1 What's happening to you? In love?! During puberty you may fall in love for the first time. But what does that feel like? Is it a nice feeling or does all the excitement almost make you feel sick? We asked a few teenagers. Being in love, how does it feel? ROMANO, AGE 17: ‘When I’m in love, I think about that person all day long. And I want to be with them all the time. I daydream about that. I can’t concentrate on anything else. But I don’t have butterflies in my stomach.’ NORA, AGE 13: ‘I’m happy the whole day, as if I can take on the world. My mother always notices. She says: I bet you’re in love.’ On the street... What is the difference between friendship and love? ESTHER, AGE 15: ‘Friendship means I like someone. If I’m in love, I want to be with that person all the time.’ ISMAIL, AGE 14: ‘When I’ve fallen in love, I want to do other things with her. Like touching and kissing her. With friendship I don’t have that.’ KEVIN, AGE 15: ‘I don’t like falling in love. It makes me feel a bit ridiculous and naive. When I’m in love, I like everything about the girl. I can hardly think straight. I don’t even see her bad side.’ JOYCE, AGE 14: ‘It feels like a bomb full of butterflies has exploded in your tummy. When you see the person, your heart misses a beat and your whole body feels warm. If she talks to me, I’m so happy. It makes me blush.’ In love with... Heterosexual Some girls fall in love with boys. Some boys fall in love with girls. That’s called heterosexual. Homosexual (gay) Some girls and boys fall in love with someone of their own sex: about six per cent of men and five per cent of women in the Netherlands, for example, are gay. Boys who are attracted to boys are called homosexuals or gay men. Girls who are attracted to girls are called lesbians or gay women. Bisexual Some people are attracted to boys and girls. That’s called bisexual. 4 LONG LIVE LOVE Transgender Do you feel like a girl, while you were born as a boy? Or do you feel like a boy, while you were born as a girl? That is called transgender. It takes a while It often takes a while before you find out whether you’re attracted to boys or girls, or both. Secret There is homosexuality all over the world, but in some countries you’re not allowed to be openly gay or express your homosexual feelings. Discrimination In the Netherlands it is against the law to discriminate against anyone who is homosexual, bisexual or transgender. Did you know... Coming out means that you no longer hide your homosexual or lesbian feelings. Young people who come out tend to do that around the age of 16. Everyone decides for themselves if and when they want to ‘come out’.
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