LGBT Reflection Paper

I remember on my first day of preschool, my mom told me, “Abby, don’t tell your teachers about your family.” Sitting in my car seat, at the age of 4, I was starting to become overwhelmed with confusion. This confusion bubbled up inside me for years. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask my moms, but I did not have the courage or the strength to ask. Then I grew up. My perspective on the world changed, and I realized that my parents were seen as a calamity to society. That was my perspective though. I wondered what my mom’s was. How did she grow up in a world that only saw her as a flaw in the system? So I asked. Beth Shaffer’s perspective on her past, the present, and the future is an astonishing story.

Around my middle school years, I knew something about myself was unique, but I could not quite put my finger on it. No one in my family was gay, the word gay was rarely spoken and I did not even know queerness existed. My family lived a very heteronormative lifestyle and I always assumed I would marry a girl and have children. I remember very clearly a day when I was in sixth grade, I was standing in the hallway after class and someone asked me, “are you gay?” I did not know how to react, I did not even know what the word “gay” meant. I immediately replied “NO” as the term gay was always used synonymously with stupid. After school that day, I asked my grandma what it meant to be gay and she described what it mean to be gay. In that moment,

The world as we know it is changing, and the people on it are changing too. Too many children today are bullied and isolated, and children having homosexual parents are definitely not exempt from this ridiculing. In the world’s efforts to eliminate bullying, we should encourage people to realize that inside, people are all the same-no matter the circumstances. Children raised in homosexual households may have an advantage over some adults in regards to this viewpoint, because these children have grown up with the fact that although people are all different, they are all the same on the inside. Although LGTBQ+ households are different from more taditional households, they are not different for the worse. These households should be cherished; all families are important, as said by George Santayana when he said, “The family is one of nature’s masterpieces”. These children, growing up with valuable life lessons about acceptance, kindness, passion, bravery, and many others, will someday become strong leaders in the world and hopefully change the world for the better for all

According to the Center for Disease Control, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face health inequities that often lead to poorer health outcomes compared with heterosexual people. Some of these inequities include stigma, a lack of healthcare access and difficulty finding doctors well-educated in LGBTQ health issues. If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, you may have encountered some of these challenges in your healthcare journey and may be seeking a comprehensive education on LGBTQ health issues. There are several easy ways to learn more about common LGBTQ health issues.

Overall, black LGBT individuals’ attitudes toward marriage are similar to their non-black and heterosexual peers: singles are more ambivalent about marriage than their partnered counterparts (Pew Report 2010), while the economically disadvantaged individuals—mainly women and less educated individuals—are more likely to benefit from stabilizing effects of marriage (Becker 1981; Thornton and Freedman 1982; Tucker and Taylor 1989; Bennett, Bloom, and Craig 1989) and therefore, show higher levels of marital expectations. However, black LGBTs also exhibit a few notable differences from their non-black counterparts. First, while parental status was not a significant predictor of the overall LGBT population’s perception of same-sex marriage, it was for black LGBTs. Previous research have found that black LGBTs are more likely to have children from their

After decades of sociopolitical mobilization by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and their allies, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage this year. Despite the landmark ruling, black and other nonwhite members of the LGBT community criticized the movement’s narrow focus, and its failure to acknowledge the racial inequality, class cleavages, and marginalization within the community.1 My research addresses how black LGBTs’ experiences of discrimination affect their perception of the salience of same-sex marriage.

Many people have heard of the acronym LGBTQ but do not necessarily understand what it stands for. The acronym LGBTQ represents the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer. The group highly unrecognized in the LGBTQ community is “questioning” or “queer”. This group of people are still unsure of their sexual orientation which may cause confusion in weather they can be classified to be in the LGBTQ community. Queer is known for a offensive term that has only recently been used to show pride about being in the LGBTQ community by the younger generation. Although it has been a symbol of pride it still can be considered very offensive. However, we hear of the acronyms LGBTQ their is also another group called “The Alphabet Soup”. This consists of two “A's” which stands for asexual, an individual who do not experience any sexual attraction, and the other “A” stands for allies or people that are straight but support the LGBTQ community.Their is also a "T" and that represents inter sex people or people who were born with anatomy that does not really fit

