Gay Issues Research Articles

Research on the Influencing Factors of Homosexuality

This study is committed to comprehensively exploring the diversity of the influencing factors of homosexuality, and tries to conduct a comprehensive analysis from multiple dimensions of biology, psychology and social culture. Through combing the relevant literature and empirical research, it is found that the formation of homosexuality is not caused by a single factor, but the result of the interaction of multiple factors. In terms of biological factors, genetic genes, brain structure and functional differences may affect the sexual tendency of individuals. In terms of psychological factors, the childhood family environment, parenting style, and gender role identity also play a key role in the formation of homosexuality. In addition, social and cultural factors cannot be ignored, including the social acceptance of homosexuality, cultural background, religious belief and so on. This study contributes to an increased understanding of homosexuality and provides theoretical support for future relevant studies. At the same time, it also calls on all sectors of society to be more tolerant and understanding when dealing with gay issues, and to create a harmonious and friendly social environment for gay people.

‘He taught me to hate myself’: the pastoral care of gay Christians in Anglican churches

ABSTRACT This paper examines the pastoral approach of church leaders towards gay and lesbian Christians in two contrasting Anglican church settings: non-affirming and affirming of gay identity. This is timely, given the vexed history surrounding the ‘gay issue’ within the Church of England and the current deliberations regarding ‘gay blessings’. The results uncovered a troubling ignorance in non-affirming settings of the well-researched vulnerability of gay Christians related to their sexual identity. Interviews with church leaders in affirming settings revealed a considerable burden of suffering in gay Christians seeking sanctuary in their churches because of traumatic experiences in non-affirming churches.

Religious Leaders' Perspectives Towards LGBTIQ in Nepal

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans gender, Intersex, Queer plus is an emerging social issue in Nepal. Still Nepalese society has hardly accepted the issue yet. There might be various reasons; this concept has not earned priority in current social structure. Social structures are guided by the religious belief and practice. Religious leaders’ hold the governing positions to construct the perception of society. For the reason, it aims to explore the perception of religious leaders towards LGBTIQ. The religious leaders from Hindus (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhist, Islam and Christian around Kathmandu valley were selected as the respondents of the research. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interview. In their own worshipping places through field visit. Respondents felt uneasy on the topic though they preferred to explain the good features of the religion rather than the issue. Hindus claimed that they respect third gender as the grace of the god, though they believe that it is against the rule and nature constructed by the god. Similarly, the devotees of Buddhism take oath to follow the ‘Eight-Fold-Path’ as their guideline which consist the five precepts. The Christians consider sexuality to be a divine gift, though it ignores the sexual orientation of LGBTIQ and there are significant disagreements among the Christian community in Nepal. Islamic faith is controlled by holy Quran, which does not give permission for unnatural sex. Though, in the holy text, the story of Luth is mentioned to aware the devotees from the sinful act performed by LGBTIQ. Though, the religious leader accepted the biological features of the LGBTIQ but they denied the sexual activities they perform or express. They perceive it as a sinful act of previous life. Moreover, they believe that the lesbian, gay issues were mostly influenced by western culture and the advancement of the modern technologies. Thus, the religion guided structure of Nepal left behind to address the LGBTIQ to struggle for decades to achieve the rights in the country.

The Relationship Between School Counselors’ Role Beliefs and Practice with and on Behalf of LGBTQQI Youth

School counselors completed measures of school counselor activity and role beliefs; competence with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQQI) issues; and school-based LGBTQQI advocacy and awareness. Hierarchical multiple regression identified that LGBTQQI clinical skill predicts school counselor LGBTQQI advocacy and awareness, adjusting for school counselor demographics, sexual-affective and gender identities, activity beliefs, building level, and LGBTQQI training. We discuss implications for school counselor training and practice.

Embodied Silence, Ambiguous Identities: Queerness and Disruption in Franklin Kameny’s Congressional Testimony

ABSTRACT Franklin Kameny’s 1963 congressional testimony was not the first instance of gay and lesbian issues being subjected to public inquiry, but his invited presence nonetheless represented the first time that an openly gay individual would testify to Congress. This essay argues that his testimony represents a unique form of rhetorical delivery—embodied silence—that combines public visibility and the language of embodiment with that of silence. Embodied silences interpellate audiences into witnessing absence and disrupt understanding a rhetor and/or their words. From Oscar Wilde to ACT UP, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals are regularly conceived within a negotiation of absence, a queer embodiment of the unspoken and unarticulated. Silence’s legacy and continued centrality to publicness, therefore, marks an important conceptual framework for analyzing these rhetorics. Highlighting homophile activism’s unique historicity, this essay argues embodiment and absence are vital to future queer rhetorical theorizing.

