Unit 8Readings and ResourceseBookZastrow, C., Kirst-Ashman,.docx

Unit 8
Readings and Resources
eBook:
Zastrow, C., Kirst-Ashman, K.K. & Hessenauer, S.L. (2019).
Empowerment series: Understanding human behavior
and the social environment (11th Ed.). Cengage Learning.
· Chapter 13: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Articles, Websites, and Videos:
The highly politicized topic of sex, gender and sexual
orientation from the view of a health care provider will be
discussed in this video. It provides information on how we
utilize terms to describe others, yet these terms eventually
become labels which do not consider the uniqueness of the
individual and therefore, turn into stereotypes and assumptions.
https://youtu.be/2yM_P6WdRJU
Unit 8: Chapter 13: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityChapter Introduction
CREATISTA/ Shutterstock.com
Learning Objectives
This chapter will help prepare students to
EP 2a
EP 2b
EP 2c
EP 3a
EP 3b
EP 6a
EP 7b
EP 8b
· LO 1 Explain sexual orientation and gender identity (including

concepts such as homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender
people)
· LO 2 Review stereotypes about lesbian and gay people
· LO 3 Discuss conceptual frameworks concerning sexual
orientation
· LO 4 Address discrimination and the impacts of homophobia
· LO 5 Describe lesbian and gay lifestyles (including lesbian
and gay relationships, sexual interaction, gay pride, and
empowerment and a sense of community)
· LO 6 Explore significant issues and life events for lesbian and
gay people (including legal empowerment, violence against
them, coming out, ethnicity, adolescence, parenting, aging, and
HIV/AIDS)
· LO 7 Recognize gay and lesbian pride, empowerment, and a
sense of community
John had been attending the state university for more than a
year. He didn’t have a chance to visit his parents in their small
Midwestern town very often. When he did get home, his visits
were usually limited to holidays. So when Thanksgiving rolled
around, he found himself hopping on the Greyhound bus headed
for Slab City, Wisconsin, his home.
This trip home was a problem for him. No matter how often or
how deeply he mulled it over in his mind, he couldn’t find an
answer. He had something to tell his parents that he didn’t think
they would like very much. Over the past year, John had come
to realize something about himself. He had come out; he was
gay.
As he watched the countryside roll by, he thought about his
childhood, about his high school friends, and even about the
girl, Millie, he had dated for two and a half years during high
school. What would they think if they found out?
He had never really been interested in girls. Sure, he pretended
to be. Once a guy got labeled a “fag,” he might as well run off
to a monastery. He had always been pretty bright. He had
learned really fast how men were supposed to act. As all-
conference fullback on the high school football team, he became

quite adept at telling the appropriate locker room jokes and at
exaggerating the previous weekend’s conquests with women. He
often wondered why he had to pretend so hard. The others
seemed to really get into it. They seemed genuinely enthralled
with the ideas of big-breasted women and sex. He never dared
mention the fact that he’d rather spend time with Dan or Chuck.
He certainly never came close to mentioning any of his secret
fantasies.
Dating Millie was “safe” for him. She was a nice girl, in
addition to being cute and extremely popular. With her, he
didn’t feel the pressure of constantly having to push for sex.
Typically, every Saturday night they’d go to a movie or a
basketball game or something like that. Then afterward they’d
fool around in his car in the driveway for just a bit. That
couldn’t last too long because Millie’s parents were pretty strict
and imposed a midnight curfew. She was in by midnight, or
else. John always had to put a little bit of a move on her and try
to get to second base. At that point, she always stopped him,
told him she loved him, and firmly stated she was waiting for
marriage. What a relief.
At college, things were different. John had chosen the state
university for a variety of reasons. He found that a person could
do a lot of hiding among 40,000 other students. He also found
that there were other men who felt just like he did. There was
an exceptionally active gay rights group that sponsored a
spectrum of social and recreational activities for gay men.
Through one of these activities, he had met Hank. Lately they
had been spending a lot of time together. He had never felt so
comfortable in a relationship before. He found he could talk to
Hank about his most intimate thoughts. He also discovered how
much he enjoyed expressing his affection for Hank both
verbally and physically.
John was jolted from his reverie as the bus pulled up to the
local bus stop. He could see his parents waiting to pick him up.
There was his father with a big smile on his face, waving at the

son he was so proud of. John smiled, waved back, and thought,
“Oh, boy. Well, here goes.” He stepped off the bus.
Although most people have a sexual orientation toward the
opposite gender, many do not. Many are attracted to members of
the same gender and some to both genders.
EP 1
For whatever reasons, the idea of a same-sex intimate
relationship, which involves having a sexual orientation for
members of the same gender, frequently elicits a strong
negative emotional response. As future professional social
workers, you need to identify and address this negative
response. The National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW)
Code of Ethics specifies that “social workers [should] respect
and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist
clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals”
(NASW, 2008). Additionally, it specifies that “social workers
should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature
of social diversity and oppression with respect to race,
ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age,
marital status, political belief, religion, and mental or physical
disability” (NASW, 2008). The NASW Policy Statement on
“Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues” states that “NASW is
committed to advancing policies and practices that will improve
the status and well-being of all lesbian, gay, and bisexual
people” (NASW, 2012, p. 221). Clearly, determination of one’s
sexual orientation is a person’s right.
A Perspective
This chapter will provide information about various aspects of
sexual orientation and gender identity. The intent is to
encourage readers to examine their own feelings and reactions.
Understanding the effects of diverse sexual orientations on
human behavior is necessary for objective, professional social
work practice. Assessing one’s own values toward people’s

diverse sexual orientations is a major step in developing
professional social work values.13-1
Explain Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
13-1aDimensions of Sexuality
It is a mistake to view sexuality as static and binary (that is,
male-female, gay-heterosexual). In actuality, sexuality is a fluid
concept that is experienced differently by different individuals.
To illustrate this perspective, we will look at three major
dimensions of sexuality: biological, sexual orientation, and
gender.
13-1bBiological Dimension
This dimension refers to an individual’s chromosomal and
genital structure. Typical males have penises with accompanied
male organs and XY chromosomes. Typical females have
vaginas and accompanying female organs and XX chromosomes.
However, there are also some individuals who have ambiguous
genitalia with chromosomal structures that are different from
the typical corresponding ones. These biological conditions are
termed “intersex,” as these individuals have sexual
characteristics between a typical male and typical female.
13-1cSexual Orientation Dimension
This dimension refers to romantic and sexual attraction. Most
individuals are heterosexual, as they are attracted to the
opposite sex. However, there are gay and lesbian individuals
who are attracted to the same sex, and there are bisexuals who
are attracted to both sexes.
Transgender individuals can feel attraction to people of the
same sex, opposite sex, or both sexes. There are also asexual
individuals who do not feel a sexual attraction to either sex.
There also “questioning” individuals who question whether they
are heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. There
are also individuals who struggle with determining what
sexual attraction is “right” for them; these individuals may “try

on” different forms of sexual attraction to arrive at the one that
feels most congruent with their internal experience.
13-1dGender Dimension
As indicated in
Chapter 9, gender relates to the feeling of being “male
or “female.” Typically, persons with male biology feel “male,”
and those with female biology feel “female.” However, there are
persons with female biology who feel “male,” and persons with
male biology who feel “female.” The general term
“transgender” may apply to these individuals. There are also
individuals who may feel both female and male (“bigender”):
and persons who may feel neither male nor female (“agender”).
13-1eThe Fluidity of Sexuality
A man is committed to prison and has sexual relations with
other men. Is he gay? A shy, lonely woman who has never dated
any men is approached by a lesbian friend. The lonely woman
decides to have an affair with her friend. Is she a lesbian? Two
14-year-old male adolescents experiment with each other by
hand-stimulating each other to orgasm. Are they gay? While
having sexual intercourse with his wife, a man frequently
fantasizes about having sexual relations with other men. He has
never had any actual sexual contact with a man in his adult life.
Is he gay?
The answers to these questions are not so easy. Placing people
in definite, distinct categories is difficult. It is not always easy
to draw a clear distinction between a heterosexual and a person
who is gay/lesbian. It may make us feel more secure and in
control to cordon off the world into neat and predictable little
boxes of black or white. However, in reality, the world is an
endless series of shades of gray. People frequently like to
polarize others as being either heterosexual or gay/lesbian.
Perhaps such labeling makes situations appear to be predictable.