It can be very difficult for LGBTQ children to be open about their sexuality or gender orientation, especially if they do not receive support from the ones who are supposed to love them no matter what. Parents positively influence the health of their LGBTQ children by providing support an encouragement. Children should be able to talk to their parents about their issues and receive beneficial advice and support. Parents’ influence on the health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual teens: What parents and families should know explained that parents who support their LGBTQ children decrease the risk of the children becoming depressed, abusing drugs or alcohol, and committing suicide(Centers for Disease Control). Therefore, I believe that parents of LGBTQ youth can have a significant impact on the health of their children. As a country, we must encourage each other to accept people for who they are. It is imperative that this acceptance beings in the home and at

Being queer isn't an insult! Many people of the LGBTQ ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community feel attacked by people who are homophobic towards them. People should be informed about the LGBTQ community, and how they are not bad people for being queer. Mainly because there is a big stigma associated with being part of the LGBTQ community.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, also known as LGBT population have experienced a great deal of oppression worldwide. These particular individuals undergo discrimination from society, whether for reasons of ignorance, fear or intolerance, this population faces challenges in multiple areas of social justice sexual. Although the LGBT culture has made some strides in the areas of state and federal legislation, there is still a wide range of criminalization that takes place within our culture. Understanding the LGBT community and the history of their oppression may be the first step in becoming culturally competent. For many years this culture was denied their basic constitutional rights that were afforded to their equal heterosexual peers. Basic rights such as, adoption and marriage were uncommon to this culture until the 20th century.

What is equality? Is it just a political nomenclature or an ideological concept? Or is about working towards creating a fairer society in which each individual can enjoy his/her rights and freedom without any judgement considering that “[w]e will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.” Will Rogers (1924, p210).

When I think of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) group, I cannot really relate to them at all because I am a straight female. I also have different beliefs about the group. I do not choose to ridicule anyone just because they are different but I do stay true to what I believe in. Despite my beliefs, I was very open to their discussion and tried to relate and understand where they were coming from. During the session, I realized that many people in the LGBTQ community suffer ridicule every day, want to change how the LGBTQ community is looked upon, and struggle with identity.

Being myself around others is easy, but becoming myself is what has truly defined me. I had to discover my authentic self, despite the overwhelming input and expectations of everyone and everything around me. Genetically, I was born into the world female, but inherently, I knew I was transgender before even learning that “gender” was a word. I used to believe that someone had “made a mistake”, because I was arbitrarily born in a girl’s body. But now I know, that was exactly where I was supposed to be. It would have been easier if I was just born genetically male, but I know my time spent living as a female and my time spent living as a transgender male has enabled me to accept, appreciate, and have the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. The limitations, unwanted attention, and stereotypes that accompany being transgender could have easily broken me, but instead I have geared my experiences towards forming myself into the confident, fearless person I am today.

The battles that the LGBT community faces every day are something most people aren’t familiar with. For me however it’s a different story. The LGBT community is a community looking for wider acceptance and understanding. Every morning someone who is lesbian, gay, transsexual, or transgender has to wake up and face the daily battles of living this lifestyle. They have to fight for equality and have hope they won’t get shorthanded just because of how they live their life. It’s becoming easier for people to be okay with what they are, but it’s still not fully accepted. It’s a constant battle in the minds of people who don’t feel supported by their loved ones, or they feel like they can’t be who they truly want to be. In reality of the whole situation, we’re all human, rich or poor, straight or part of the LGBT community. So why is there still fear in people? And why can’t we all just let everyone be happy?

Imagine if you were to be judged for who you were, or what you did, or even your gender type. In the world there are a lot of social injustices going on even to this very day. One of the most common and heard of social injustice would probably be the one of people being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. This issue has been going on for quite a long time now. Some people do not agree with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender projects. A lot of people suffer because of this injustice, and it also affects their whole lives. A lot of the people that go through this most likely end up fighting back for what they believe is right, which in their