Evaluation of Reading materials for students in schools

This article aims to compare the content of reading material for students in Indonesia and other countries, for example, reading material containing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. This objective is based on selecting reading material for learning in schools in Indonesia, which is undoubtedly different from that in other countries, for example, the United States. The choice of reading material is chosen by the teacher and is based on its suitability with students’ needs and characteristics. This article uses a comparative study with the literature method. Data are collected from documents in journals, proceedings, books, and articles on the internet related to the topics in this article. The data analysis technique was carried out using content analysis techniques. The collected data were then analysed and compared to determine what students in Indonesia and the United States read. The results show that in the United States, LGBT material has been incorporated into the school curriculum. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, LGBT material is quite challenging to include in the school curriculum because it is considered contrary to the prevailing norms in Indonesia regarding LGBT, even though it can support learning about tolerance.
 
 Keywords: Reading material content, comparative study, LGBT issues.

Teaching Note—Considering Competencies for Social Work Practice and Research With Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals

ABSTRACT This article presents current research on clinical practice with transgender and gender diverse (TGD) persons and introduces clinical social work educators and researchers with TGD-specific counseling competencies from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC). The article will align these practice competencies with existing social work education competencies and policies to advance clinical social work education and research on best practice with TGD individuals. To demonstrate how the WPATH and ALGBTIC competencies can be used to create teaching modules, there are four class activities offered for possible use. Finally, a critical review of the limitations of the WPATH and ALGBTIC competencies is presented, suggesting a need to adapt or develop “social work-specific” competencies for use in clinical practice education and research with TGD individuals.

History of LGBTQQIA Rising Up in the American Counseling Association: In the Beginning

This article was based on the keynote address by Dr. Mark Pope at the second ALGBTIC national conference held in San Antonio, Texas, on September 17, 2016. In this address, Dr. Pope addressed the beginnings of the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (now the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities), a division of the American Counseling Association. Dr. Pope integrated those beginnings within professional counseling with the historic times in which this occurred in American society.

Gay Porn, Politics and Lifestyle in 1980s Finland: The Short Life of Mosse Magazine

ABSTRACTAlthough the gay press has been seen as central to the formation of the gay movement, entertainment magazines focusing on sex and consumer lifestyle have until recently received little attention in studies on gay history. This article focuses on Mosse, the short-lived gay porn magazine published by mainstream publishing company Lehtimiehet in Finland between 1983 and 1985. In addition to nude photos and porn stories, Mosse featured articles on gay politics and lifestyle. Analysing Mosse’s attempt at creating a market for a new kind of gay magazine, the article explores the relationship between commercialism, porn and gay politics in Mosse. The article argues that Mosse, alongside other porn publications, explored themes of gay liberation and gay consumer culture at a time when the discussion of gay issues was limited in so-called legitimate media in Finland, in part due to legislation which criminalized the “encouragement” of homosexuality. In its articles on gay politics and lifestyle, Mosse positioned Finland as lagging behind Western countries, with Sweden and Denmark figuring as ideals of progress. Despite its modest circulation and short lifespan, Mosse’s very existence is significant as a sign that it was possible to imagine a Finnish gay consumer market in the first part of the 1980s.

Best Practices in Cross-Cultural Counseling: The Intersection of Spiritual/Religious Identity and Affectional/Sexual Identity

In 2003, Frame reported that over 60% of LGBTQ+ individuals value their spiritual/religious backgrounds. While some religious organizations and states’ conscience clause legislation discriminates against LGBTQ+ individuals, the ACA Code of Ethics and Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, and Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling, competencies do not allow for discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, nor the practice of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). In this paper, we present perspectives from a taskforce representing members of ASERVIC and ALGBTIC, including historical context, review of extant literature and recommended best practices.