If a person is labeled a heterosexual, then many assume that
they know a lot of things about that person. For example, if a
woman is labeled a heterosexual, then she is probably
unassertive, sweet, demure, and emotional. She will date men
and probably marry and become a mother and homemaker. If a
man is gay, then he will probably frequently flick his wrists and
become a hairdresser. In reality, things are not so predictable
and clear.
Chapter 9 discussed the construction and complexity of
gender.
The problem with these neat categories is that they foster
stereotypes. As we know, a stereotype is a fixed mental image
of a group that is frequently applied to all its members. Often
the characteristics involved in the mental picture are
unflattering. Stereotypes refuse to take into account individual
differences. They negate the value and integrity of the
individual.
Highlight 13.1 identifies some of the stereotypes
characterizing lesbian and gay people.
Highlight 13.1Review Stereotypes about Lesbian and Gay
People
LO 2
Lesbian and gay people are not only the victims of homophobia,
but also the targets of derogatory, inaccurate stereotypes. Some
of the more common ones are that gay and lesbian people like to
assume either a male or female role, and that they are potential
child molesters. These stereotypes are false.Overview of
Stereotypes
A prevalent stereotype about gay and lesbian people is that gay
men typically look extremely feminine and that lesbians appear
very masculine. In truth, these stereotypes are not accurate in
most instances (Johnson, 2014; Nugent, 2014; Rathus, Nevid, &
Fichner-Rathus, 2014; Tully, 2001). People are individuals with
individual traits. With the breakdown of traditional gender

roles, identifying lesbians and gay men by appearance is
difficult.
The stereotypes about how gay and lesbian people look is the
result of confusion between two central concepts—gender
identity and sexual orientation.
Gender identity refers to a person’s internal
psychological self-concept of being either male, female or
another gender. We have indicated that
sexual orientation refers to “one’s erotic, romantic, and
affectional attraction to the same gender, to the opposite gender,
or to both” (Greenberg et al., 2014, p. 370).
Playing Male and Female Roles
Another common stereotype about gay and lesbian people is that
in any particular pair, one will choose a “masculine,” dominant
role and the other a “feminine,” submissive role. As with most
heterosexual couples, this is usually not the case (Johnson,
2014; Morrow, 2006c; Rathus et al., 2014). Any individual,
gay/lesbian or heterosexual, may play a more dominant or more
submissive role depending on his or her particular mood,
activity, or the interaction involved. People are rarely totally
submissive or totally dominant.The Myth of Child Molesting
Another derogatory stereotype targeting gay and lesbian people
is that they are inclined to molest children (Greenberg et al.,
2014; Rathus et al., 2014; Tully, 2001). This stereotype is
especially damaging for gay/lesbian teachers in that it can cause
them to lose their jobs. In reality, the majority of all child
molesting is done to young girls by heterosexual men, usually
people trusted and close to them (e.g., a father, stepfather, or
brother) (McAnulty & Burnette, 2003). Heterosexual men are 11
times more likely to be child molesters than are gay men
(McCammon & Knox, 2007; Moser, 1992).
Ethical Question 13.1
EP 1
1. Do you harbor any stereotypes about lesbian or gay people?
If so, what are they? What, if anything, do you plan to do about

them?
13-1fWhat Does Being Gay/Lesbian Mean?
Many theories in the past have focused on how people develop
their same-gender sexual orientation by passing through a
number of stages. Numerous models have been proposed, all of
which “tend to have several things in common. There is almost
always a predictable progression from some sort of first
awareness of same-gender attractions and feelings; to a stage of
self-labeling as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual; through stages
of becoming more accepting of the new identity and sharing it
with others; to a final stage of incorporating the identity into
the total sense of self” (Crooks & Baur, 2014; Kelly, 2008, p.
375; Rathus et al., 2014).
However, such a perspective may be overly simplistic and
ethnocentrically biased (taking account of only one’s own
cultural values and considering them superior over others) to
North American and European groups (Martin, 2008; Messinger
& Brooks, 2008; Miller, 2008). The concept of having a same-
gender sexual orientation might be an ever-emerging social
construction of reality that changes as social conditions and
expectations change (Martin, 2008). There may be different
perspectives depending on one’s racial, ethnic, and cultural
background. “For example, Latino immigrant men who have sex
with other men may not consider themselves to be gay as long
as they take a dominant role in sexual intercourse (Zea, Reisen,
& Diaz, 2003)” (Martin, 2008, pp. 247–248). The important
thing may be each person’s self-identification of his or her own
sexual orientation (Kelly, 2008; Martin, 2008).
An important aspect of any definition of “gay/lesbian” is that
above all else, a gay/lesbian is a person. In the eyes of some
heterosexuals, the sexuality of a lesbian or gay person often
takes precedence over all other aspects of his or her personality,
and the person becomes lost or invisible (see
Figure 13.1).

Figure 13.1The Personality Pie
The same-sex sexual orientation is seen as prominent, at the
expense of all other aspects of the lesbian or gay person’s
personality. A more realistic view is one in which the same-sex
sexual orientation is seen in context. The fact that a person is
lesbian or gay is only one slice of a person’s personality pie. A
realistic perspective allows the many various aspects of the
person’s personality to be acknowledged and appreciated.
Many people are taught
homophobia , the extreme and irrational fear and hatred
of gay and lesbian people. These feelings warp their perception
of gays and lesbians. Some people feel that being of the same-
gender orientation is “pathological” (Bieschke, McClanahan,
Tozer, Grzegorek, & Park, 2000, p. 311; Greenberg et al.,
2014).
Highlight 13.2 describes conversion therapy that
attempts to change people to heterosexuals.
Highlight 13.2The Ethical Problems of Conversion Therapy
EP 1
Some people harbor the belief that “same-sex attraction
represents a deviation from normal sexual and gender
development” (Bieschke et al., 2000, p. 311). They support the
idea of
conversion therapy (also referred to as reparative or
reorientation therapy) to convert people who are gay or lesbian
to heterosexuals (Bieschke et al., 2000; Johnson, 2011b;
Morrow, 2006b). The idea is that having a same-gender sexual
orientation is simply wrong and should be changed. The
implication is that external values (specifically,
heterosexism , the intolerant attitude and discriminatory
behavior against gay and lesbian people by heterosexuals)

should be forcibly imposed upon people, thus denying their
right to self-determination in this area.
In the past, such treatment included “techniques such as prayer,
exorcism, religious-based guilt inducement, and punishment-
oriented forms of behavior modification (Tozer & McClanahan,
1999; White, 1995)” (Morrow, 2006b, p. 185). Today’s
approaches tend to focus on “cognitive-behavioral techniques in
an attempt to suppress an individual’s attraction to others of the
same sex” (Bieschke et al., 2000, p. 312).
Cognitive-behavioral therapy “involves the
modification of thoughts and actions by influencing an
individual’s conscious patterns of thought” (Boyle, Hull,
Mather, Smith, & Farley, 2009, p. 363).
The American Psychological Association (APA) rejected the
effectiveness of and ethics involved in conversion therapy after
an APA panel reviewed “83 studies on sexual orientation
change conducted since 1960” (Associated Press, 2009). The
APA determined that no concrete support existed on the behalf
of conversion therapy. If anything, it determined such “therapy”
could be damaging by causing depression and suicidal
inclinations.
Thirteen professional organizations of helping professionals and
educators have published a pamphlet entitled “Just the Facts
About Sexual Orientation and Youth” that is available online
without charge (APA, 2008; Just the Facts Coalition, 200S). It
concludes,
Because of the aggressive promotion of efforts to change sexual
orientation through therapy, a number of medical, health, and
mental health professional organizations have issued public
statements about the dangers of this approach The American
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association,
the American Psychiatric Association, the American
Psychological Association, the American School Counselor
Association, the National Association of School Psychologists,

