
Unfortunately, credible resources are not exactly simple.
Some topics have a wealth of resources which create a variety of conflicting opinions you have to tease through. Other issues have a small pool of resources to pick from causing you to lose out on valuable, silenced perspectives.
Especially where the LGBT+ minority is concerned.
So why does this matter?
So in this blog, we’re going to teach you how to identify credible information, and deal with the regrettably low amount of information out there for LGBTQ+ people.
They’re people telling you stories about who they are. They can come from friends, family, or even some random blogger, but their stories are raw and authentic to themselves.
2. Secondary sources like articles, reviews, and academic papers, break down the stories, identify trends among similar stories, and provide validation to a single person’s or group’s experience.
3. Tertiary resources like Wikipedia pages, textbooks and encyclopedias zoom out and compile all of the first-person data, and reviews to present it in a bigger format. Conflicting stories can be put together to establish the pros and cons. They can more reliably illustrate the complexity of situations. They make it easier to access and to trust.
How this works in LGBTQ+ Communities
There are medical, social, and legal questions, among others that people can’t find answers to in a simple google search. There isn’t really a good way to “google” a feeling.
Attempting to do so can also be dangerous. Our blog on safe internet browsing practices explains how dangerous it can be to find high-quality resources if you are stealth/closeted and share a computer with not-so-friendly people.
While this problem affects everyone, LGBTQ+ youth are at an extreme disadvantage. So let’s talk about resources in the context of youth.
Example: Youth Access to LGBTQ+ Resources
The map below lists all of the states with “no promo homo” laws. While the name sounds hilarious, the intentions are more nefarious.
These “no promo homo” laws silence students and teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues.

And sadly, This only records policy. Not Culture. This information is not being taught in tons of grey states either.
These laws directly impact students’ health and well-being. The red states showed actively suppress LGBTQ sex education. If you, a student or a parent of an LGBT+ student, find yourself in want or need of better sex education, you’ll have to find better resources.
As an immediate resource, might we suggest the Queer Sex Ed podcast?!"
Take these resources which offer rare but insightful data on how a lack of resources affect youth:
Why finding Quality Resources is VITAL
And it’s not going to get any easier.
The Census Bureau, our nation’s primary source for data, announced in March of 2017, that it would not include LGBTQ questions on the 2020 census.
After reading the Planned 2020 census, the only whisper of sexuality I found was in the “relationship to housemates section,” So LGBTQ+ people would have to be married to and/or living with a same-sex partner to count as LGBTQ if they even report their marriage, to begin with. There is no mention of gender identity.
This may be looking pretty grim for you if you are an LGBTQ-identified person searching for resources. But we at RESCQU NET are working on it.