Homosexual Themes, Issues, and Characters in Young Adult Literature: An Overview

Abstract

Statistics on the proportions of homosexual individuals in the U.S. have important consequences for young adult literature and young adult collection development. For example, “According to the Kinsey Institute, ten percent of our population is homosexual, so in an average American high school of one-thousand, one-hundred teens may be gay.” Young adult literature that addresses the issue of homosexuality is very relevant when it is considered that in 1994 two million young adults aged 13-19 claimed to be homosexual. This is certainly a sizeable number, particularly given that many “fear rejection by their parents and other relatives should they choose to reveal their sexual orientation.”