and the National Association of Social Workers, together
representing more than 480,000 mental health professionals,
have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental
disorder and thus is not something that needs to or can be
“cured” (Dively et al., 2008, p. 9)
Morrow (2006b) comments on conversion therapy for youth:
Parents who are uncomfortable with having a gay or lesbian
child may seek out conversion therapy practitioners under the
mistaken assumption that their child’s sexual orientation can be
changed through such therapy. There is no credible empirical
support for the success of conversion therapy in actually
changing sexual orientation … Conversion therapy practice can
cause psychological harm, to LGBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender] youth by reinforcing negative stereotypes and
misinformation and inducing, internalized homophobia. (pp.
185–186)
The National Association of Social Workers Policy
Statements (NASW, 2012) state that conversion therapy is
unethical. Specifically,
· NASW supports the right of the individual to self-disclose, or
to not disclose, sexual orientation and encourages the
development of supportive practice environments for lesbian,
gay, and bisexual clients and colleagues.
· NASW reaffirms its stance against reparative therapies and
treatments designed to change sexual orientation or to refer to
practitioners or programs that claim to do so. (p. 222)
Morrow and Tyson (2006) suggest how social workers can help
people who are seeking conversion therapy to better understand
themselves and their sexual orientation:
An initial response would be to assess the nature of the personal
thoughts, feelings, and experiences that could have led the
client to the point of seeking sexual orientation change.
Affirmative practice would include helping the client
understand the powerful forces of homophobia, internalized
homophobia, and heterosexism—at the micro and macro levels
of social power and influence—and the ways in which these

forces create and perpetuate the internationalization of GLB-
negative messages. Thus, initial intervention in such cases lies
in helping clients understand the power of heterosexism in how
they view sexual orientation in their own lives. Also, it would
be appropriate to inform clients that conversion therapy is
scientifically unproven and that its practice is considered
unethical. (p. 396)
Another aspect of the definition of having a same-sex sexual
orientation is that the gay/lesbian person is
attracted primarily to people of the same gender to satisfy
sexual and affectional needs. A gay male is attracted to and
would choose to have an intimate sexual and affectional
relationship with another male rather than a female. A lesbian
would opt to have such an intimate involvement with another
female instead of a male. This part of the definition excludes
people who under certain circumstances engage in same-sex
sexual activities. For instance, prisoners and other
institutionalized persons might establish same-sex sexual
relationships with others simply because persons of the opposite
gender are unavailable. These people will typically return to
heterosexuality when the opportunity arises.
The word homosexual is derived from the Greek root homo,
meaning “same.” The word homosexual itself, however, was not
used until the late 1800s (Karlen, 1971). Terms used to refer to
lesbian and gay people can be confusing. Both women and men
with same-gender orientations have been labeled homosexuals.
Gay men prefer the term gay instead of homosexual because it
has neither the direct sexual connotations nor the demeaning
implications frequently associated with the word homosexual.
The word
lesbian refers to female homosexuals. Around the year
600 BCE, a woman named Sappho lived on the Greek island of
Lesbos in the Aegean Sea (from which the term lesbian is
derived). Although Sappho was married, she remains famous for
the love poems she wrote to other women.

Many people who are not lesbian or gay have traditionally used
the term gay to refer both to lesbians and gay men. However,
many lesbians have expressed concern that men are given
precedence over women when this term is used by itself to refer
to both genders. There is some indication that the media now
often use the phrase “gay men and lesbians” (American
Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists
[AASECT], 2006, p. 17). Although we have established specific
definitions of lesbian, gay, and homosexual, many who use
these terms do not have a clear picture of what they mean. All
three words may refer to a person with slight, moderate, or
substantial interest in or sexual experience with persons of the
same gender. Heterosexual people are often referred to as
straight .
Note that sometimes the concepts of sexual orientation and
gender identity are confused, although they are distinctly
separate concepts. We have defined gender identity as a
person’s internal psychological self-concept of being either
male or female, or possibly some combination of both. Some
people assume that gay men really want to be women and that
lesbians desire to be men. This is false. Gay men and lesbians
are simply romantically attracted to (i.e., have a sexual
orientation toward) their same gender instead of the opposite
gender.
Some people, however, regardless of whether they are gay or
heterosexual, feel that their biological gender identity is wrong.
In a discussion about the complexity of gender,
Chapter 9 introduced transgender and transsexual
people.
Spotlight 13.1 discusses this group further.
13-1gBisexual People

A
bisexual person is romantically and sexually attracted to
members of either gender. We have already initiated the idea
that same-sex sexual orientation is not a clear-cut concept.
Bisexuality is even less clearly defined. In the first major study
of sexuality in our era, Kinsey, Pomeroy, and Martin (1948)
found that it was very difficult to categorize people as
homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. They found that many
people who considered themselves heterosexual had had same-
sex sexual experiences at some time during their lives. For
example, 37 percent of the men in his sample of 5,300 had had
at least one sexual experience with another male, to the point of
orgasm, after reaching age 16. In a study of 5,940 women,
Kinsey and his associates (1953) found that between 8 and 20
percent had had some type of same-sex intimate contact
between ages 20 and 35. A significantly smaller percentage of
each group had exclusively same-sex sexual experiences
throughout their lifetimes.
Because Kinsey and his associates found it so difficult to place
people into distinct categories of gay/lesbian or heterosexual,
they developed a six-point scale that placed people on a
continuum concerning their sexual experiences (see
Figure 13.2). A rating of zero on the scale meant that
the individual was exclusively heterosexual—the person had
never had any type of same-sex sexual experience. Conversely,
a score of 6 on the scale indicated exclusive homosexuality—
this individual had never experienced any form of heterosexual
behavior. Those persons scoring 3 would have equal same-sex
sexual orientation and heterosexual interest and experience.
Figure 13.2Conceptualizations of Homosexuality and
Heterosexuality
Source: A. C. Kinsey, W. B. Pomeroy, and C. E. Martin (eds.)

(1948). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Adapted by
permission of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender
& Reproduction, Inc., Bloomington, IN; Adapted from M. D.
Storms, 1980, “Theories of Sexual Orientation,” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 783–792.
More recent researchers have discovered similar difficulties in
clearly categorizing people in terms of their sexual orientation.
Storms (1980, 1981) suggests that the Kinsey scale still failed
to provide an accurate description. He developed a two-
dimensional scheme to reflect sexual orientation (see
Figure 13.2). The two dimensions are homoeroticism
(sexual interest in and/or experience with those of the same
gender) and heteroeroticism (sexual interest in and/or
experience with those of the opposite gender).
Additionally, Storms’s scheme portrays level of sexual interest.
Those individuals who express high interest in both sexes are
placed in the upper right-hand corner. They are considered
bisexuals. Those persons who have a very low sexual interest in
either gender are placed in the lower left-hand corner. They are
considered asexual. Persons with primary sexual interest in the
same gender, homosexuals, are placed in the upper left-hand
corner. Similarly, people with primary sexual interest in the
opposite gender, heterosexuals, are placed in the lower right-
hand corner.
We’ve established that gender expression is complex. Terms
used to refer to various groups depend on the issues involved.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people may
experience some of the same issues, such as homophobia and
discrimination. In these contexts, the terms LGBT or GLBT
(gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) might be used.
However, each group also has its own special circumstances and
issues, so sometimes only one or some of these groups (such as
transgender people, or lesbians and gay men) will be the focus
of reference.