Kako pristupiti mjerenju seksualne orijentacije, spolnog i rodnog identiteta? Preporuke za istraživanja o temama koje se odnose na LGBTIQ osobe

There has been an increasing interest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) issues in social science research in Croatia. Additionally, LGBTIQ people can be sampled in almost any research. However, it is usually assumed that all study participants are heterosexual and cisgender. In consequence, a limited number of categories for LGBTIQ individuals are typically included in questionnaires. Such an approach results in biased sample characteristics, which can both affect the interpretation of results and provoke LGBTIQ participants to refrain from providing answers to certain questions or refuse further participation. In addition, it represents a violation of the scientific research ethical principle of avoiding discrimination or privilege based on sex, gender identity, and expression or sexual orientation. In this paper, recommendations are offered for research that acknowledges LGBTIQ people by including different response options for sexual orientation, sex, and gender identity. These recommendations are based on an overview of different theoretical explanations and approaches in the measurement of gender, sex and sexual orientation in Croatian and international research, as well as on the authors’ experience in professional work with LGBTIQ people. As a possible step towards recognising LGBTIQ identities, introducing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity into research is recommended where those variables could be relevant for the studied subject. Also, since sex is a frequent research variable and commonly used response options “male” and “female” do not apply to a part of the population, adding a response option for self-identification or “something else” is recommended. In addition to item construction examples, explanations of the key concepts important for research including LGBTIQ people are provided.

Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Issues in Psychiatry

This review is intended to give an overview of psychiatric considerations for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population. The history of LGBT-related diagnoses in the DSM is discussed along with the epidemiology of various mental disorders in the LGBT population, with several diagnoses having a higher incidence including depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, self-harm, and suicidal ideation or attempt. To explain these discrepancies, several theories and models are explored, specifically the minority stress model and adverse childhood events. Additionally, recommendations for clinical psychiatric practice are explored including affirmative therapy and transgender-affirming cognitive behavioral therapy, two interventions specifically studied in the LGBT population as well as overall goals of treatment when treating patients struggling with their gender identity. This review contains 5 tables, and 35 references. Key Words: adverse childhood events, affirmative therapy, bisexual, gay, lesbian, LGBT, minority stress, transgender, transgender-affirming cognitive behavioral therapy

Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling’s Best Practices in Addressing Conscience Clause Legislation in Counselor Education and Supervision

The amount of various, state-level legislation allowing the denial of counseling services to individuals with values that conflict with those of the professional counselor continues to increase. Such laws are in direct conflict with the values, principles, and ethical standards of the counseling profession. These “conscience clause” legislations are of concern due to the ability of the counseling profession to safeguard and protect the welfare of clients seeking counseling services. Potently, however, much of the focus of conscience clause legislation centers around the legal sanctioning of bias and refusal to provide services to affectional and gender minority clients, and the intersection of sexual/affectional orientation to spiritual and religious values. Provided is a review of these laws and the way they clash with the counseling profession. To assist profession counselors in navigating appropriate ethical behavior, specific counseling-appropriate and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer affirming recommendations are provided. Each layer of professional counseling, direct work with clients, supervision, and counselor education, is addressed.

Codesigning emancipatory systems: a study on mobile applications and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues

HCI is a well-suited discipline for designing systems intended to support disenfranchised groups. The LGBT population is increasingly gaining visibility, but the range of subjects they are affected by prejudice and exclusion is wide. This work begins by a review on LGBT issues in HCI literature and mobile applications. We point out a lack of consideration of LGBT people as designers and critical approaches, explicitly aiming to not only understand but effectively act on social issues. In addition, few mobile applications disclose a critical goal, despite their potential impact on health, alterity, empathy, safety, and sociability. Then, we describe a semioparticipatory approach for codesign, focusing on the first conducted activities where the relations between mobile applications and LGBT issues were discussed with volunteers interested in the subject. Finally, we present the concept of a novel application aiming at the support and protection of LGBT people.

PEMBERITAAN MEDIA ASING MENGENAI HUKUM CAMBUK GAY DI ACEH

This study aims to analyze why there are pro and cons of foreign media in the news of the whippingof gay couples in Aceh. The method used in this research is qualitative method. The subjects ofthis research are some sources of news from media. Data collection techniques were conductedwith library research and documentation. The results obtained after conducting library researchand documentation are two issues that make the media pro and cons against the news of this case.The first is the issue of caning and human right law, and the second is the gay issue of minorities.Pro-gay and anti-Islam stigma are built on the issue of human right violstions and caningpunishmant that considered other forms of torture in various reports.Keywords: News, Foreign Media, Caning Law, and Gay.

