ABSTRACT
Depending on whom you ask, teens are said to be very comfortable with a flexible and fluid understanding of sexuality or, conversely, among the most rigid part of the population regarding gender and sex. The popular press has recently seized on research that reports the ways that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are finding it easier to be out at younger and younger ages (Cloud, 2005). At the same time, the stories of non-gender-conforming and same-gender-attracted teens assaulted or killed for daring to pursue sexuality in their chosen body have regularly appeared in the news over the last 15 years (a few of the fatal examples include Brandon Teena in 1993, Matthew Shepherd in 1998, Gwen Araujo in 2002, and Sakia Gunn in 2003). Clearly, those who are reporting on popular culture in the news media find the attitudes of youth toward gender and sexuality compelling.
