Too young to know?

Question

My sister is 10 years old and she has a good friend that’s around the same age. They hang out and have sleepovers pretty often (I don’t know if this is relevant tbh.) This friend is questioning both her sexuality and gender. Her parents are accepting of this and allow her to express herself freely. Recently my sister has been telling members of my family that she’s lesbian. I honestly suspected this months ago when I saw how she interacted with her friend. I’m happy that she’s comfortable being open about who she is. Other members of my family however, think that she’s too young to know if she’s lesbian. I’ve had numerous conversations with them asking why they wouldn’t think anything of her telling them about having a crush on a male friend, and it wasn’t any different is she tells them about her crush on her female friend. They continue to tell me that maybe she’s being influenced by her friend and that maybe she just wants to be like her. They’ve also told me that she may just be overwhelmed during this time in her life (puberty, pandemic anxiety, her general anxiety, she’s also a bit of a recluse.) 
I don’t know exactly what my question is, but advice and/or opinions are welcome..

Answer

She may change her feelings about things, but it’s best if everyone supports her no matter what!

Answer

My cousin knew she was gay before she hit 12. She’s almost 18 and is still a lesbian. Everyone told her it was a phase but it wasn’t and she’s happy. Whether or not it’s a “phase”, “influenced”, whatever,  for your sister your family should accept it.

Answer

Tell them that if she’s old enough to know she’s straight she’s old enough to know shes not

Answer

It’s completely normal, it could be a phase but let her explore her sexually that’s the only way for her to truly know honestly, just support her in her decision and never make her feel bad for them! 
I lost a friend of mine young 14-15 years old because he told his family he was gay and they mistreated him because of it, he took his own life because of it! Some people know at young ages and some don’t know tell later in life!

Answer

Everyone is literally brainwashed and conditioned to be “straight” from the start. Her gaining more knowledge on the subject of sexuality or gender is not going to make her a lesbian. If she’s a lesbian shell still feel that way with or without the knowledge. With that being said, I wouldn’t stress or pressure her to label herself as anything or prevent her from being friends with anyone because they are.

Answer

I think it's normal for kids to question their sexuality, this doesn't mean that she is or isn't a lesbian forever. She's at a stage where she's curious and yes the interaction with her friend could have sparked it, or it could have encouraged her to come out. 
I don't think she's too young at all to start wondering this about herself. Seems like a pretty normal age to me. I remember my first encounter with a girl in my class who I thought was a lesbian was when I was 13.

Answer

I knew I liked girls and boys when I was 6

Answer

My niece knew she was trans at age 4-5ish. Some people just know.

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Sexuality can change and vary among adolescents as they try to develop their identity. Regardless of whether or not you think she's "too young to know" and could discover she is not a lesbian later on doesn't matter. What matters is she identifies as lesbian now. She should be supported no matter what, even if a month down the line she decides to change her sexual identity.

Answer

10 is definitely not too young to be sure of someone's sexuality. Her sexuality may become more complex as she gets older but that's not too young. Hell, I knew I was sexually attracted to boys by 3 or 4. It was instinctive.
As far as the gender thing goes, were I that girl's parent, I'd be discussing with her just what she thinks gender is, making sure she isn't mixing it up with sexist stereotypes, and supporting her through the life changes she's staring down the barrel of.

Too young to know?

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