Joel Mittleman
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of Notre Dame
The year 2015 marked a historic milestone in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights: the Supreme Court’s recognition of marriage equality. The court’s ruling both reflected and promoted an incredible sea change in American life. In the two decades prior to the decision, public opinion on LGBTQ+ rights improved more rapidly than any other attitude in the history of American opinion polling.
Growing up amid these changes, today’s LGBTQ+ youth are the beneficiaries of tremendous social progress. The markers of this progress are easy to find. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are coming out earlier than ever before. Whereas older generations report not coming out until their mid-20s, those born in the 1990s (Read More…)