[ReachOut.com]

[Jacq]
>Jacq. I’m Jacq. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Sydney. I came ‘out’ two years ago when I was 19.

[Julian. Jacq’s brother]
>Julian. I’m Julian. I’m 26 and I’m from Sydney. I came ‘out’ when I was 20,21. 

[Siobhan. Mother of Julian and Jacq]
>Siobhan. I’m Shirvorn and I’m the mother of Julian and Jacqueline. When we were raising our kids, you know my most important thing for them was that they grow up to be independent adults. And the choices that they make aren’t always going to be the choices that you might make. But it is not your life. It is their life.

[Sally Morris, National MindOUT Project Coordinator with the National LGBTI Health Alliance] 
>Sally. My name is Sally, Sally Morris, ummm and I’m the National MindOUT Project Coordinator with the National LGBTI Health Alliance. Notice when your children are starting to struggle, if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at school or that they have been really impacted by a public conversation that is happening. 

[Your teenager could be vulnerable to messages presented in the media]
Young people who are exploring their identities will be particularly vulnerable to these messages within the media. They’re still in the process of where they’re working out; who am I? Where do I fit in the world? What’s my identity? What’s my experience? Who do I want to be? 

[You are an important mediator between your teenager and the media.]
And as parents, you can be a very important mediator between the young person and what they are hearing in the world around them. I think it’s really important as parents we advocate for young children. 
[Remember that it can be difficult for teenagers to speak up for themselves.]
Remembering they are young children and people still. Umm, and that it can be very difficult for them to speak up for themselves.
>Julian. On the one hand you kinda want to block all of that out and put yourself into a bubble.
>Jacq. Having my sexuality under a microscope and having the whole… everyone thinking they can have an opinion on it…on something so personal. It’s quite….it makes me feel like, almost a bit of a novelty to other people. 
>Sally. So, on social media comments, even if you are on a supportive page, you’d be reading this really supportive story and you read the comments and there’s always negative comments there. So, there’s actually, you can never actually only access positive representations of who you are. There’s always the other side of the story.
>Julian. I had a friend who was ‘out’ and he faced discrimination at school. But I never really thought about it until I started to come and I retrospectively looked back and yeah, I realised it wasn’t a great time for him.
>Jacq. I get heckled, like with my girlfriend just in public, almost weekly. And its….I don’t let it upset me and it doesn’t affect me, but the fact that I’m so used to it – I think that’s, that’s quite concerning.  I think a part of that stems from how two females in a relationship is viewed as this, ummm… sexualised fantasy almost. And our relationship isn’t seen as this in-depth, authentic relationship.
>Siobhan. I had to do a lot of discussing with their father. Because he wasn’t quite so forthcoming on being supportive. He is now, but it took him a little while to get to that. 
What changed for him was he probably just realised that well, that’s my son and I love him. That’s my daughter and I love her. And if I want to have a relationship with her - I need to be supportive of her. 
>Julian. I would say, if you can accept them for the same person they were before  they came out, it’ll be easier for them. I have seen a lot of people act out, or, you know, try and almost destroy their lives because they didn’t feel accepted. 

[Connect with other parents in our community forum, forum.parents.au.reachout.com]
>Sally. For LGBTI young people, it can be really helpful to connect them with LGBTI youth services. And there are some amazing LGBTI youth groups and organisations across Australia that people can connect with. And it’s great for that sense of ummm… that I am not alone in my experience to connect with other young people.

[ReachOut.com]