Meeting younger LGBT people

[Beachboi92]

Ok i have a dilemma, am still 17 (tough one to get past takes about a year :P), but that is not really the dilemma :P (or at least not completely). I want to be able to do more things to meet other LGBT people in my area (especially guys :x) and so on an so fourth.

Sadly despite all my searching there is absolutely nothing for LGBT people in my area. My high school has one of the only GSA's in our area, there are no PFLAG groups or anything like that. I have looked all over for any type of group for LGBT people that could be attended by people under 18 and there is nothing.

So my question is what other options do i have? Do i really have to wait it out for the long hall till i am 18 and can actually go to a gay club or are there other ways to start meeting guys my age (our HS out gay man population consists of about 6 guys 4 are 15 or younger and me and one other guy are 17 : /). I want to be able to meet people and all that, people i can relate to, talk to, or date. I'm just looking for any suggestions cause now that i am single again it would be nice to at least put myself out there eventually even if i am not pursuing a relationship.

Also i figured this could be of help to other people in a similar situation as i am pretty sure plenty of ECers find themselves in a similar position

[Shevanel]

The long haul till your 18? Austin. xD Trust me, You're going to be 19 before you know it, and wish you weren't xD

[Beachboi92]

i just realized how desperate the title is xD i really aint that desperate just doing some digging figured it could be useful to more people than myself

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joey it is a painful wait till october the 6th for me :P

[Shevanel]

And you really want the summer to be over that fast? Just so you can go to gay clubs? xD I never understood the attraction to that, but hey, thats just me xD

[Beachboi92]

I have practically no other way to connect to other gay guys in my area, when i say there isn't anything here for people under 18 i mean it. The closest PFLAG meeting is over 45 mins away.... and that is the closet youth LGBT thing available....

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that i know of at least. The clubs however i think the furthest is like 30 mins but you will prob meet far more people and be able to do it more than once a month :x

[Shevanel]

But why gay people? xD

Originally Posted by Shevanel

And you really want the summer to be over that fast? Just so you can go to gay clubs? xD I never understood the attraction to that, but hey, thats just me xD

^this=win

I think just enjoy life now and live for the moment. If you spend all this time waiting for your birthday, and the chance to go out, you might be disappointed because its not gonna be what you think.

But on the other hand it might be great. I mean, you've already had more experiences with guys than most of us on here the same age as you have had, be thankful of that.

[Beachboi92]

The reason that is so attractive to me is because
1) i have barley any LGBT connections in my area, i had to travel 45+ minuets (or he did) to see the BF i had or to take part in a PFLAG group which is the only thing for anyone under 18 even in that short a distance. SO the idea of finally being able to do something a little more inclusive is kind of nice.
2) IT IS A CLUB FULL OF SWEATY HOT DANCING MEN, what is not to love and want to be around :P

regardless this thread was more made to see if there where other ways (previous to being 18) that people (not just me cause i know other ECers are probably curious to) can go about meeting LGBT people their age. The fact remains that not all of us live in an area that is as accepting as other areas, not all of us have a PFLAG or a large gay community close by. I live in the most conservative part of Maryland and it is like this for me and must be 10 times that for people in more conservative states.

I am just trying to open up a discussion on how better to meet younger LGBT people (without breaking any rules) that some people would recommend. Honestly i wish i could rename the thread to something more along the lines of Meeting younger LGBT people *cough cough joey cough* i actually didn't mean to post the title i did xD

[Shevanel]

Originally Posted by Beachboi92

Honestly i wish i could rename the thread to something more along the lines of Meeting younger LGBT people *cough cough joey cough* i actually didn't mean to post the title i did xD

I have no idea what you're talking about Honest xDDDD

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by Shevanel

But why gay people? xD

Because generally if you're gay you need to find other gay guys if you want to date people? Or bi guys.

Because sometimes it's nice to interact with people who are going through some of the same stuff you are?

I'm just guessing.

As to the original question, I guess the only real advice I can think of is find someone/a group via the Internet (dating sites, support sites). That or get a driver's license and a vehicle to increase your ability to get to more accepting places (assuming you don't have that already). But other than super-stereotypical things like "join a drama club or a show choir," I can't think of anything else. I would definitely start with the Internet.

I went to a gay youth conference in SF three years running--that was pretty cool. But that doesn't really help the problem of finding people closer to you.

