As Texas heads into the 88th legislative session, we face a new round of proposed bills that target LGBTQ+ youth. This follows the confrontation between armed protesters and counterprotesters at “A Drag Queen Christmas” at the Aztec Theatre in San Antonio and the Club Q shooting in Colorado.
In the face of these continued attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, we can feel exhausted, heartbroken and powerless, but there is much we can do to ensure LGBTQ+ youth thrive despite this discrimination and violence. Based on data from San Antonio youth and research, here are four ways parents, educators and youth workers can support LGBTQ+ youth:
Nurture connections: Family acceptance and peer support are the strongest determinants of positive LGBTQ+ youth development. Relationships are particularly important in adolescence, where a key developmental task is learning how to create friendships and romantic relationships that offer mutual empathy and empowerment. However, LGBTQ+ youth face unique barriers to connection because of widespread discrimination. Actions as simple as using inclusive language and affirming diverse gender identities by using pronouns in introductions can strengthen the connection.
Read the full article by M. Candace Christensen and Calista Castellanos on the San Antonio Express News website here.
