Students Nationwide Face Pressure to Become LGBT

An illustration encouraging children to think of gender as a spectrum was distributed by Gorham High School in Maine. Courtesy of a Gorham High School student

In a small, conservative town in North Dakota, 12-year-old Rebecca has faced unrelenting pressure from friends to announce an LGBT identity. It’s a pressure she doesn’t want or need, according to her mother, Sarah.

The two asked to have their full names withheld to prevent them from being identified, which, they fear, would exacerbate the problem.