[Beachboi92]

thank you joey and thank you other joey for some insight i hope other people can also help with this issue as i figure a lot on EC seem to want to be able to connect better with other younger LGBT people

Originally Posted by Shevanel

The long haul till your 18? Austin. xD Trust me, You're going to be 19 before you know it, and wish you weren't xD

19? heck 20 hits before you know it and you wish you were still 18. trust me i know.

GLBT people can be overrated anyway. you may just have to let life take its course on this one. :/

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

Because sometimes it's nice to interact with people who are going through some of the same stuff you are?

I kinda thought thats what this site was for =/

[RaeofLite]

I feel your pain. Although I'm not as young as 17... I find that people my age are one of the following, they are: "experimenting" or "bisexual", want/have a boyfriend but want a girl on the side or the women haven't figured it out and won't come out til their mid 20s or later.

But keep meeting people and let your friends know you're looking for other gay or bi youth to hang out with. You're bound to meet someone. For now, live life and be patient?

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by RiotPoofBrandon

I kinda thought thats what this site was for =/

Yeah, I didn't want to point out the obvious.

But there's a huge difference between interacting with people online vs. in-person, so even if someone's interacting with cool people on EC, I can see wanting to connect with "real live" queer youth. Even if only platonically.

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

Yeah, I didn't want to point out the obvious.

But there's a huge difference between interacting with people online vs. in-person, so even if someone's interacting with cool people on EC, I can see wanting to connect with "real live" queer youth. Even if only platonically.

I smell what your stepping in.

I guess the topic has just been brought up a lot. What it boils down to (imo at least) is younger peoples best bet is to check out local LGBT clubs and things like that, just as everyone has said before.

And certain people are just lucky enough to have schools, or live in areas that have more than few LGBT youth. Its the sad truth.

[Meropspusillus]

Originally Posted by paco

19? heck 20 hits before you know it and you wish you were still 18. trust me i know.

GLBT people can be overrated anyway. you may just have to let life take its course on this one. :/

Gargh. 2 more weeks until that exciting point.

[Kenko]

Just wait until you are approaching 25. Sure your car insurance will go down, but you've passed your prime and are in the long slow decline.

[thevre]

God you all are just rays of sunshine.

Anywho, here, here... this place is like incredibly limited in the number of gay people. But I have no desire to go to a gay bar for some reason. I'm hoping college will be a good opportunity to meet someone.

[s5m1]

Hey there. I understand why you want to meet more gay people your age. As I came out, I also wanted to meet more gay people (obviously in a different age range). 18 is certainly not that far off for you, and I understand Town in DC can be a lot of fun on a Friday night (18 years old +).

Unfortunately, I don’t think there is an easy, magic answer for your dilemma. Your immediate area has a relatively small population, which means that there will be fewer gay teens for you to meet. If you are planning to go away to college, you will certainly have greater opportunities to meet gay friends at a decent size university. However, on the brighter side, if you look just a bit further from home, I think you will find options for meeting other gay teens. Have you looked for gay youth groups in DC or Montgomery County? DC is about an hour away, and Montgomery County is even closer. Perhaps you will find members there who live closer to you in Maryland. After all, many people consider Frederick, MD a suburb of DC.

If you want to be more proactive, maybe put together some joint events with other GSA’s in the general area. I know you said there are few close by, but there certainly are a substantial number in the Montgomery County and Baltimore areas. While this option may not be ideal because you have to drive a bit, it is a way to expand your circle of gay contacts who are less than an hour away. Another option that is more ambitious is to form a gay teens organization in your area, perhaps in association with a nearby PFLAG chapter. In fact, maybe you should contact PFLAG national and see what is involved in forming a PFLAG chapter in your area. This involves some work, but even though the population in your area is smaller than DC and Baltimore, it is certainly not tiny, and there must be other gay teens in your area who you don’t know. You can also try placing calls to the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore to see if they have any suggestions. http://www.glccb.org/ Perhaps they can sponsor a gay teems night at a location in your area. The Washington, DC GLBT Center is another option. http://www.thedccenter.org/

Finally, guys what is the fixation with getting older. 25 over the hill? I know in gay years, 30 might as well be 100, but you are all going to get there. Don’t worry about how old you are. Just have fun and live for the moment. If you stop fixating on the number, life just gets better and better.