62nd Annual Meeting

October 26 - 31, 2015

Media Theatre 6 (open)

Alone With People: Where Female Sexuality Intersects With the Challenges of Coming Out

After viewing the short film Alone with People, attendees discuss issues related to adolescent girls’ lesbian, bisexual, queer, or questioning sexual orientation, focusing first on developmental aspects of an adolescent or young adult woman’s variant sexual orientation, including how this might differ from the experience of gay or bisexual male youth. In the mind of the adolescent, there are likely to be fears of harassment, discrimination, rejection, or violence from peers, families, or the community. The psychosocial consequences of coming out in middle school, high school, or college are explored and how clinicians can assist with these issues is discussed.