Passages of Pride

In this landmark study, journalist Kurt Chandler follows Derek, Amy, Dan, Troy, Michele, and Tara - six Minneapolis-St. Paul teenagers who speak eloquently of the challenges of realizing at an early age that they were different, of learning how to hide, of facing depression and suicidal tendencies, and, ultimately, of coming out and making their separate peaces at home, at school, and on their own. There are insights from experts from New York's Hetrick-Martin institute, Los Angeles's Project 10, and Minneapolis's District 202 Teen Center, as well as the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research, P-FLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and the American Psychiatric Association. Their findings are often sobering: A 1986 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Youth Suicide stated that "gay youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people." The National Advocacy Coalition on Youth and Sexual Orientation found that 86 percent of secondary-school students said they would be upset if they were labeled gay or lesbian. The Seattle Commission for Lesbians and Gays reported that 75 percent of those surveyed had been physically or verbally assaulted.