The Single Story of LGBT Youth

I decided to look at the single story of LGBTQ+ youth. I wanted to choose a single story that I would want to look at with future students of mine. When I thought about the single stories I had when I was in middle/high school, the first one that came to mind was the one I had of LGBTQ+ youth. Although I grew up in a house that is very accepting of everyone, I also grew up in a community that is not, and most of what I knew about LGBTQ+ youth came from what I saw on social media or the news. That is not necessarily a bad thing, except that most of the stories that a young student on social media is going to see will have the same flavor: a youth is so brave for coming out to his/her parents and they were so wonderfully accepting, or this child was disowned by his/her parents for coming out. Again, these are not bad things to see or read about, but they can paint the single story that LGBTQ+ youth are either happily accepted or struggling for acceptance, and that is simply not entirely true. It is often not so simple and these stories don't show what these youths are going through internally. They don't show that even that youth with the accepting parents still spent days, weeks, months, maybe even years, worrying that they will not be accepted. I think that it is important to show students more stories than the highly publicized ones they see on social media, and that is why I chose the books that I did. I think that they offer a closer look at the lives of LGBTQ+ youth that students probably would not see in other media.

1. Ash by Malinda Lo
2. Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
3. Lizard Radio by Pat Schmitz
4. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee
5. The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America by Charles Kaiser
6. Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig