In many ways, GLBT teens have it a lot harder than straight teens when it comes to dating. It can be more challenging to meet potential partners, you might have to hide a relationship from your parents and friends, and going out publicly could expose you to homophobic reactions. That being said there are also some benefits!
Here are five:
- It's a lot easier to treat each other as equals when you are dating someone of the same sex.
- You don't have to play by old fashioned gender rules that say a guy has to be the one to ask a girl out, pay for everything and then make the first move sexually.
- When two guys, or two girls go out, they have a lot more freedom than their straight peers. Because same sex relationships are new to a lot of people, there are fewer family and societal expectations to live up to.
- A study done in Vermont, after that state legalized civil unions, found that gay and lesbian couples, "appeared to have more relationship satisfaction, [than heterosexual couples] suggesting that the inequality of opposite-sex relationships can take a toll."
- The same study found that same-sex couples argued, they tended to fight more fairly and that they were less likely to use controlling or hostile emotional tactics than were straight couples.
Now this list isn't trying to imply that there aren't any healthy hetero relationships out there -- there are plenty. But it is a reminder that while there are a lot of tough things about being in a same sex relationship, there are also a lot of rewarding ones!
