About half or 50 percent of teenage girls in New York are engaging in sex with female partners. A new study from the New York University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have drawn up the conclusion following a survey in 2013.
The researchers questioned 4,600 girls from public high schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Their findings were published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology this March.
Of the high school girls in the survey, 46.6 percent said they have engaged in same-sex or girl-on-girl sexual escapades. Researchers, however, noted that not all these young girls consider themselves or identify as bisexual or lesbian.
"Just looking at how someone describes themselves doesn't tell the whole story," study co-author Dr. Chanelle Coble said, as per New York Post. "When they're young, it's harder for them to be specific about their identity - they're still exploring and figuring it out."
There are some concerns regarding this behavior in teenage girls, though, as experts believe that such risqué attitude can have effects on their mental and physical health. High school girls who are still not sure of their sexual identity are especially vulnerable to suicide.
High school institutions, however, can do something about this. School officials can take an active part in establishing policies regarding anti-discrimination and anti-bullying. It can also support clubs meant to be a safe haven for these students, where they can openly discuss their issues.
"LGB youth need to see themselves reflected in the curriculum and non-LGB youth really need to see other people reflected in the curriculum as well to break down prejudice and barriers," Emily Greytak of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network said, as per The Guardian. Greytak acknowledged establishing anti-LGBT reforms in school might be challenging, especially in the U.S, where some states have the "no promo homo" law enforced.
