Letter: Sex ed is needed

I am writing in response to Teri Paulson's letter "Misguided opinion on sex ed curriculum" from Friday, Dec 2. Contrary to her statements, no one can make anyone gay or transgender.

Education about the LGBTQ+ community is needed to reassure students that they are fine, just the way they are. My hope is that this education would reduce suicide among LGBTQ+ youth. Suicide is often seen as a way to address the pressure to be heterosexual.

Regarding gender identity. I personally know several transgender people. Their struggle was in accepting to go against public opinion of who they "should" be and accept who they are. They do not choose to be transgender on a whim.

Some incur gender reassignment surgery so that their body matches the gender in their mind. There IS scientific proof that transgender people have a body that does not match their gender identity in their brain.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 to 24. LGBTQ youths are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers

The Trevor Project estimates that each year more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youths in the U.S. seriously consider suicide - and at least one attempts suicide every 45 seconds.

I strongly support providing gender identity and sexual orientation education in schools. Fact: members of the LGBTQ+ community ARE born that way.

I am an openly "out" lesbian. It took me 45 years to accept that this is who I am. I am not an abomination to God. Honestly, does the general public think that one day I woke up and said, "Hmmm, I'll be a lesbian"? Why on earth would anyone choose to become a member of a minority, become vulnerable to hate crimes, and be ostracized by their own family and friends?

Dayle Roberts

Lake Zurich