Overview
Like all young people, LGBTQ youth have dreams, goals, struggles, triumphs, good days, and bad ones. They want to be embraced by their family, peers, and wider communities for who they are, as they are. Like all young people, LGBTQ youth need safety, community, and support, and they deserve peace and joy. But for LGBTQ youth in particular, their surroundings do not always grant this — and instead they often face significant social and structural obstacles, from stigma and isolation to discriminatory laws and leaders.
This report, published by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) in partnership with Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), Advocates for Youth, Equality Federation, GLSEN, PFLAG National, and The Trevor Project, offers a holistic picture of the lived experiences of LGBTQ young people. By combining new insights on who LGBTQ youth are and examining how social dynamics and public policy shape their lives, this comprehensive report expands our understanding of an often overlooked but frequently debated community. Like all youth, LGBTQ young people’s lives are shaped by certain key areas, which include:
- their home and family
- their broader community
- their experiences in school
- their access to health care
In Their Own Words… details how LGBTQ youth can experience both acceptance and rejection across all of these areas, and how the impacts of both often ripple outward to shape experiences in other parts of their lives. Centering on stories by and from LGBTQ youth, the report also offers key recommendations on how to best support LGBTQ youth and ensure they can thrive.
This report also includes a companion piece, Mapping Equality for LGBTQ Youth, which examines the many state-level laws and policies shaping LGBTQ youth’s lives — including laws and policies less commonly in news headlines in recent years — as well as a unique measure that includes 16 such laws across different aspects of youth’s lives.
