Rise in the number of teens that define themselves as non-heterosexual.

Good news from the CDC. There has been a rise in the number of teens in the US that identify as part of the GLBTQI+ community.

Between 2015 and 2019, the percentage of 15- to 17-year-olds who said they identified as "non-heterosexual" rose from 8.3% to 11.7%, according to nationwide surveys by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By boys vs. girls:

In addition to the overall increase, the percentage of boys who identified as non-heterosexual rose from 4.5% to 5.7%. For girls, the increase was greater — from 12.2% to 17.8%, the findings showed.

Obviously, it seems to me, that this growth of teens self-identification does NOT mean that there are more teens drinking fluoridated water and turning gay. (If this is not obvious to you that this last line is snark, I have a canyon in Arizona to sell you).

It would more so seem that teens are aware of the changing tides of our culture and feel more free to admit who they actually are.

If this acceptance happened when I came out in the mid 80s I am sure the numbers would mirror the same.

With each successive generation we are helped out by more acceptance. Thank G-d for that.

I just hope that this keeps holding true with each generation AND that the same acceptance for us in the community holds true for those of our brothers and sisters in the black community, Jewish community, Muslim community, Differently Abled community, etc.

WebMD has a decent summary of the findings.