Discuss the issue faced by individuals with same sex orientation?

This is a HUGE question, so I'm just going to lay a little groundwork.

Problem 1 is prejudice -- pre-judging without knowing facts. Chances are, most of what you think you know about homosexuality is wrong. Some of that is due to simple ignorance, and some of it, unfortunately, is due to people who deliberately spread false information.

Problem 2 is trickier. You see, most of us don't figure out we're gay or lesbian until some time in puberty. By that time, we have learned some of the same misinformation, and we may actually hate ourselves. To make this problem worse, we usually can't talk to our parents about it. Sometimes, our parents are the ones spreading the false information!

Problem 3 is how to be gay or lesbian. Heterosexual kids have lots of role models -- people who can show them how to have traditional heterosexual relationships, all the way from first dates to marriage and family. Until fairly recently, there were no similar role models for lesbian or gay kids, and they're still pretty rare.

The interaction of these three problems, I believe, account for almost all of the issues faced by those of us who are same-sex oriented.