28 Jun 11 PATTERNS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: HOMOSEXUAL EXPERIENCE

The Kinsey studies showed that it was fairly common for males to have at least one homosexual experience during adolescence, while considerably fewer adolescent females engaged in sex with another’ female. More recently, there seems to have been a moderate decline in adolescent homosexual experience. Sorenson found that 5 percent of thirteen- to fifteen-year-old boys and 17 percent of sixteen- to nineteen-year-old boys had ever had a homosexual experience, and 6 percent of all adolescent females he surveyed had at least one episode of homosexual activity. Mass reported in 1979 that 11 percent of the teenage girls and 14 percent of the teenage boys he studied had at least one sexual encounter with a person of the same sex, but noted that this was probably an underestimate because many respondents did not regard preadolescent “games” as sexual acts.

It is important to realize that an isolated same-sex encounter or a transient pattern of homosexual activity does not translate into “being homosexual.” Most adolescents who have had some experience with homosexual activity do not see themselves as homosexuals and do not go on to homosexual orientation in adulthood. Nevertheless, some adolescents develop guilt or ambivalence about their sexual orientation as a result of a single same-sex episode and may experience emotional turmoil.

The teenager who is worried about being homosexual may deal with it in a variety of ways. Some avoid homosexual contacts while trying to reaffirm their heterosexual identity through dating and heterosexual activity. Others withdraw from all sexual situations. Still others look on themselves as bisexual, consider homosexual arousal a passing phase which they will outgrow, or seek help from a professional.

Some adolescents intuitively “feel” that they are homosexual or work through their initial confusion about sexual identity to accept their homosexuality in a positive Way. These teenagers may seek out readings on the subject, contacts with other homosexuals, and a social introduction to the homosexual subculture. As we will discuss in chapter 14, these persons face some difficulties because of current attitudes toward homosexuality, and they may not choose to announce their sexual preferences to family or friends (referred to as “coming out”) until a later time, if at all.

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