Youth Resources

WEBSITES
"There are no closets in cyberspace!"
by Yvonne K. Feece and Rebecca Mahaffey

The web is proving a lifesaver for gay youth everywhere. However, it helps to know where to go since, unfortunately, when you search using terms like "young lesbian" or "young gay," most of the hits are pornography. Once you get on the track of good queer youth websites, they also have links to other great sites, including lots of personal webpages where gay teens tell their own stories. Here are our faves:

www.4therapy.com Gives advice on how to deal with coming out and homophobia issues from a therapist's perspective.

www.advocatesforyouth.org/teens for the social activist in everyone.

www.antijen.org Good site for transgender youth with medical links, web board, and poetry.

www.boymeetsboy.com A cute and funny online comic strip for young gay men.

www.deafqueer.org "where deaf queers proudly make their home in cyberspace."

www.gay.com Offers a youth chat every night from 8—10 p.m.

www.gayhelp.virtualave.net This site contains real advice for gay teens as well as a gay teen message board. After all. "it's not about if you’re gay, it’s about when you discover it."

www.gaylife.about.com Offers articles, forums, and links for GLBT teens on gay life and relationships.

www.gayteens.org You’ve got a question; they've got an answer. A complete listing of links and lots of features make this site both entertaining and informative.

www.homorama.com An excellent search engine for queer issues ranging from homeless youth, coming out, sex ed, and suicide prevention/study.

www.iwannaknow.org This site from the American Social Health Association answers questions about teen sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases.

www.kg.ice-pixi.net "I Kiss Girls" the official website, with lots of forums and journal entries. All for the girls!

www.lesbiansclick.com/youth A decent listing of links related to lesbian and gay youth worldwide.

www.matthewshepard.org "The goals of the Matthew Shepard Foundation include supporting diversity programs in education and helping youth organizations establish environments where young people can feel safe and be themselves."

www.mogenic.com Hip! It’s all about queer youth all the time. It offers "the first gay and lesbian youth program on live FM radio!"

www.oasismag.com A monthly queer youth e-mag full of personal stories, essays, articles, and news. Describes itself as a "writing community for queer and questioning youth."

www.gaystudentcenter.studentcenter.org The gay student center web community and resource for GLBT and questioning college students and teens. Offers teen, college and high school home pages.

www.queer.com There's a whole world of Web sites devoted to queer youth issues– this site helps you navigate it. Run by OutProud, the National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth.

www.scarleteen.com/gaydar A funny site dedicated to answering questions about homosexuality and bisexuality.

www.softlord.com Comprehensive list of fiction and non-fiction books for and about GLBT teens. (The creator of the website was a plantiff in an ACLU internet censorship case.)

www.straitacting.com This site is guy-oriented, full of personals, quizzes, and polls. It’s all about the boys!

www.transproud.com covers a wide range of issues and offers support for transgender teens.

www.younggayamerica.com "We drive around the country interviewing gay, lesbian, bi, queer, trans, closeted, and questioning kids. Follow our travels and meet gay kids from around the country in the Trips section." Their motto: "Information=Knowledge= Self Esteem=the Power to make healthy strong decisions =Happier, longer lives =More gay kids alive to help other gay kids!!"

www.youthresource.com Gives you the 411 on HIV, sexual health and well-being. Easy to navigate, it’s very informative with links to everything from activism to youth of color. In conjunction with