Alex's Answer

Hi, welcome to Ask Alex and thank you for reaching out to us.  

You are wondering if it is ok to be gay. It is important to know that everyone has a right to be accepted for who they are. Every young person in Ireland has a right to equality, regardless of their sexuality.  

Having conversations about sexuality with parents, friends or family can be daunting. There is lots of support available. Here are some links to organisations that support LGBTQI+ youth: www.BelongTo.ie; www.lgbt.ie . You can find out how they work and what services they offer on their websites. There are some articles on the Childline website too around sexuality: www.childline.ie/sexuality/; https://www.childline.ie/a-list-of-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-terms/; https://www.childline.ie/sexual-and-gender-identity/ which you may  like to read.  

Don’t forget, you can always contact Childline on 1800 66 66 66 to talk about what is going on for you. We are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our free text service is at 50101 and you can contact our webchat service through www.childline.ie. We do not tell you what to do here at Childline, we are here to listen and support you.  

Take care,  

Alex