Girl's Behavior 
Guy's Behavior 
Flirting 
Dating 
Relationships 
Fashion & Beauty 
Health & Fitness 
Marriage & Weddings 
Shopping & Gifts 
Technology & Internet 
Break Up & Divorce 
Education & Career 
Entertainment & Arts 
Family & Friends 
Food & Beverage 
Hobbies & Leisure 
Other 
Religion & Spirituality 
Society & Politics 
Sports 
Travel 
Trending & News 
You can't be completely sure about your sexuality before you've reached adulthood and are in your 20's, or at least older than 18. Before that you may have clues on what you might be because of teenage crushes, but the minds changes and develops a lot during the teenage years, so it's not that easy to tell. Sometimes you won't know your own sexuality without having sex with multiple people of multiple genders.
Transsexuals can't be sure either before they've reached adulthood and enough maturity to know the long term consequences or effects etc. No one should undergo hormone treatment or surgeries before adulthood either because children aren't mature enough taking such big and irreversible decisions. There are many cis-gender people starting to follow the trans-trend and regretting the changes they've gone through.
Anyway, there's no big deal labeling yourself as the wrong sexuality and experimenting since it's not permanent. But going through a sex change is permanent and therefor you've to think through it. I think adults over 18 can do what they wants to with their bodies and lives though.
The right age to think is whenever you feel that is the case.
But I don't think we should be telling kids to care about this stuff until they're older.
Without anyone having to tell me I just assumed that same sex couples were a thing and that was all I needed. I didn't need sex ed trying to beat tolerance for homosexuals into me and I think doing that messed kids up. Just let it come up casually like: "Hey mum why are those guys kissing? Some people are attracted to people the same sex as them rather than the opposite, the world has all sorts of people dear." Job done. Childhood preserved.
I knew I wasn't straight by the time I turned 10, before I was even aware that there were women out there that were attracted to other women. My earliest years were spent in a kind of country rural town, and being queer wasn't even a topic of discussion. I was also attracted to boys, so I considered myself just like everyone else.
It's not a decision at any age, though sexuality can be fluid depending on where you are in life. There's no "right age" for things like this, because every person is different.
A child will know that they are attracted to the same gender as soon as straight people know lol. Transgenderism is a different issue though, because there is a lot of miscommunication about what it is. Some people think tomboys are trans when in reality one is only trans if they experienced a birth defect (brain developed as a mismatched gender) that leads to gender dysphoria. So a tomboy kid might misunderstand what trans is and start testosterone when she really should be doing no such thing.
I had a crush on a boy in my class when I was 7. Not sure why the same can't be applied to LGBT people. Also grown adults have no problem forcing sexuality on even toddlers. I've heard plenty of grown adults call a toddler a lady killer or a heartbreaker.
Opinion
36Opinion
Children bearly understand what a gender is let alone the implications and scale of sex reassignment. The issue is so dangerous if misdiagnosed or if you misunderstood your desires, that we need trained psychologists just to be able to correctly identify true cases. It is absurd to put any stock in the opinion of a child.
Attraction to the same gender is a much more straight forward concept and the risks involved in experimenting and than changing your mind are minimal.
There isn't a "Right age".
I see questions like this a lot, but wanna know what I never see?
"When do you think is the right age to decide you're straight?"
But it's basically the same.
If you don't know if you're LGBT+, then you don't know if you're straight either.
LGBT+ children need helping through the bullying and abuse they get.
They don't need to be told that they're too young to know who they like.
I never see people going up to a cis heterosexual child and saying, "No, You can't say you're straight. You're far too young to decide your sexuality."
Trans people?
They get the whole thing of,
"Give it a few more years so you know it's not just a phase."
Cis people don't get that.
LGB and Anyone else who isn't straight?
They get questions like this.
"You're too young to decide who you like."
Straight kids aren't.
Heck, a straight 9 year old? Fine.
An LGBT 17 year old? Much too young to decide.
There is no right age. There is no age restrictions on being heterosexual. I grew up in a heterosexual environment everyone around me is straight. However, I knew I liked girls the same way my straight friends liked boys. However, I remained closeted because it was not safe (so I thought) for me to come out yet.
Is there any right age to think you're straight? If you have a crush on a little girl instead of a little boy like the rest of your friends then surprise, you're a lesbian! It's not bad and ever hone forces being straight onto them. Not everyone needs plain sex between a man and woman to fulfill their life, not everyone wants kids.
