Im going to start this post by saying that if my comments offend anyone please understand that is not my intention, and if that is the case I sincerely apologise.
I would also like to state that whatever desicions my children ultimately take in their life choices will be solely their choices to make, and they will have the full support of both their parents at all times.
As the post title reveals my daughter has identified as lesbian. I am going to be direct in stating that that would not be my preference for her sexuality for a number of reasons.
Firstly she is only 15, in my opinion that is too young an age to make a definitive statement about your sexuality regardless of gender preference. To be honest I find it difficult to accept any notions of sexuality in my teenage children, a notion which I am sure other parents will have a degree of empathy for.
Secondly although homophobic prejudice is a lot less common than it ever was (and it seems to be this applies slightly more to women than men, especially in media) prejudice does still exist. We live in the East End of London, a large section of her school community would ostracize her for this choice. I am a firm believer in freedom of speech and the rights of individuals to hold beliefs and opinions that I may firmly disagree with. If someone is opposed to being gay on the basis of their faith, that however unfortunate and small minded it may be, is still their right. Many of her friends are from Islamic faith and I can only imagine that this will cause the breakdown of some friendships that have lasted since primary school. No parent wants their children to have to face any adversity in their life, this choice would obviously present some difficult choices.
Again I would like to state that however this pans out my daughter will have the full support of my wife and I.
I have noticed that a lot of the female posters either identify as bisexual on their profiles or in their forum posts. The percentage of people identifying as such seems a lot higher than I would imagine is the national average. Obviously this is due to the nature of the site where the members are far more enlightened and iberated about their sexuality.
There is no way I can think of asking this without appearing somewhat flippant and disrespectful, so again, apologies in advance. But for those women who have more experience do you think this may be a phase that she will grow out of? She still has fantasy crushes on men (although they do tend to be androgynous K-Pop singers and other feminine men). This leads me to believe (and I will freely admit I may well be wrong!) that she has not met the right person in the flesh. Given the average 15 year old boy is spotty, gangly and generally uncomfortable in their bodies changing (I rememember what that was like) I can understand why no 15 year old girl would be attracted to them.
So the point is (and apologies for the long post but I felt it important to justify my thoughts on a contentious subject) would any of the ladies who identify as bisexual have considered themselves lesbian in their teenage years?
Once again I would like to say whatever road my daughter travels on I will be holding her hand all the way. Her happiness is paramount in everything. But do I want my daughter to have to face difficulties and negative perceptions in her life? ideally no.