EP 1
1. What ethical issues do you think are involved in conversion
therapy? Explain your reasons.
Note that a newer acronym sometimes being employed to refer
to people whose sexual orientation is not strictly toward the
opposite gender is LGBTQ. Here “Q” stands for “queer” or
“questioning” (Carroll, 2013b, p. 270; Rosenthal, 2013, p. 234).
Another tern used is LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and intersex) (Alderson, 2013).
Chapter 9 discussed intersex people, individuals who
have some mixture of male and female predisposition and
configuration of reproductive structures.
However, Alderson (2013) cautions:
Terminology is often challenging when writing or talking about
groups who have been historically oppressed and
disenfranchised. Postmodern writers have become very sensitive
to the labels used to describe individuals….
Identities [labels used to refer to some group of people]
describe one aspect of a person. A lesbian woman, for example,
is more than just her nonheterosexual identity—she is also
someone’s daughter, someone’s neighbor, and someone’s friend.
She is a lover, a worker, and an inhabitor of earth. Similarly,
referring to a transsexual individual as a “transsexual”
diminishes this person’s existence to this one aspect of self …
Identity labels—when chosen at all—are picked by individuals
themselves to describe some aspect that defines their sense of
self. Consequently, they can be transient labels, inaccurate
labels, or over-simplified labels. Such is also the case with
some LGBTI individuals—our sexuality and gender is so much
more than the label we give it. (pp. 2–4)
13-1hNumbers of Lesbian and Gay People
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to state exactly how many
people are lesbian or gay. However, it may be useful to consider

the numbers of people who have adopted a primarily lesbian or
gay orientation over an extended period of time.
Based on Kinsey’s work, “many authors have used 10 percent as
the proportion of men who are gay” (Berger & Kelly, 1995, p.
1066; Mallon, 2008). Kinsey found that although more than
one-third of American men had had homosexual experiences
leading to orgasm during their adolescent or adult lives, only 10
percent of men were exclusively gay/lesbian for a three-year
period between ages 16 and 55, and only about 4 percent were
gay/lesbian throughout their lives.
Supposedly, two to three times as many men as women have a
same-sex sexual orientation. Although Kinsey found that 19
percent of American women had had same-sex sexual
experiences by the age of 40, only 2 to 3 percent of these
remained lesbian throughout their lives.
The Kinsey research posed some methodological problems that
make it difficult to compare it with more recent research. For
example, Kinsey and his colleagues included a large number of
prisoners and volunteers from gay organizations (Masters,
Johnson, & Kolodny, 1995). They also “included feelings and
fantasies in their definition of homosexuality, whereas some
recent surveys focused exclusively on sexual behavior” (Berger
& Kelly, 1995).
Many lesbian and gay organizations maintain that lesbians and
gays make up 10 percent of the population; one such
organization is called “The Ten Percent Society.” However, the
controversy regarding the actual number of lesbian and gay
people continues (About.com, 2014; Berger & Kelly,
1995; Rogers, 1993; Tully, 1995), with various studies and polls
producing different results. Somewhere between 2 and 10
percent of the population appears to be gay or lesbian (Johnson,
2011c; Kelly, 2008; Mallon, 2008). Other indications are that
more than 5 percent of the total population over age 18 is
probably gay or lesbian (Mallon, 2008). Yet other data indicate
that about 2 percent of men and 1 percent of women have “a

gay/lesbian identity,” which is quite different than having
varying degrees of same gender sexual experiences (Hyde &
DeLamater, 2014, p. 339). Regardless of whether lesbian and
gay people make up 1 or 10 percent of the population, they are a
sizable minority group.
13-1iTransgender Persons
A transgender person is someone who identifies with or
expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which
corresponds to the person’s sex at birth. Laverne Cox, for
example, was the first African American transgender person to
appear on television and was nominated for an Emmy Award for
her work in Orange Is the New Black.
Another well-known transgender person is Caitlyn Jenner. She
was formerly known as Bruce Jenner, who is an American
television personality and was an Olympic gold medal winner in
the decathlon event in 1974. Bruce Jenner was formerly married
to Kris Jenner. Bruce appeared on the reality television
series Keeping Up with the Kardashians with his wife (Kris),
their daughters Kylie and Kendall Jenner, and stepchildren
Kimberly, Kourtney, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian. Jenner
revealed her identity as a trans woman in April 2015, publicly
announcing her name change from Bruce to Caitlyn. She has
been called the most famous openly transgender woman in the
world. In July 2015, she began starring in the reality television
series, “I Am Cait,” which focuses on her gender transition.
Caitlyn Jenner’s public transition has helped bring awareness to
the transgender community and their battle for equality
Helga Esteb/ Shutterstock.com
There are a variety of terms used to define people who identify
as a gender other than the gender the individual normally
expresses or were identified as birth. These people include the
following:

·
Crossdresser : One who wears clothing intended for the
“opposite” gender for relaxation or personal comfort.
·
Transvestite : One who wears clothing of the “opposite”
gender for sexual satisfaction. (It should be noted the
term transvestite is often considered an offensive term.)
·
Drag King/Drag Queen : One who wears clothing
intended for the “opposite” gender for entertaining other people.
·
Bigender : One whose gender identity is both female
and male at the same time; the person may exhibit aspects of
both.
·
Agender : One who has no gender identity at all.
·
Cisgender : One whose gender identity matches the sex
assigned at birth.
·
Androgyne : One whose gender identity is somewhere
in between female and male; the person may exhibit some
aspects of one gender and some of the other.
·
Genderqueer : One whose gender identity is completely
different from female or male.
·
Gender fluid : One whose gender identity can change.

(For most transgendered persons, gender identity does not
change.)
·
Transsexual : One whose sex at birth is “opposite” to
their gender identity.
A transsexual is a person who has a persistent desire to
transition to living as, and being perceived as, the sex that is
consistent with his or her gender identity. Typically, this desire
is driven by an extreme discomfort with his or her current sex.
Transsexuals transitioning from male to female are often
referred to as “MTFs.” Similarly, female-to-male transsexuals
are frequently referred to as “FTMs.”
Transsexual transitions are complex processes and look
different for every person. A person may change their name,
clothing or pronouns. They may also change their identification
documents to better reflect their gender. Others may complete
undergo hormone or other medical procedures. A medical
transition may involve the following four processes. First, they
enter counseling to make certain that they are aware of their
true feelings and that they understand the potential
ramifications of changing genders. Second, they undergo a
“real-life test” where they actually live and undertake their
daily activities as a person of the opposite gender however,
there is no research to support this method. Third, they receive
extensive hormone treatments to align their bodies with the
opposite gender as much as possible—a process that they must
continue for the rest of their lives. For example, female-to-male
transgender people would take male hormones to encourage
facial and body hair growth, while male-to-female transgender
people would take female hormones to encourage the softening
of body tissue and the redistribution of body fat. The fourth step
involves undergoing surgery where genitals and other areas of
the body are surgically altered to more closely resemble the
opposite gender.

In the past, male-to-female operations were more common, but
today female-to-male operations are catching up in frequency.
Female-to-male surgery is generally more complex. In view of
the physical pain and discomfort, in addition to the high cost,
many transgender people choose not to pursue surgery.
Transgender persons are often subjected to extensive
discrimination. If they “come out” during adolescence, they are
likely to be shunned, victimized, and discriminated against by
their peers. Family may present another challenge: some of
these youth experience acceptance from family, while others
have great struggles. Rates of suicidal ideation and life-
threatening interactions with others among transgender youth
are high (Dooley, 2017). These stressors also leave transgender
youth vulnerable to substance abuse and accompanying risky
sexual behaviors that may result in acquiring a sexually
transmitted disease (Dooley, 2017). Transgender youth are also
at a higher risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness can lead
these youths to offering sex to survive, which increases the
risks of sexual and physical abuse.
Transgender individuals face many other challenges. For
example, which bathroom should they use—the men’s room or
the women’s room? The medical community and a number of
schools and employers now recognize that it is essential to the
health and well-being of transgender people that they use the
bathroom the corresponds to their gender identity. Yet this
opens them up to the potential of adverse reactions from others;
for example, parents of daughters may violently object to a
biological male who views herself as female using the women’s
bathroom. If transgender persons are arrested, the question
arises as to which jail unit should they be placed in—the one
that is consistent with their sex, or the one that is consistent
with their gender? When transgender persons go to a physician
for a medical exam, they may experience embarrassment in
trying to explain why their gender identity is different from
their biological sexual structure.
Highlight 13.3What’s in a Name?

Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner made national headlines when she
reported she was transgender. In 2015, she made the decision to
transition to a female after reporting spending her life feeling
like a woman living in a man’s body. With this transition, she
changed her name from Bruce to Caitlyn. Jazz Jennings has also
become widely known after her parents supported her decision
to transition from a boy to a girl at a young age. Born Jaron
Bloshinsky, she changed her name to Jazz. Now in high school,
Jazz has started the transition process, documenting her journey
in her television show, I am Jazz. In working with individuals,
it is important to ask them their preferred name and then refer
to them by that name. Although this is of course true for
everyone you meet, it is especially true for transgender
individuals or other individuals who do not identify with their
assigned name or assigned gender at birth. It is also
recommended that you speak in the present tense (referring to
their current identity and present-day language), that you do not
put quotation marks around the person’s name, and that you use
the correct term to identify the person (such as transgender,
transsexual, asexual) (GLAAD, 2016).
It is also important to ask what pronoun the individual goes by
so that you do not offend this person (University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee, 2016). More people are getting rid of the binary
pronouns of he and she, instead opting for gender-inclusive
pronouns (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2016). Some of
the more gender-neutral pronouns include e, ve, they, their, ze,
sie, and ve. It is important, however, to recognize that mistakes
do happen. The best thing to do if you make a blunder is
apologize and try to use the name and pronouns the person
prefers from that point on (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
2016).
Some transgender individuals wait until midlife to “come out.”
Others keep transgender inclinations a secret and never “come
out.” Coming out in midlife can be quite complicated in many
ways. Some of these individuals may be married (as was Bruce
Jenner), and the reactions of their spouse and their children can

be quite emotional, ranging from utter rejection to gradual
acceptance. Dooley (2017, p. 241) notes,
Likewise, coming out can jeopardize a transgender person’s
employment. There are few states which protect transgender
persons from being fired because of their transgender status.
This, of course, can be quite devastating psychologically and
also economically. Although it is difficult to assess the
socioeconomic levels of transgender persons, a survey of
transgender individuals in the Washington, DC, area found that
42% of the participants were unemployed, 29% had no income,
and 31% had an income less than $10,000….
One must think about the motivation of persons to come out as
transgender. To assume this status is to place one’s self in an
extremely marginalized position in society. Transgender persons
experience very high rates of violence and discrimination. So it
would take a good deal of strength to come out as transgender,
and the need to do so must be very strong….
It is also important to realize that transgender people do survive
these difficulties and feel much happier living as their proper
gender.
There is scant literature on the experiences of older transgender
persons. It appears older transgender persons also experience
considerable prejudice and discrimination in such areas as
health care, housing, and employment (Dooley, 2017).
The NASW (2012) Policy Statement on “Transgender and
Gender Identity Issues” reads as follows:
· NASW reaffirms a commitment to human rights and freedom
and opposes all public and private discrimination on the basis of
gender identity and of gender expression, whether actual or
perceived, and regardless of assigned sex at birth, including
denial of access to employment, housing, education, appropriate
treatment in gender segregated facilities, appropriate medical
care and health care coverage, appropriate identity documents,
and civil marriage and all its attendant benefits, rights, and
privileges.
· NASW encourages the repeal of discriminatory legislation and

the passage of legislation protecting the rights, legal benefits,
and privileges of people of all gender identities and
expressions. (p. 341)
EP 1
1. According to the NASW Code of Ethics, why is it important
for social workers to advocate for transgender individuals?
What are some specific steps social workers can do to advocate
for the transgender population?13-2
Discuss Conceptual Frameworks concerning Sexual
Orientation
LO 3
Why are some people lesbian or gay? Although various theories
have been proposed to explain why people are lesbian or gay,
none has been proven. (A similar question that could be asked
is, “Why are some people heterosexual?”) No one can give a
definitive answer concerning why some people are gay/lesbian
and others heterosexual. Some of the principal hypotheses will
be reviewed here. They fall under the umbrellas of biological
and psychosocial theories. Evaluation of theory, interactionist
theory, ethical issues related to theory, and other research will
also be discussed.
13-2aBiological Theories
The biological theories attempting to explain same-sex sexual
orientation can be clustered under three headings: genetic,
anatomical (brain), and hormonal. They are based on the idea
that same-sex sexual orientation is caused by physiological
factors over which individuals have no control.Genetic Factors
The genetic explanation for same-sex sexual orientation
supports the idea that people’s sexuality is programmed through
their genes. Bailey and Pillard compared groups of identical
twins, fraternal twins, and brothers who were adopted (1991).
Identical twins develop from the splitting of a single fertilized
egg. They are therefore genetically identical. Fraternal twins, on

the other hand, develop concurrently from two separate eggs
that were fertilized by two separate sperm. They are only as
genetically similar as any brothers might be. Brothers who are
adopted, unless they are family members, have no genetic
commonality. The researchers found that when one identical
twin was gay, 52 percent of the time, their twin brother was also
gay. But in the case of fraternal twin brothers, only 22 percent
of the pairs were both gay, and when the brothers were adopted,
both brothers were gay only 11 percent of the time. The
researchers concluded that this provides evidence for a genetic
link. They indicated that the degree of genetic contribution to
same-sex sexual orientation could vary from 30 to 70 percent.
Another study looked at 108 lesbians who had either identical
or fraternal twin sisters and another 32 lesbians who had
adopted sisters (Bailey et al., 1993). They found that among
almost half of the identical twins, both were lesbians. However,
only 16 percent of fraternal twins and 6 percent of the unrelated
sisters were both lesbians. These results further support the idea
of a genetic component to same-sex sexual orientation.
Subsequent research using more refined methodology had
similar findings that helped substantiate the results of this study
(Kendler, Thornton, Gilman, & Kessler, 2000; Kirk et al.,
2000).
“Gay men have more gay brothers than lesbian sisters, while
lesbians have more lesbian sisters than gay brothers”; Carroll
(2010, pp. 283–284) also “found evidence of a ‘gay’ gene on the
X chromosome but did not find a ‘lesbian’ gene.”
Some research in Australia studied 1,538 pairs of twins (Bailey,
Dunne, & Martin, 2000). The researchers used “a strict criterion
for determining sexual orientation” and “found a concordance
rate (the percentage of pairs in which both twins are gay) of
20% among identical male twins and 0% among pairs of male
same-sex fraternal twins. The corresponding concordance rates
for female identical and same-sex fraternal pairs were 24% and
10.5%, respectively” (Crooks & Baur, 2011, p. 255).
“There is a great deal of evidence that gay and lesbian sexual

orientations run in families” (Bailey et al., 2000; Carroll,
2013b; Dawood, Pillard, Horvath, Revelle, & Bailey,
2000; Greenberg et al., 2014, p. 377; Kendler et al., 2000).
However, “[s]exuality experts do caution that a specific gene
linked to homosexuality has not been identified. Also, because
of the complexity of sexual orientation, it is likely that a
possible genetic link is only part of the picture” (Greenberg et
al., 2014, p. 377).
Brain (Anatomical) Factors
LeVay (1991, 1996) studied the brains of 41 cadavers: 19 of gay
men, 16 of supposedly heterosexual men, and 6 of supposedly
heterosexual women. He found that the anterior hypothalamus
(a marble-sized cluster of cells that regulates sexual activity in
addition to appetite and body temperature) in gay men was only
half the size of that in heterosexual men.
“More recent studies have also found brain differences—
specifically in the cerebral hemispheres—of heterosexual and
homosexual men and women” (Carroll, 2013b, p. 274). Yet, it is
unknown whether such variations were present at birth or arose
at some time after that; additionally, no evidence exists to
confirm that such differences were directly related to sexual
orientation (Carroll, 2013a; Kinnunen, Moltz, Metz, & Cooper,
2004; Swaab, 2004). Therefore, at present, there are no clearly
established brain differences related to sexual orientation
(Carroll, 2013a; Gooren, 2006).Hormonal Factors
Hormonal theories of heterosexuality suggest that hormonal
type and level cause homosexuality. One subset of hormonal
theories concerns differences in hormonal levels during
adulthood. Another subset of the hormonal theories indicates
that abnormal hormonal levels during the prenatal period may
result in same-sex sexual orientation (Berger & Kelly, 1995).
Research has established no relationship between hormonal
levels and sexual orientation either during the prenatal period or
in adulthood (Carroll, 2013b; Hyde & DeLamater, 2017).

