Interested what others think of this. DD (12, Y8) identifies as queer and hangs out with other kids of same age who do, same with my nephew who is a few years older.
I'm really interested in the way younger adolescents identify as gay now - it almost seems to me more like a 'goth/emo/trendy' cultural identity than a sexuality in kids who are, despite the pearl clutching about 'kids today' effectively not sexual yet. Like it's more about loving Drag Race and androgynous aesthetics and queer pop culture in general than really a sexuality. And I don't think there's really anything wrong with that - I don't think anyone is 'pretending to be gay' for kudos, it's just a thing that kids are into and some will turn out to be gay, and some won't. I've discussed this with gay friends and they feel it a very positive thing, especially in that it lowers the likelihood of homophobic bullying that most of them feel really blighted their youth, as there is much less tolerance of it now.
Has anyone else with kids of similar age noticed this phenomenon?