Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - The Struggle of Sexual Minorities

The LGBTQ community is one the communities that has been fighting for their right till the present. The L from in the LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, the G for Gay, B for bisexual, T for transgender, and the Q for queers. The term gay is meant for males that are only attracted to other males. The lesbian term is meant for females that are only attracted to other females. The bisexual term is meant for male or female that are attracted to both males and females. A transgender person can also be gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. The term transgender includes a lot of others term; it is an umbrella term, therefore there is not one definition to really agree on (Bukhari, S., Mushtaq, H., & Aurangzaib, S. (2016), p.93). There are many more names or term that are included in the community. There are many communities in the United States that are accepting toward the LGBTQ community, and there are many communities that make it harder for the community to come out. LGBTQ community are more likely to be accepted in communities that are more comfortable to talk about sex and LGBTQ topic. The more it is talked about the more people have their own opinion, and think about what exactly is bad or good about the topic. The psychosocial and sociological aspects plays a role in how today’s society feels about the community, and how the community has been treated in the past till this day. For some people to be able to support the LGBTQ members, one has to try to see past their huge beliefs in gender

What diversity means to me is each and every individual in this world is unique. No one is the same so that’s why learning about new cultures, languages, lifestyles, religion, beliefs and traditions is enjoyable for humans. If everyone were the same, life would be boring. The unique characteristics that people possess can be vastly different. I have an open mind and am willing to be educated by people with different cultures because it gives the opportunity to gain increased knowledge about their lives. When people are accepting of others that’s when you have a better chance to

Diversity implies more than simply recognizing and/or enduring distinction. Diversity is an arrangement of conscious practices that include:

Every day in the United States, a young person, under the age of eighteen faces homelessness, and most often it’s because of others. In a report by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, it was noted that 26% of LGBTQ youth were kicked out of their homes when they came out (Ray, 2006). The Urban Justice League reports numbers as high as 78% of LGBTQ youth that “were removed from or left their foster care placements because they were un-welcoming or hostile towards their sexual orientation and/or gender identity ” (Feinstein, Greenblatt, Hass, Kohn, & Rana, 2001). The United States is an independent, individualistic country; we prize the freedom of expression, but do we really? One of the most significant, if not the most important, social structures is the family. Gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals who are aware of their sexuality, must create an alternative self to present to family and friends, especially if there is an understanding, verbalized or implicit, that homosexuality is not tolerated, or simply wrong. Many gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women would rather go with the flow, assimilate, not make waves, rather than to express their own gay identity, and risk ostracism.

Relatively recent inclusion of sexual orientation measures in a few federal and state health surveillance surveys is enabling the production of population-based information about sexual minority health and its status relative to that of the heterosexual majority.

As the AIDS and HIV disease continue to rise in the U.S., the majority of the people affected by this illness is found in Atlanta. Based on studies, bisexual African-American men who are having intercourse with other men are more vulnerable to contracting the deadly disease. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the percentage of gay and bisexual men with HIV remain the same while other demographics are decreasing.

The course of Multicultural psychology reflected in my own identity in relation to sexual identity, discrimination, and privilege. Before coming into this course my understanding of these concepts was mediocre, but after learning about the impacts of each I now see a different perspective. My understanding of these concepts evolved and changed over time by learning new information about each separately and applying each to my own life. Now my knowledge is beyond mediocre.

The first aspect of diversity I chose to analyze is religion. My religion has had a constant and endless imprint on my life. There are many ways that I express my religion. One observable characteristic of my religious identity is my dress and appearance. I choose to dress modestly as a symbol of self-respect. Based on the belief that my body is a gift from God, I also choose to not adorn my body with tattoos. My weekly attendance at church and participation in the choir are other patterns of observable characteristics of culture. A final example of an observable characteristic is service. I choose to give of my time and talents to help others at school, church or in my community. For instance, each Sunday I voluntarily teach a Sunday

To conclude, the youth in modern America is being affected greatly from the negativity towards LGBT inequality and inequalities overall. Persecution impacts everyone whether you have a different gender or sexuallity but that’s what makes us unique. Only we can put an end to social inequality, but we have to work together.

Over the past few years, representation of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) individuals has become more visible and diverse in television series. It has often been talked about the way these characters act and how those portrayals are either in a stereotyped way or not, but other aspects of their lives have barely been taken into consideration.

Discrimination is a lethal tool that societies use to deem select groups of people as more important, and it is this arrogance that drives hate in nations. A human being’s eligibility for equal treatment and rights is not determined by how much he or she meets cultural standards and ideals. The issue of prejudice is greatly talked about by many organizations around the world, but Amnesty International does one of the best jobs of defining the overall goal: “[everyone has] the right to be treated equally, regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, health or other status” (“Discrimination”). Constantly being

Sharon Dale Stone , a Canadian sociology professor, first found her place and passion for gender studies in the Lesbian Organization of Toronto in the 1970s. Together with other lesbian women, they carved a safe space for themselves away from the homophobic and sexist world they were living in. For the first time in her life, Stone experienced clarity; her sexual identity was valid and she was part of a wonderful movement that was working towards the liberation of women (6). Liberation of all women except bisexual ones.

Diversity is needed, another leading Buddhist teacher states, to relieve our suffering—the suffering of dominant group members. angel Kyodo Williams states:

Homosexuality has been in the media as being something negative because it strays from the norm and makes people feel uneasy, but the media is forever changing. The public view on homosexuality is changing for the better due to the Supreme Court’s Ruling on the legalization of same-same marriage. As a result from this, adolescents feel like there is now an environment that is ready and willing to accept the LGBT community as a whole and help individuals nourish the idea of self-acceptance. More and more individuals are starting to identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to their peers, parents or both. For these specific few, disclosing their sexual orientation, or coming out, is a significant experience and for someone like myself who is going through such an experience like this I was ultimately brought to this specific topic. Through research, sociologists have discovered that different themes could be established from this process such as alienation, uneasiness, fear, self-acceptance, and security within your sexuality. It has been concluded that through this coming out experience, the feeling of liberation is realized.

Research has proven that people are able to make judgements with a fair amount of accuracy. These perceptions are drawn from cultural stereotypes that lead to categorization of others into social categories. The LGBT community has been a subject of interest over the past 25-30 years. Research has been dedicated into searching for the neurological, biological and social correlates associated with this community. The main focus of the research has been on the ability to identify people who are gay. The term gaydar has been coined by different researchers in the field and it relates to the ability to perceive another individual who is gay. However, the research involved has been strictly tied to psychology and as a result its implications are subjective in nature. The current work utilized event related potentials to measure the cognitive processes associated with making the determination of one’s sexual orientation. 21 heterosexual and homosexual male participants had electrodes placed on their scalp to measure their brain activity in response to 120 pictures of gay or straight men. Results found that homosexual males exerted more effort when processing the faces of the targets.