Hormone levels are related to sexual interest and activity in
adulthood. However, as Hyde and DeLamater (2014) comment,
“As a clinician friend of ours replied to an undergraduate male
who was seeking testosterone therapy for his homosexual
behavior, ‘It won’t make you heterosexual; it will only make
you horny’” (p. 343).
13-2bPsychosocial Theories
Psychosocial or behavioral theories suggest that same-sex
sexual behavior is learned, just as any other type of behavior is
learned. Early in life, same-sex sexual behavior may be
positively reinforced by pleasurable experiences and thereby
strengthened. Or such behavior may be punished by negative,
punitive experiences and, as a result, be weakened.
For instance, a child who has several positive sexual contacts
with members of the same gender might be positively reinforced
or encouraged to seek out more such contacts. Similarly, a child
who has a negative experience with a member of the same
gender might be discouraged from having more such encounters.
13-2cThe Evaluation of Theory: What Is the Answer?
The answer to why people are gay is a multifaceted one. Genetic
rationales have major shortcomings. For example, we discussed
the research finding concerning identical twins. If, as some
researchers postulate, genetic rationales explain some
component or percentage of why people are gay, then what
explains the remaining components or percentages? If people
are gay or lesbian because of some hormonal impact (perhaps
prenatally), why aren’t all people lesbian, or gay who
experienced similar hormonal impacts?
At least two major shortcomings can be cited with respect to
psychosocial theories of same-sex sexual orientation that
emphasize the learning process. First, there is a tremendous
amount of negative feedback about same-sex sexual orientation.
Children learn early that being called a “fag” is not a
compliment. How same-sex sexual behavior would be reinforced

and would increase in frequency, in view of such punitive
circumstances, might be questioned.
Second, learning theory implies that a person must first have a
same-sex sexual experience. Then, if the experience was
positively reinforcing or personally rewarding, the person
would seek out more such experiences. However, might it not be
the case that individuals who have same-sex sexual desires seek
out sexual experiences with the same gender in the first place?
In other words, might not the desire for sexual contact with the
same gender be there even before any actions ever occur?
13-2dInteractionist Theory
Storms (1981) has proposed a theory that focuses on the
interaction of biological predisposition and the effects of the
environment. He poses that the development of a same-sex
sexual orientation is related to the rate at which people mature
during preadolescence. Children tend to play and interact with
people of the same gender during preadolescence. This same-
sex interaction reaches its peak at about age 12, after which
heterosexual interactions begin to develop. Heterosexual dating
may start around age 15. Storms suggests that the sex drive for
some people emerges earlier than for others. If children who
mature earlier are still in same-sex groupings, they may have
positive sexual experiences with persons of the same gender
during this time. They may develop a pattern whereby they
remain oriented toward the same gender. They never become
interested sexually in the opposite gender. This is where the
environment plays a part. If these children happen to have
positive sexual same-sex experiences, they may continue with
that same sexual orientation. If early maturers do not have these
experiences, they continue later to develop a heterosexual
orientation as they begin interacting with people of the opposite
gender.
Many experts agree that gay/lesbian orientation probably results
from some mixture of both biological and psychosocial

variables. As yet we don’t know what that mixture is. There is
still no clearly established reason why people are lesbians or
gays.
13-2eEthical Issues Related to Theory
EP 1
Some lesbian and gay people have expressed ethical concerns
regarding proving any theory about same-sex sexual orientation
involving a biological component. On the one hand, many
express relief at the thought that others might consider their
same-sex sexual orientation not to be their “own fault.” If
there’s a medical basis, the general public might become more
accepting of lesbians and gay men. Gelman and his colleagues
(Gelman, Foote, Barrett, & Talbot, 1992) found that people
were generally more accepting of lesbian and gay people if they
felt such people were “born that way” instead
of choosing or learning that lifestyle.
On the other hand, if specific genetic or hormonal “ingredients”
are found for same-sex sexual orientation, lesbian and gay
people might be considered defective by society at large.
Taking this one step farther, society at large might decide to
make biological “corrections” prenatally. Might this mean
changing what a person was meant to be into something else?
Might potential parents be more likely to abort a fetus
determined to be lesbian or gay if they learn about the same-sex
sexual orientation early in the gestational process? There are no
easy answers to these questions in our technological age.
13-2fOther Research on the Origins of Same-Sex Sexual
Orientation
Bell and his colleagues (Bell, Weinberg, Martin, &
Hammersmith, 1981) undertook a massive investigation through
the Alfred C. Kinsey Institute for Sex Research concerning the
causes of same-sex sexual orientation. They studied 979
lesbians and gay men, and compared them to 477 heterosexual

women and men. Study participants were asked extensive
questions about many aspects of their lives. A statistical method
called
path analysis allowed the researchers to explore
possible causal relationships between a number of variables,
such as prenatal characteristics and family relationships, and the
development of sexual orientation.
Although the research offers some of the most extensive and
methodologically sound findings available, none of the
aforementioned theories to explain same-sex sexual orientation
was supported. If anything, several of the variables proposed by
these other theories were found not to be related to same-sex
sexual orientation. For instance, no relationship was found
between being gay and having been seduced by a person of the
same gender when young. The researchers found no ultimate
answers, but they did identify some interesting aspects of being
lesbian or gay. Three findings are of special significance.
First, sexual orientation appears to emerge by the time both
males and females reach adolescence. This is the case even
when people have little or no sexual experience. Sometimes
people begin grasping that they’re not heterosexual because of
different feelings during childhood. “Many realize during
adolescence that something is missing in their heterosexual
involvements and that they find same-sex peers sexually
attractive” (Crooks & Baur, 2014, p. 269).
Second, lesbian and gay people have similar amounts of
heterosexual experience during childhood and adolescence when
compared to heterosexual people. There is one basic difference,
however. Although lesbian and gay people participate in
heterosexual activity, they do not enjoy it very much.
The third major finding of the study involves the concept of
gender nonconformity, which appears to begin in childhood for
gay males and lesbians (Bailey & Zucker, 1995; Lippa,
2008; Rathus et al., 2014; Singh, Vidaurri, Zambarano, &
Dabbs, 1999). Gender nonconformity refers to a child’s

preference for play and activities that our society
generally considers appropriate for children of the opposite
gender. For example, little girls usually choose to play with
Barbie dolls and play dishes, whereas little boys generally
prefer GI Joes and toy bulldozers. A little girl who only plays
with tanks and footballs or a little boy who only plays with
Barbie dolls would be examples of gender nonconformity.
Gender nonconformity was a much stronger causal factor for
gay men than for lesbians. Other factors such as family
relationships have a stronger causal relationship with
lesbianism.
This research indicates that sexual orientation develops very
early in life. It also suggests that whether a person is gay or
lesbian or heterosexual is not a matter of choice. Just as a
heterosexual person may be sexually attracted to another
heterosexual person, so is a lesbian or gay person sexually
attracted to another of the same gender. It appears that it would
be just as impossible for a lesbian or gay person to turn
heterosexual as it would be for a heterosexual person to begin
choosing sexual partners of the same gender.
The fact that many lesbian and gay people externally assume
heterosexual roles for the sake of appearance is also logical.
Numerous homophobic stigmas are placed on gay or lesbian
people. They are often subjected to serious discrimination. In
evaluating the consequences of the various alternatives open to
them, some lesbian and gay people may decide that it is too
difficult to survive openly as a gay or lesbian person (e.g., hold
a job, relate to family members, participate in community
activities). A lesbian or gay person with a heterosexual facade
is burdened with pretending to be someone she or he is not.
Such pretense can violate individual dignity and freedom.
Spotlight 13.1 discusses discrimination and the impact
of homophobia on gay and lesbian people.
Spotlight on Diversity 13.1Address Discrimination and the

