January 23, 2007
Teen Suicide in the News
The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article yesterday about teen suicide. There was something notable about it.
See if you can spot it. Fill in the missing word from this key paragraph from the article:
After a teen suicide, family and friends often are left wondering if there were signs they missed, whether they should have seen it coming. Indeed, there are signs, but they can be subtle and difficult to spot -- especially for parents and friends who don't know what to look for, or who don't want to admit that a child is ____________.
(Answer below the fold)
No, the missing word is not "gay," "homosexual," or anything similar; the missing word is depressed.
Who would have thought that the Chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle, would run an article about teen suicide that that didn't include the datum that gay and lesbian teenagers are up to six times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual teenagers, or that doesn't mention the words "gay," "lesbian," "homosexual," "bisexual" or "heterosexual"? The article mentions in passing the suicide risk for ethnic minorites. Why was the suicide risk for sexual minorities swept under the rug?
Posted by abostick at January 23, 2007 01:39 AMI'm in a never-attribute-to-malice mode today. I don't think it was "swept"; I just don't think it occurred to the writer. "Depressed" is a good word for it: a lot of parents would have trouble coming up with the notion that there is something systemically wrong with their own kid.
A gay kid who isn't depressed isn't likely to commit suicide. So which indicator is more important, here? One's sexual orientation, or one's emotional state. Most suicides are not gay; most suicides are depressed. I think the article did a fair service to its readers.
Posted by: Elf M. Sternberg at February 1, 2007 01:10 PM
