You should know where you stand with someone. Are they serious about you to the point where you are meeting the people that matter most to them? Do you guys hang out with each other’s friends? If not, you might find that you’re with them only in secret. That’s not a good feeling at all, and if you’re bothered by it that’s completely understandable. On the other hand, you shouldn’t feel like you have to be completely open with someone that you don’t know all that well. It’s just a matter of figuring out what your comfort zone is and going from there.

What more could you really ask for in a partner? There are quite a few things that you would do well to ask about, but you don’t have to rush through it. There’s nothing that says that you have to rush through anything that seems too “heavy”. It’s okay to have fun, especially when we’re talking about your first relationship.

Make sure that you try to work out problems before they morph into serious issues. That can’t be stressed enough.

The future looks bright for gay teens, especially as the movement has gained so much stability. You have plenty of GLBT people making good money and being in the public eye, and society at large has realized that gay people are still people who deserve love and happiness — that’s a start, right? Don’t give up on love or even just having a good time — there’s just too many opportunities out there waiting for you!

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Do You Really Need to Come Out At Work?

April 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Your first job is a pretty nervous time whether you’re gay or straight, but the truth is that it’s a different world when you’re entering it as a young gay adult. You feel like everyone knows that you’re gay and just own talk about it, or you might feel that your sexual orientation will keep you from getting promoted at work. So we wanted to cover the big question that you’re probably wondering, and give you a few more pieces of advice about the working world as a gay person.

First and foremost, if you’re worried about your workplace environment, you will need to find someone that you trust to talk about it. In the corporate world, this is almost certainly an HR person. You have to make sure that you know the corporate culture as it stands, rather than what you think the corporate culture should indeed stand for. This might get a little bit tricky but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Worried about coming out to HR? Don’t — the role of human resources is to understand personnel management, and you are probably not the first gay person that the HR professional has encountered. If they are older than you and have been at the company longer, they can easily become a mentor to you as you try to navigate through the twists and turns of the corporate jungle.

As far as your boss and working team go, there’s no reason to tell them that you’re gay if you can tell that they would have a problem. You have to remember that it’s all about your comfort and your ability to produce good work for the company. Your manager will not be judging you as a gay person, they’re going to be judging you as an asset of the company, and scoring you accordingly. If you are a graphic designer and you put out good work that makes the company money, then that’s what they’re going to look at you about. On the other hand, if you are so caught up in the gossip mill about your sexual orientation that you don’t think about anything else, you might find that people really are going to have problems with you at work. That’s not a good thing and it can easily have you out of work very quickly!

The biggest takeaway here is that you need to focus on your professional goals. Where do you want to be in six months? A year? Five years? Think about the people in the company that can really help you reach those goals.

If there are issues at work, you’re going to want to make sure that you reach out to people that can get the problem stopped. No one in the world has the right to bully you, so don’t forget that!

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The Future Looks Bright for Gay Teens!

April 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you’re just coming out and you feel like you’re all alone, this guide is for you. The more we write about issues in the gay teen community, the more we realize that there are just some classic themes that need to be expanded. You see, the future really does look bright for gay teens. However, when you’re caked in the negativity of others, you might not always be able to see it.

Allow us to make things shine a little clearer for you. The road to being comfortable in your own skin starts with realizing that other people are the ones that have the problem, not you. You might run into people that have to let you know how much you disapprove of their lives. You might disapprove of a lot of things, but we doubt that you’re just itching to warn everyone about the “dangers” of their lifestyle, are you? Probably not.

So what you need to do from here is to make sure that you look at the things that you want. If you want a job that pays well and offers benefits that are gay friendly, you can find that.

If you want to find gay friendly travel destinations, you can definitely do that. It’s just a matter of figuring out what you want. When you first come out, it’s a good idea to come out to someone that can help you as you make all of these decisions.

This is a very hard time in your life, but it is one that you will eventually get through. Many people that came out when they were teenagers have found that the people that had the biggest problem with them have realized that life is just too short to hate someone so much to the point where you don’t speak to them. It’s better to embrace the person they are and just deal with the other parts that might not be as “tolerable”.

If we didn’t stress it enough, let us say it again – there is nothing wrong with coming out as a gay teenager. With the rise of the Internet, you have more and more options of getting out there to meet people that are also in the same boat as you. Once you find other gay teens, you’ll realize just how common this all really is!

Don’t just stay online. Don’t just read about all of the fun that other gay teens are having. Don’t just sit on Facebook and think about what you could do if you just could meet someone that thought like you, at least a little bit.

Go out there and take chances. You only get one chance at life and if you wait till the end of your days to really experience love and happiness, you’ll regret it. There are plenty of opportunities for gay teenagers and young adults — you just have to get out there and check things out for yourself. With only one life to live, what are you waiting for? Start today!