Impacts of Homophobia
LO 4
“Did you ever hear the one about the dyke who … ”
“Harry sure has a ‘swishy’ way about him. You’d never catch
me in the locker room alone with that guy.”
“They’re nothing but a bunch of lousy faggots.”
Our common language is filled with, derogatory terms referring
to lesbian and gay people. Just as other diverse groups are
subject to arbitrary stereotypes and to discrimination, so are gay
and lesbian people. Because of negative attitudes and the
resulting discriminatory behavior, alternatives for lesbian and
gay people are often different and limited. There are often other
negative consequences. Other, nonsexually related aspects of
their lives are affected because of their sexual orientation.
For example, a male third-grade teacher may live in fear that
the parents of his students will discover he’s living with another
man. He loves his job, which he’s had for nine years. If parents
put pressure on the school administration about his same-sex
sexual orientation, he may get fired. He may never get another
teaching job again.
Another example is provided by a female college student who
expends massive amounts of energy to disguise that she’s a
lesbian. She attends a state university in a small, Midwestern,
rural town. She is terribly lonely. She keeps hoping that that
special someone will walk into her life. However, she doesn’t
dare let her friends know she’s lesbian or she really will be
isolated. There wouldn’t be anyone to talk to or to go to dinner
with. They would just never understand. People have committed
suicide for less.
Lesbian and gay people are frequently the victims of
homophobia. We have defined homophobia as the extreme and
irrational fear and hatred of gay and lesbian people. People with
same-gender sexual orientation have historically been
discriminated against by the U.S. military, religious, mental
health, medical, and various other institutions and systems.
Some feel that the term homophobia is too strong because the

word phobia means “an intense and persistent fear of an object
or situation” (Barker, 2014, p.
322). Antihomosexual or antigay stance, prejudice,
or discrimination might be alternate terms. In reality,
homophobia is likely a continuum. People probably vary
markedly in the depth of their negative feelings about lesbian
and gay people. Regardless of what it’s called, many people
harbor seriously negative perceptions and prejudice against
lesbian and gay people (Carroll, 2013b; Kelly, 2008; LeVay &
Valente, 2006; Messinger & Brooks, 2008).
It is not clear how homophobia originated. It may involve
people’s attempts to deny same-sex sexual feelings in
themselves (Maier, 1984). Perhaps the more strongly
homophobic people are, the more they are working to deny such
feelings in themselves. Regardless of the cause, the
manifestations of homophobia are all around us. In the past,
same-sex sexual orientation was considered an illness. Not until
1974 did the American Psychiatric Association remove it from
the list of mental illnesses.
Crooks and Baur (2011) potently describe how venomous
homophobia can be:
Unfortunately, homophobia is still common and often plays a
big role in the lives of many gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals
(Symanski, 2009)…. The homophobosphere, antigay postings on
Internet blogs, both expresses and creates hate (Doig, 2008).
Such expressions contribute to the ongoing daily harassment of
and discrimination against anyone outside ‘acceptable’
heterosexual parameters, and they legitimize the mind-set of
people who commit hate crimes directed at gays. Hate crimes
include assault, robbery, and murder, and they are committed
because the victim belongs to a certain race, religion, or ethnic
group or has a certain sexual orientation. (pp. 261–262)
Rathus and his colleagues (2014) relate that homophobia may
assume “many forms, including the following:
· use of derogatory names (such as queer, faggot, and dyke)
· telling disparaging ‘queer jokes’

· barring gay people from housing, employment, or social
opportunities
· taunting (verbal abuse)
· gay bashing (physical, sometimes lethal, abuse).” (p. 283)
A potentially negative side effect would be to internalize such
negative attitudes. In other words, a gay or lesbian person might
think, “If being gay or lesbian is bad, and I am gay or lesbian,
then that means that I am bad, too.”
It is vitally important that social workers confront their own
homophobia and learn more about the special issues of lesbian
and gay clients. Social workers must explore and confront their
own homophobia in order to understand and meet the needs of
lesbian and gay clients and their families; not doing so raises
grave questions about their ability to undertake ethical social
work practice (Alderson, 2013; Morales, 1995; Morrow, 2006c).
Social workers must do the following:
1. Develop LGBT content knowledge base [including the
recognition of current LGBT issues and an understanding of the
LGBT lesbian and gay communities] …
2. Challenge personal biases about sexual minority people and
practice in accordance with social work values and ethics….
3. [N]ot presume the sexual orientation or gender identity of
clients….
4. Use accurate and respectful language in all communication to
and about clients….
5. Avoid assuming that the characteristics and needs of all
sexual minority groups—gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender—
are the same….
6. Approach cases from an ecological systems perspective [It is
important to appreciate the significance of the social
environment and its effects on lesbian and gay people’s lives.
Practitioners should confront oppressive policies, laws, and
treatment and advocate for change. Social workers should be
aware of available resources and potential social supports.] …
7. Honor diversity among LGBT people [Each lesbian or gay
person is a distinct and unique individual, just as each

heterosexual person is.]
8. Honor client self-determination regarding disclosure …
9. Honor clients’ rights to privacy regarding their sexual
orientation and gender identity….
10. Advocate for LGBT-affirmative work environments and
LGBT-affirmation agency services. [Social workers should
advocate for fair and equal treatment and for services designed
to meet the needs of LGBT clients.] (Morrow, 2006c, pp. 13–
15)
Ethical Questions 13.4
EP 1
1. Why do you think people are lesbian, gay, or bisexual? To
what extent does a person’s sexual orientation matter to you,
and why?13-3
Describe Lesbian and Gay Lifestyles
LO 5
What is it like to be a lesbian or gay person? How would life be
different or similar if you awoke tomorrow morning and
discovered that you were homosexual? What would happen to
your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues?
No one typical lifestyle is practiced by all lesbians and gay
people. Lesbians and gay men have lives that are just as varied
as those of heterosexuals. Being a gay man in Dickeyville,
Wisconsin, is different from being a gay man in a San Francisco
suburb. Being a white lesbian mother receiving public
assistance in Utah is different from being an African American
upper-class lesbian mother in Boston. However, some common
patterns emerge in the lives of lesbian and gay people. Several
issues reflected by these patterns are addressed here.
13-3aLesbian and Gay Relationships
Individual relationships and lifestyles vary among lesbian and
gay people just as they do among heterosexuals (Longres &
Fredriksen, 2000; Mallon, 2008; Tully, 2001). As with

heterosexuals, many lesbian and gay people live with a
significant other as a couple. Others live by themselves or with
a heterosexual partner, friends, children, or family.
Additionally, many have children (Mallon, 2008; Messinger &
Brooks, 2008). Same-sex couples face many of the same issues
and hold many of the same values as their heterosexual
counterparts (Crooks & Baur, 2014; Holmberg & Blair, 2009).
The diversity characterizing heterosexual couples (e.g.,
socioeconomic status, educational level, racial and ethnic
background, communication style) is also reflected in same-sex
couples.
Rathus and his colleagues (2014) reflect on lesbian and gay
relationships:
Most gay males and lesbians who share close relationships with
their partners are satisfied with the overall quality of their
relationships. Researchers find that heterosexual and gay
couples report similar levels of satisfaction with their
relationships (Henderson et al. 2009; Kurdek, 2005). Moreover,
gay males and lesbians in enduring relationships generally
report high levels of love, attachment, closeness, caring, and
intimacy.
As with heterosexual people, not all the relationships of gay
people are satisfying. Among both groups, satisfaction is higher
when both partners feel that the benefits they receive from the
relationship outweigh the costs (Henderson et al., 2009). Like
heterosexual people, gay men and lesbians are happier in
relationships in which they share power and make joint
decisions. (pp. 282–283)
Ossana (2000) elaborates:
The correlates of relationship quality are similar for all couples:
appraisals that the relationship includes many rewards and few
costs; personality characteristics such as high expressiveness;
partner’s placing higher value on security, permanence, shared
activities, and togetherness; less belief that disagreement is
destructive; higher mutual trust; better problem-solving and
conflict resolution skills; more frequent shared or egalitarian

