General Queer Resources for Youth

In addition to the following resources, also check out the resources and information about sexual orientation and gender identity available from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ministries.

The Trevor Project
The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. If you or someone you know is considering harming themselves, please call 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386).

We Are Committed to Helping Make It Better Now
View the "Make It Better" video by the UUA Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, as well as messages recorded by other Unitarian Universalists (UUs) who are committed to helping make it better now. And please record and upload your own video!

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF)
Here you can find information about ongoing queer rights legislation as well as find out what is going on locally for you. NGLTF supports the work of youth and provides leadership development conferences.

The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Provides information on how to create safe space in school for queer youth. They offer a resource center, information on the current issues facing queer youth, as well as news about what is going on right now.

Where Are the Youth?!
This resource from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) looks at how to make GLSEN chapters and other GLBTQQIAA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and ally) organizations more youth-inclusive. Learn how to advocate for queer communities to be more welcoming to youth!

Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network)
Empowering Youth Activists to Fight Homophobia and Transphobia
A youth-led organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources within the state of California. Even if you don't live in California, this organization offers valuable resources on how to start and sustain a Gay-Straight Alliance.

National Coming Out Project
National Coming Out Day is observed annually on October 11. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation has information to help questioning/queer youth who are coming out, as well as resources on how to organize Coming Out Day events in your community.

Youth Resource: A Project of Advocates for Youth
A site created by and for GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning) youth offering support, community, resources, and peer education about issues of concern to GLBTQ youth. Youth Resource has specific resource and community pages for young gay and bisexual men, young women, bisexual youth, transgender youth, youth of color, and deaf queer youth.

The Safe Schools Coalition
A public-private partnership in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. Helps schools—at home and all over the world—become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

SIGNS
A Project of the Youth Enrichment Services Program of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Resources for student leaders working to end homophobia and heterosexism in schools.

COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere)
COLAGE is the only national youth-driven network for people with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parent. COLAGE builds community and works toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy.

In My Shoes: Stories of Youth with LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Parents
In a time when LGBT families are debated and attacked in the media, courts and Congress, from school houses to state houses across the country, five young people give you a chance to walk in their shoes—to hear their own views on marriage, making change, and what it means to be a family. This film by COLAGE is an ideal tool for middle and high school groups and is accompanied by a complete Action and Curriculum Guide.

Focus on MY Family: A Queerspawn Anthology
Featuring poetry, art, essays, fiction and photography by youth with LGBT parents, Focus on MY Family highlights diverse voices of COLAGE youth and directly confronts the mean-spirited rhetoric of organizations such as Focus on the Family which attack and demean our families and experiences. COLAGE offers a discussion and resource guide to accompany the publication.

That’s So Gay: Portraits of Youth with LGBT Parents
A COLAGE series of 24 photo-text pieces available on CD, That’s So Gay provides a glimpse into the lives and experiences of children of queer families. Part of a larger, traveling art exhibit, the CD provides educators and community organizers a unique way to promote the visibility and awareness of the experiences of youth with LGBT parents. A complete action guide incorporating the exhibit and programming related to youth with LGBT parents into your community or school.

Not So Gay: Differences Between KOTs and Children with LGB/Q Parents
A follow-up to COLAGE's "That's So Gay" series, this resource addresses some specific aspects of having a transgender parent that other people with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or queer parent do not experience.

Respect All Familes Poster Series
These two colorful, youth-created posters promote visibility of LGBT families, counter the lack of positive images of youth with LGBT families, fight the homophobia youth with LGBT parents have faced in schools and communities, and counter the isolation and prejudice that students with queer parents often face. These posters are offered for free through COLAGE, though donations are always welcome.

Books

  • Global Divas: Filipino Gay Men in the Diaspora by Martin F. Manalassan IV
  • Bi Lives: Bisexual Women Tell Their Stories ed. Kata Orndorff
  • Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology ed. Amy Sonnie
  • Challenging Lesbian and Gay Inequalities in Education Ed. Debbie Epsteing
  • Coming Out of the Classroom Closet: Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Curricula Ed. Karen M. Harbeck
  • Troubling Intersections of Race and Sexuality: Queer Students of Color and Anti-Oppressive Education Ed. Kevin K. Kumashiro
  • Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling Eds. William J. Letts, James T. Sears
  • Youth and Sexualities: Pleasure, Subversion, and Insubordination In and Out of Schools Eds. Mary Louise Rasmussen, Eric Rofes, Susan Talburt
  • When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons From the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students by Jeff Perrotti