What’s new is the unvarnished frankness with which gay teens discuss everything – from online hookups and their first wet dreams, to porn addiction and the fear of rejection. That’s not a new theme for Savin-Williams, a clinical psychologist and research scientist, who lately has insisted: “Today’s gay youths are living the life gay adults could only have dreamed about when they were young – they’re proud, popular, respected, happy and ordinary.” Interview-based conversations with 40 young gay men corroborate the view of “Jared,” a 16-year-old from Tennessee: “Yes, there are happy gay teens who lead great lives but there is so much more in this area that can be done and I want to help.” Now Savin-Williams, professor emeritus of developmental psychology in the College of Human Ecology, continues a 40-year career of sexual-identity research with a new book, “ Becoming Who I Am: Young Men on Being Gay,” that teens might recommend to their parents – after reading it themselves, of course. Upbeat books like “The New Gay Teenager” (2005) have made Cornell’s Ritch Savin-Williams the go-to advocate for gay teens all over America.