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Handling Your Finances As a Gay Teenager

April 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Going to college or even just going out into the real world can be scary for any teenager, but there are other issues at stake when you are a gay teen. Let’s face it — people are indeed going to look at you differently. You will need to make sure that you really go out of your way to ensure that you take care of things in a way that makes sense for your life and no one else’s. You don’t want to find that you can’t get into the apartment that you want or even the job you want because you don’t have money.

Thinking about your finances is something that matters because no one else will do it for you. In fact, a lot of people will assume that they can take advantage of you if you don’t have a specific plan — don’t give into this at all!

If you want to make sure that you are financially stable to the best of your ability, you’ll need to make sure that you build a plan that’s going to help you get that done. The last thing that you want to do is find that you have no plan and you don’t know of anyone that can actually. help you do that.

Here’s what you need to know.

If you’re going to be with someone, you should realize that they have no legal right to your money. Even if they say that they want to be with you and become domestic partners, that doesn’t mean that your money is suddenly their money. This is something that happens sometimes in the gay community, but it doesn’t have to happen to you.

If you are going to live with someone, you need to make sure that all of your expectations and guidelines are spelled out. If you try to just stick to the honor system, you will eventually find someone that will hurt you. That’s not a good thing at all, and you need to make sure that you focus on the bigger picture. No one is going to fight harder for you than, well, YOU!

When you don’t have any credit but you have a job, you shouldn’t be surprised to find that you will indeed find many credit offers circling around you. That’s not to say that they aren’t a good thing to check out. In case of an emergency, credit is a decent source to tap. It’s obviously not the best source to tap but it can be a good hedge in a hurry. It’s often better than payday loans, because the interest rate is a lot lower.

So, where do you go from here? Get a pen and paper and really write out the things that you want. Do you want a new car? Do you want a house? When do you want these things? The more detailed that you are, the more likely it is that you’re going to get the things that you want. There’s no reason in the world to think that you have to go without the things that matter to you — good luck out there and build the financial plan that meets YOUR needs!

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A Gay Retreat Makes a Great Vacation Every Time!

April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Are you thinking about trying to travel anytime soon? You might have some vacation time coming up, and being around your regular circle of friends just might not be very appealing. You just have to figure out where to go in order to really have a good time.

When you’re a young gay teen, you might feel that your options for meeting like minded people are very limited. However, the truth is that you just need to make sure that you’re keeping your options open rather than feeling like it’s impossible to get things done. That’s just going to make you frustrated, and who really wants to be frustrated like that? You just need to figure out what you want to do, how you want to do it, and where you want to go. This guide covers those things for you quite well.

First and foremost, you should think about going to a gay retreat, or another themed vacation that’s aimed at meeting other gay people roughly your age. If you want to meet older adults and you’re already at the age of majority, then that’s not a problem — but tread carefully! You’re going through a very different time of your life than someone that’s older, and you need to make sure that you’re giving yourself time to properly heal and tend to your own life before you take that step.

Still, there are plenty of meetup groups that also plan out vacations. If you’re already meeting up regularly with other gay youth, you might just want to plan a vacation together. It’s going to make it easier to bond because you’re not going to have to try to fight the stress and strain of everyday life.

If you’re going to coordinate the travel details, you need to put out different places for the other people to vote on. If you just try to pick a location, you’re going to find people that feel like you’re trampling on their feelings and right to voice their option. Once you get these details out of the way you’ll be able to go ahead and start looking at group accommodations.

If everyone is at least 18, this makes the trip planning a lot easier. Otherwise you’ll have to get guardians involved and it’s a lot of hard planning that way. But once you’re an adult the world is pretty much open to you unless you’re going somewhere as someone 18 and they want someone at least 21 years of age. But there are ways to get things done, you just need to figure out all of your options.

The best thing that you can do is make sure that you look at all of your hard costs to really ensure that you’ve got the costs calculated properly. If someone doesn’t give you the money for the trip, you will want to be able to cancel their spot on the vacation list. Otherwise you’ll end up having to pay for someone that’s not even coming on the trip.

What else can you do from here? Well, you have other options too — group transportation rates don’t have to be expensive and you might want to have transportation scheduled ahead of time depending on where you go.

From here, the rest is up to you. There’s nothing that says that you just have to lay around on the beach or anything. Figure out what the group wants to do as a whole and see if you can set things up.

These tips are geared for people that want to take charge, but if that’s not you …don’t sweat it! You can always delegate the trip planning to someone else and just encourage them with these tips. It’s completely up to you!

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Bringing Home Your Gay Partner To Your Parents Without Stress

April 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Are you happily in a relationship and you really want to make sure that you’re going to be able to have the best time possible? No problem! There are plenty of gay couples that enjoy deep and meaningful relationships, just like there are many single people that enjoy deep and meaningful relationships. But what about when you want to reach out and talk to your parents about all of this? You might even want to bring your new gay partner home to meet your parents if things are sufficiently serious enough.

Instead of panicking and wondering and even worrying, you will need to make sure that you can do whatever it is that you need to do in order to get things off the ground. That’s really the only way that you’re going to have a good thing, when you think about it. It would be a lot smarter to have the peace of mind that comes from knowing deep down that you can truly share every facet of your life with your parents.

