Editing Coming out (section)

=== LGBTQ identity development ===
{{Main|Sexual identity#Models of sexual identity development}}
Every coming out story is the person trying to come to terms with who they are and their sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chirrey |first=Deborah |title=I Hereby Come Out: What Sort Of Speech Act Is Coming Out? |journal=Journal of Sociolinguistics |year=2003 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=24–37 |doi=10.1111/1467-9481.00209}}</ref> Several models have been created to describe coming out as a process for gay and lesbian identity development, e.g., Dank, 1971; Cass, 1984; Coleman, 1989; Troiden, 1989. Of these models, the most widely accepted is the [[Cass identity model]] established by Vivienne Cass.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uvm.edu/~linemen/articles/genderidentity.pdf |title=Sexual Identity: The Case Model |access-date=19 April 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325110617/http://www.uvm.edu/~linemen/articles/genderidentity.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2016}}</ref> This model outlines six discrete stages transited by individuals who successfully come out: identity confusion, identity comparison, identity tolerance, identity acceptance, identity pride, and identity synthesis. However, not every LGBTQ person follows such a model. For example, some LGBTQ youth become aware of and accept their same-sex desires or gender identity at puberty in a way similar to which heterosexual teens become aware of their sexuality, i.e., free of any notion of difference, stigma or shame in terms of the gender of the people to whom they are attracted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LGBT Coming Out of the Closet News and Information |url=https://www.sexualdiversity.org/sexuality/out/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=Sexual Diversity |date=January 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> Regardless of whether LGBTQ youth develop their identity based on a model, the typical age at which youth in the United States come out has been dropping. High school students and even middle school students are coming out.<ref>''Salon'': [http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/24/gay_teens/ Amy Benfer, "We're here! We're queer! We're 13!", September 24, 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927045536/http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/24/gay_teens/|date=27 September 2009}}, accessed 16 January 2012</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |title=Coming Out in Middle School |first=Benoit |last=Denizet-Lewis |date=27 September 2009 | access-date=30 April 2010 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513000820/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html | archive-date=13 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Gay Kids Coming Out Younger But Parents Ask 'How Do You Know?'">[http://jezebel.com/5366812/gay-kids-coming-out-younger-but-parents-ask-how-do-you-know Coming Out Younger] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708192103/http://jezebel.com/5366812/gay-kids-coming-out-younger-but-parents-ask-how-do-you-know|date=8 July 2013}}, Jezebel.com article.</ref>

Emerging research suggests that [[gay men]] from religious backgrounds are likely to come out online via Facebook and other social networks, such as blogs, as they offer a protective interpersonal distance. This largely contradicts the growing movement in social media research indicating that online use, particularly Facebook, can lead to negative mental health outcomes such as increased levels of anxiety. While further research is needed to assess whether these results generalize to a larger sample, these recent findings open the door to the possibility that gay men's online experiences may differ from those of heterosexuals in that these may be more likely to provide mental health benefits rather than consequences.<ref>Etengoff, C. & Daiute, C. (2015). "Online Coming Out Communications between Gay Men and their Religious Family Allies: A Family of Choice and Origin Perspective", ''Journal of GLBT Family Studies.''</ref>