Hi Julie,

Thank you for your question.

This must be an exciting time for you, but perhaps also a little frightening? A little lonely? It seems from your question that you are searching for like-minded GLBT (gay-lesbian-bisexual-trans) teens to date and perhaps also to just talk to.

Unfortunately I do not know where you are located so I cannot search for more specific resources in your area. However, here are a couple of national sites that provide information on local resources.

www.youthresource.com/living/rural/rural.htm

http://www.outproud.org/

You may also be able to find other resources in your area by googling, for example, the name of your town or county and «GLBT» and «youth» or «teen.»

If you do not find satisfactory resources on your own, I would suggest asking a trusted adult in a helping profession (for example, your doctor, a doctor at a youth clinic, the nurse at school, the counsellor at school). These people are bound to keep what they discuss with you confidential unless what they learn from you endangers your life.

You must be eager to meet other GLBT teens! I would urge you, in your contact with these new people, to remember that in any situation it is OK to say «no» to activities that you do not want to participate in. After all, in any group of people there may be those who will not respect our wish for privacy or for not doing certain activities with our bodies. It is important for you to feel respected in every interaction (talking, dating, and eventually when you are ready, sexual activity).

It may be that there are not many resources available in your area. In that case, you may find blogs/groups/chat rooms on the web for GLBT teens. The interactions you have with people in cyberspace may be very fulfilling and important, but remember that you need to use the same safety rules as you would with any other chat room or group on-line. That means not giving out or posting personal information like your address, since once it is on-line it is available to the whole on-line community and people may use it in a way that could harm you.

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please let us know!

Rimma, for Alterheros.