However, the last thing that you want to do is just surprise them with it. It’s time to go through a few steps in order to get what you’re looking for.

First and foremost, you will want to make sure that you go ahead and have the conversation first. Just showing up with your gay partner isn’t going to do you any favors. Your family may feel like you’re trying to force your new lifestyle on them. If you haven’t come out yet to them, that’s the first thing you need to do. You also want to make it clear that this person that you’re with is someone that you’re pretty serious about, and you want your family to share in your happiness.

Bringing them over doesn’t have to be a formal thing — you don’t have to pull out all of the stops. In fact, it’s better for your partner to actually see your family relaxed and comfortable. They’re going to be nervous because you have never brought anyone of the same sex home as a partner, but that’s okay. The nervousness will fade once they see how you and your partner interact.

You want to make sure that you respect the boundaries of your family. For the first meeting, keep things the same way you would if you were bringing home a member of the opposite sex home. Do your parents want to see you making out with someone? No. Do they want to see that you’re happy, safe, and ready to take on life with someone? Absolutely.

And relationships do ebb and flow — your partner might not be ready to introduce you to their parents, or come over your house to meet your family. This is obviously a step that you’ll want to take when you’re really interested in someone. That’s the best way to go about it, if you ask us!

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Gay Meetups For Teens – The Perfect Way to Connect!

April 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Now that you’ve accepted the fact that being gay is part of the life you want to lead, you will need to find kindred spirits. The worst thing that you can do is think that there’s no on out there that’s just like you. Even though people still do have a problem with GLBT people, their personal issues aren’t your personal issues. As long as you love yourself, what more do you honestly need? You just need to be willing to push forward and do the things that you know matter to you — the rest will fall into place, we promise!

So let’s talk about a subject that’s near and dear to our hearts: the gay meetup. Some people dismiss it and say that people don’t need specific little meetups in order to feel connected. We disagree — it’s very important to feel like you’re in a safe and secure environment where you can just be yourself. And let’s face it — being gay is a deep part of your lifestyle. So you will definitely want to make sure that you’re going to be able to enjoy life to the fullest.

Depending on where you live, there are actually a lot more gay meetups than you think. This is because people really do want to find others that have the same interests. Even if you’re not looking for a relationship, there’s never a bad time to make new gay friends. You’ll need them when it’s really time to get out of your comfort zone and take life to the next level. Gay networking is a powerful tool for your career as well. You don’t want to find that you haven’t been able to really connect with people as much as you would like. That just wouldn’t be right!

So from here, how do you actually find those meetups? Well, if you’re already reading things online you’ll actually find that the Internet is a great source to find out where people are hanging out that share the same lifestyle as you.

That’s what this is, honestly — it’s a lifestyle that’s designed for maximum benefit on your part. The more work that you can do in terms of getting to know people, the happier you will feel.

We know what it’s like to feel like you don’t have a single kindred soul in the entire world. That’s why we’re pushing the gay meetup thing so much — you really do need to make that connection.

Take care of yourself first, and everything else will flow around you!

Filed Under: Gay Teen Tagged With: ,

Do You Really Have To Admit You’re Gay to Your Doctor

March 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As you begin accepting the fact that gay life is part of YOUR life, there are a lot of different questions that come up. However one of the top questions that you might be wondering right now is simple: who needs to know? If you’re not comfortable with coming out to everyone, that’s fine. In time, you’ll be more comfortable. You can come out and stand proud as a gay teen. But there are some people that you will need to come out to first, in order to protect your health.

One of the top people that you need to talk with before anyone else would definitely have to be a doctor. Your doctor will need to know about your sexual orientation for many reasons. Let’s cover a few of those reasons.

The biggest thing that you have to realize is that your doctor cannot give you proper health care if they don’t know anything about your lifestyle. The advice that they give someone that isn’t gay may be different than what they give for you. They may be interested in running more tests if you’re sexually active, because STDs can and still do happen in the gay community. You want to always make sure that you’re protected when you engage in sexual activity.

The doctor does need to know, and they also need to know how many partners you’ve had in the past, as well as any partner or partners that you’re having right now. These aren’t questions that are meant to embarrass you in any way shape or form.

You have to think about it from their perspective. The doctor has a job to do, and that job is to protect your health. To be honest, you are probably not the only gay teen that they know about.

If you haven’t come out to your parents, you don’t have to worry about the doctor telling your parents that you’re gay. As long as you are engaging in sexual activity with people your own age (to avoid any type of conflict with someone that is an adult when you’re not), you will not have to worry about your privacy being violated.

What is said between you and your doctor is actually protected, and your doctor can get in trouble for saying anything to anyone — including your parents. If it’s an issue, you may want to discuss this with your doctor as well. They will go out of their way to make sure that your parents don’t harm you just because they find out something different about you.

Everyone tends to come out in their own time. But coming out to your doctor is something that you need to do for your health — nothing more and nothing less than that!

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: , ,
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