Exploring the relationships among practitioners’ consultation skills, competence to counsel lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients, and attitudes toward transgender people

Consultation is an intervention that can diffuse expertise in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) issues throughout systems of care. Practitioners (N = 145) were surveyed on their lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) counseling competence, attitudes toward transgender people, and consultation skills. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis identified that consultation competence significantly influenced (p ≤ .01) LGB counseling skills over and above LGB knowledge and awareness, attitudes toward transgender people, and participant demographic characteristics. The domains of LGB competence and attitudes toward transgender people were also significantly correlated within the participant sample. Implications for practice, training, and future research are discussed.

Sexuality, therapeutic culture, and family ties in the United States after 1973.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2nd ed.; DSM-II; American Psychiatric Association, 1968). Clinicians subsequently began conducting psychotherapy with gays and lesbians not in order to change their sexuality but to address the psychological effects of homophobia and associated problems. Family-related issues such as the impact of coming out to relatives became an important dimension of psychotherapy that normalized same-sex desire, identity, and relationships, even amid contemporary invocations of family values as grounds for opposing gays and lesbians' political claims. This article examines family therapy's gradual recognition of gay and lesbian families as emblematic of the historically changing relationship among psychotherapy, sexuality, and family during the 1970s to 1990s. Although early family therapists of the 1950s and 1960s were largely unconcerned with treating homosexuality as a psychiatric problem, they also generally did not recognize same-sex relationships as a possible configuration of family life because their models presumed a heterosexual nuclear family. By the 1980s and 1990s, many family therapists came to see sexuality as a dimension of family life that might shape the issues for which couples and families sought treatment but that did not warrant treatment itself. Homosexuality's depathologization in 1973 thus signaled the opening, not the closing, of lesbian and gay issues in family therapy because the cultural trends and social movements that led to homosexuality's removal from the DSM-II would, by the 1990s, also contribute to expanding family therapists' notion of "family." (PsycINFO Database Record

The Global Problem of Bisexual Erasure in Litigation and Jurisprudence

ABSTRACTAs the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and transgender people (“LGBT rights”) have received increasing protections across the globe in recent years, so-called gay marriage and other gay issues, and, more recently, transgender issues, have been prominent in recent legal discourse. In contrast, bisexuality has too often been omitted from legal rights discourse, with bisexual people who are barely acknowledged in LGBT-rights litigation and discourse beyond the minimal inclusion of the letter B in the acronym LGBT. This article examines the problem of bisexual invisibility and erasure within LGBT-rights litigation and legal discourse around the world. Although exposing the problem of bisexual erasure in the legal world, the article also addresses the question this issue always seems to beg when it is raised: why bisexual erasure even matters. The harms of bisexual erasure, including those that can take tragic root in court decisions grounded in misunderstandings about bisexuality, are manifold and are addressed herein along with some potential solutions and next steps toward improving bisexual inclusion in litigation and jurisprudence.

Challenging dominance in the education sector: Why is it important and how can I do it?

Dominance in any sector prevents minority voices from being heard. Challenging dominance can be vulnerable, especially if the challenger identifies as part of a minority group. Marginalisation and silencing of issues pertaining to the gay community have long been the accepted norm in the education sector (Lee & Duncan, 2008; Robinson 2002). Furthermore, being an openly gay person in a teaching environment has proven challenging, mainly due to the dominance and acceptance of the heterosexual construct (DeJean, 2010a; Jarvis & Sandretto, 2010; McKenzie-Bassant, 2007; Sumara, 2008). The experiences of four lesbian teachers located in urban Aotearoa New Zealand and how they challenged heteronormativity in their early childhood education (ECE) settings was the focus for this research. Heteronormativity was one barrier which prevented teachers speaking about lesbian and gay topics. As a result of this barrier, acceptance of lesbian and gay issues is still a contentious issue within Aotearoa New Zealand ECE settings. A feminist poststructuralist and queer theory paradigm was used to frame the analytical approach. Data was gathered using individual interviews and a focus group. Strategies that participants used to challenge heteronormative dominance were examined. Although the participants did disrupt and challenge the dominance of heteronormativity, this was not without challenges or discomfort. The findings indicate that a collective approach from all teachers to challenge heteronormativity would benefit both peers and children. This collective approach would enable lesbian and gay teachers to be better able to be authentically engaged teachers.

Standards of Care in Assessment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTGEQ+) Persons

ABSTRACTA Joint Task Force comprised of members of the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC) and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) present standards of care for assessment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTGEQ+) Persons.