Emergence and Development of the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues

Abstract

Most commonly, the term sex refers to an individual’s biological status, which is typically categorized as male or female. Biological sex is generally designated by such indicators as sex chromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive organs, and external genitalia, and it is largely independent of cultural influences. Most individuals are categorized as female or male based upon these biological indicators. The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with an individual’s biological sex are referred to as gender. Gainor (2000) described gender as “…a sociocultural construct referring to the behavioral, psychological, social, and cultural features and characteristics that have become strongly associated with being male and female” (p. 136). When the sociocultural expectations are internalized and enacted, they are referred to as gender roles. In most western societies, gender is categorized as masculine or feminine. Societal notions of what is feminine and what is masculine may vary dramatically across cultures and time periods (Bohan, 1996). Behavior that is compatible with cultural expectations or prescriptions is referred to as “gender normative.” Those behaviors that are incompatible with these expectations or prescriptions are referred to as “gender nonconforming.” Although gender may be viewed as the external, societal expectation or cultural prescription for the behavior of men and women, gender identity is a term used to refer to the individual’s internal identification with these sociocultural expectations or prescriptions. Gender identity has to do with “one’s sense of oneself as female, male, or transgender” (American Psychological Association, 2006). In most instances, an individual’s gender identity is consistent with that person’s biological sex. When the two are incongruent, the individual may identify as “transsexual” or use another transgender category (cf., Gainor, 2000). Individuals who are transsexual experience a profound incongruence between their biological sex and gender identity and are likely to pursue interventions such as sex hormones and/or gender reassignment surgery (Brown & Rounsley, 1996; Gainor, 2000). The term transgender is more inclusive; it refers to transsexuals as well as to those individuals whose gender identity is incongruent with their biological sex but who do not wish to pursue the interventions described above. When the term sexual orientation is used, it essentially involves “the sex of the individual to whom one is erotically and emotionally attracted” (Brown & Rounsley, 1996, p. 19). Quite often, sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity are confused and/or conflated. For instance, because a woman (a lesbian) is attracted to women, it is thought that she also wishes to be like a man in other ways. This is based upon the assumption that only men are attracted to women; thus, anyone attracted to a woman must be like a man or want to be so. Lesbians do not, as a rule, experience themselves as men or imitations of men. Similarly, most gay men do not view themselves as women or imitations of women. Nevertheless, it is assumed that being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is automatically associated with gender nonconforming behavior, feelings, and attitudes. The fact of the matter is that an individual can be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or even heterosexual and still demonstrate a wide range of gender expression—from gender normative to transgender. Gender-related characteristics vary a great deal among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual individuals. Gender nonconformity is found in all sexual orientations. Still, a nonheterosexual orientation is often attributed to a person who is gender nonconforming, and this attribution may be accompanied by stigmatization. It is important to keep in mind that, in patriarchal societies, androcentricism prevails. What is male or masculine is deemed more desirable, more powerful, and more privileged than what is female or feminine. Because LGBT individuals are automatically assumed to be gender nonconforming, gay men often pay a high price when it comes to victimization in hate crimes for the perception that they are less masculine than other men. Herek (1992) has noted that lesbians and gay men are not only stigmatized because of to whom they are attracted but because of their perceived violation of gender norms (see Chapters 15 in Volume II).