US: For LGBTQ Youth, #MeToo Is Not a Heteronormative Issue

Rachel Evelyn Sucher came out as bisexual at 12 years old. Throughout elementary school, they knew they liked both boys and girls. But Sucher, now 18, says they didn’t have any queer models to look up to or any guidance in terms of what a queer relationship looks like.

And they aren’t alone.

“I know lots of queer folks who’ve been in unhealthy, toxic relationships and that was their first time being in a queer relationship. They didn’t have any reference for why that was unhealthy,” says Sucher, who graduated from high school this past spring and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns.

It’s been a year since the #MeToo movement took the internet by storm. As cases of sexual violence have continued to surface, not enough attention is being paid to the disproportionate impact of sexual harassment, assault, and relationship abuse on LGBTQ youth, who may not feel safe coming forward to say #MeToo because of social stigma and discrimination.

LGBTQ youth experience relationship abuse at rates comparable to those of cisgender heterosexual couples, according to LoveIsRespect.org, an organization dedicated to ending dating abuse among youth. But in a society that already often considers teen sex and relationships taboo, the added barriers of homophobia, transphobia, or fear of identity disclosure can create an even more hostile environment for LGBTQ teens to share their experiences. Read more via Rewire