You know who you're attracted to basically as soon as you hit puberty. It's normal to have crushes at like 12 or 13, gay people just happen to have those crushes on the same gender.
It's not obscene or inappropriate or something they're too young for, it's just normal crushes like every child gets.
When someone knows, they know. It's not something that waits for a time schedule. I had a pretty good idea of my sexuality as a small child, and was sure-sure by the time I was 11.
When are you allowed to figure out you're heterosexual?
There is no particular age. It's based on when you discover your sexuality. The thing is, from a young age, despite the brain still developing (it doesn't stop until 25 or so depending on the individual), one can still know what interests them and what does not. It's like discovering a new food and liking it or not. We have the capability past puberty to determine our sexuality by what interests us... sexually.
People usually know when they’re very young even if they come out later. Toddlers know if they’re a boy or a girl and elementary schoolers have crushes so it makes sense that a young child would know if they’re trans, gay, etc.
It's a mental illness. There are only 2 genders and the only way to procreate is through heterosexual intercourse. If your mind is telling you different you have a mental illness.
Of course people can be born intersex and that is real but very rare.
It isn't that simple. It's been proven that people start exploring their sexuality in their early teenage years. The journey is different for everyone. There are no rules. No "should". If that's your case, cool. But some people do know what they're into since their early teenage years. You can ask any psychologist or psychiatrist and they'll say the same thing. Oh, and the brain isn't fully developed when you turn 18 either.
-med student who has taken several psych classes
This depends. If we're talking sexuality then most people know even before puberty, if we're talking trans you can think whatever you want but you must be an adult before we even consider this as anything other than a child having issues with his/her gender.
I didn't know there was different ages where you should and shouldn't think about what you are. This seems strange; wouldn't you want to figure yourself out as early as possible?
I am not sure what LGBT+ means though. Is this something different than figuring out your mental health or personal beliefs? If so then my answer may not apply properly, and I'm sorry, I'll need more information.
Well, people know at different stages, whenever they feel its right. Even if they don't know the words to put around it or how it works because they haven't been taught that yet, they'll know how they feel. Lots of LGBT+ people, particularly gay people, say they knew they liked the same sex when they were little kids, which is fine. I mean, if 6 year old girls can say they have a boyfriend, and they have Valentine's Day dances in elementary schools, I don't see it's bad for kids the same age to say they'd rather have a girlfriend. But if you mean the actual sex education part of it, where they learn the different labels, what they mean and how same sex relationships or transitions from different genders work, then that's something to discuss when they're old enough to understand, I'd say as teenagers, like sex education tends to be anyway.
You can start seeing signs around puberty I think, but I wouldn't put a strict label on it. I thought I was LGBT at that time, but it turns out I was just really confused and I'm definitely straight. I think 18+ is when you know for sure what you like.
Really, it shouldn’t take long in my opinion to discover your own sexuality. How stupid are people? It’s normal to get crushes on little boys or girls at a young age. I always knew I was straight. I had crushes as young as elementary and then fell in love hard at my teens.
There's no age limit. Some people know at a very young age, others are unsure until later in life, some people just end up in denial for a long time... and then there are those who are just confused.
If you feel like it, don't try to fight it much, it's something natural.
However the younger you are the less you should worry about, when you are nearing 18 then you can be more sure of your feelings stability, after that they (ususaly) don't change much.
So take time to see if it's really true, the older you are the more certain you will be, and if it is, it's natural and you don't need to be afraid of it
Sexuality changes with age, most gay people realize they actually are not gay when they are ready to settle down but they are trapped in all the gayness, its around this time that they start with heavy smoking, drug use, partying, its like an lgbt midlife crisis.
Maybe like 16+. I used to be a bit against it, but now I feel like people can be like that if they feel like it (doesn't include trans). For example I've met couple very cute and smart lesbian girls at the club. I liked them and I don't think I could never say to them that they have a wrong sexuality. Of course I told them my lesbian girl pick up line "Can I change your mind". 😃
there's lesbian, gay, bi and asexual. you usually find out which of those you are in the wake of or shortly after puberty, if not earlier than that.
gender dysphoria can be diagnosed at a preteen age.
You can also add your opinion below!
Most Helpful Opinions