decision making; and greater satisfaction with perceived social
support. (p. 277)
Gay people in a committed relationship differ little from their
heterosexual counterparts.
Paul Gapper/Alamy Stock Photo
Major social and legal obstacles do exist that prevent lesbian
and gay people from establishing long-term relationships. For
example, gay and lesbian marriages are a hotly debated issue
(ProCon.org, 2014). Even if gays and lesbians are very much in
love with each other and want to spend their lives together,
social obstacles might exist, such as pressure from family and
heterosexual friends to form heterosexual relationships, marry,
and have children.
13-3bSexual Interaction
Many people find it hard to imagine what lesbian and gay
people do sexually. After all, they don’t have the “necessary”
ingredients of both penis and vagina. The fact is that lesbian
and gay people engage in the same types of activities that
heterosexuals also enjoy. These include hugging, kissing,
touching, fondling of the genitals, and oral sex.
The physiological responses of gay and lesbian people are
exactly the same as those of heterosexuals. They become
aroused or excited, enter a plateau stage of high arousal, have
an orgasm, and go through a period of resolution during which
the body returns to its normal, unaroused state. The process is
the same for all people, male or female, gay or heterosexual.13-
4
Explore Significant Issues and Life Events for Lesbian
and Gay People
LO 6
As members of a diverse group, lesbian and gay people are

victims of stereotypes and homophobia. Discrimination may
frequently limit the alternatives available to them. Social
workers and other human service professionals need to be aware
of the special issues and life events confronting lesbian and gay
people so that they might provide leadership in improving
service delivery. In order to help clients define and evaluate the
alternatives available to them, social workers must understand
the effects of certain life events. Significant issues and life
events of gay and lesbian people are examined here.
Additionally, social work with gay and lesbian people is
addressed.
13-4aThe Impacts of Social and Economic Forces: Legal
Empowerment and Social Justice
For hundreds of years, laws have existed to suppress
homosexuality and ban sodomy, defined as anal or oral sex
between same-gender or heterosexual people. Harper-Dorton
and Lantz (2007) discuss the historical legal perspective:
Laws against homosexual behavior date back at least as far as
Roman law. Colonists in early American history punished
sodomists with floggings, hangings, and periods of confinement
(Robinson, 2003). This history may seem ancient; however, as
recently as 2002, sodomy laws continued to be enforceable in
fourteen states in addition to Puerto Rico (Robinson, 2005).
Legislation against, homosexual acts in the United States and
the prevailing homophobia in American culture have caused
many gay and lesbian persons to fear revealing their sexual
orientation. Perhaps for personal safety, many gay men and
lesbian women remain covert about their sexual practices.
Personal decisions about coming out and openness about sexual
orientation are influenced by factors such as fear of hate crimes,
discriminatory experiences in the workplace, and exclusion
from institutional settings such as the military (Reicherzer,
2005; Tully & Nibao, 1979). (p. 162)
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence et al v.
Texas struck down a “Texas sodomy law that made private

sexual contact between homosexuals illegal” (Crooks & Baur,
2014, p. 265). The Court found that such laws violated people’s
constitutional right to privacy. As a result, laws in several other
states banning sex between same-sex individuals and
prohibiting sodomy were also overturned (Crooks & Baur,
2014).
Four issues will be addressed in which lesbian and gay people
are treated differently than heterosexual people under the law:
employment, the military, personal relationships and finances,
and child custody and visitation. In light of all these
challenges,
Spotlight 13.2 discusses the importance of a sense of
community among gay and lesbian people.
Spotlight on Diversity 13.2Recognize Gay and Lesbian Pride,
Empowerment, and a Sense of Community
LO 7
All people, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual, need places to
socialize, to feel free to be themselves, and to feel that they
belong. Gay and lesbian pride and the sense of community are
important concepts (Greenberg et al., 2014; LeVay & Valente,
2006; van Wormer, Wells, & Boes, 2000). One young man
summarized these concepts well by joyously stating:
As someone who has recently “come out,” I have acquired a
sense of pride in my homosexuality: a part of me I have run and
hidden from for twenty of my twenty-five years. I owe much
gratitude to many people in the gay community who have given
me the courage to stand up for who I am. I am proud to call
these people my gay brothers, the first real friends I have ever
had. I’m not ashamed—I’m proud to be gay. My sense of gay
pride has made me realize that I’m as good as any other person
on this earth and deserving of the same basic human dignity and
respect all human beings are entitled to. (“What Does
Gay/Lesbian Pride Mean to You?” 1985, p. 2)
Heterosexual innuendos, expectations, values, and ideas saturate
our society. One gay man said he always felt he had to be

watchful and cautious in heterosexual groups. He carefully
censored what he said to protect himself from homophobic
attacks on himself and his lifestyle.
Within the lesbian and gay communities, lesbians and gay men
can be themselves. They can let down their protective facades.
They can be with other people who understand what it’s like to
be gay in a heterosexually oriented world. This is not to say that
many lesbians and gay men have not openly and proudly
proclaimed their sexual orientation. This is so even though it
means they expose themselves to homophobic criticism,
prejudice, and discrimination. In a way, by doing this, they are
advocating for individual freedom and the end of
discrimination.
In this homophobic world, there are a multitude of lesbian and
gay activities and organizations. These range far beyond crisis
lines and support groups. There are sports teams and
organizations, choral groups, churches, bookstores, newspapers,
magazines, advocacy groups, and computer dating services all
oriented toward lesbians and gay men. The sense of community
has developed and grown far beyond that of the gay bar.
People march in a gay pride parade. The rainbow flag is a
common gay pride symbol.
iStock.com/andipantz
Employment
LGBT people “suffer pervasive discrimination in employment,
housing, public accommodation, education, medical care,” and a
host of other avenues in their everyday lives because they are
not legally protected (American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU],
2014a; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2008d). Not until
1976 was the federal government’s personnel manual changed to
forbid discrimination against lesbian and gay people in hiring or
terminations unless the public agency involved could prove that
same-sex sexual behavior affected work completion (Dale,

1993). This means that most federal government agencies
cannot discriminate against lesbian and gay people purely on
the basis of their sexual orientation. However, these rules don’t
apply to state and local jobs. For example, police departments
and public schools have often succeeded in driving out lesbian
and gay employees (Dale, 1993). Discrimination occurs in a
wide range of settings. One gay married man was recently
offered a job as food services director at a Catholic girls’
school; the school rescinded the offer two days later when an
administrator noted that the man indicated on a form that his
husband should be the emergency contact person (Valencia,
2014). The man allegedly was told that he couldn’t be hired
because the church did not recognize gay marriage.
Other than for federal government jobs, there are no federal
statutes that prohibit employers from discriminating against
lesbian and gay people in the private sector (Human Rights
Campaign, 2014; NOLO, 2014b). They are not considered to be
one of the groups, such as racial minorities, included under the
equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. As of this
writing the U.S. Congress is considering the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act (ENDA), already passed by the U.S. Senate.
The law would impart fundamental safeguards against
discrimination in employment that is based on sexual
orientation or gender identity. Prior attempts to pass similar
legislation have failed, although such efforts solicit increasing
support from members of Congress each year.
Major progress has been made in implementing
antidiscrimination policies in corporate America, although this
progress is not reflected in many small businesses and
organizations. Most Fortune 500 companies have
nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation; and a
majority of these companies have policies that incorporate
nondiscrimination involving gender identity.
EP 1

1. What, if anything, should be done to protect lesbian, gay, and
bisexual people from discrimination in employment?The
Military
Since gay and lesbian people historically have been prohibited
from joining the CIA, the FBI, and the armed forces, it’s
important to view the current picture within a historical context
(McCrary & Gutierrez, 1979/80; Tully, 1995). The following
content discusses both the history of the treatment of lesbians
and gay men in the military, and the current, much different
scenario.
Leonard Matlovich provides one of the most publicized
examples of discrimination against gay and lesbian people by
the military. As the son of an air force sergeant, Matlovich was
raised on air force bases. Upon his high school graduation, he
immediately joined the air force. He received numerous
decorations for his service, which included fighting in Vietnam.
He was also labeled superior in his evaluations.
Years later, at age 30, Matlovich acknowledged that he was gay
and became involved in gay activities. When he told this to his
superiors, he was discharged with a general discharge, a type of
discharge considered less than honorable. He eventually took
his case to court. He “later collected $160,000 in back pay when
the air force could not rebut his claim to an exemption from the
no-gays policy.”
In January 1993, President Clinton announced a plan to revoke
the 50-year-old ban on gay and lesbian people in the military.
However, Congress so eroded the plan that the final version
entailed an uncomfortable “Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue”
guideline (Gelman, 1993, p. 28). This meant that military
personnel were supposed to pretend, with an “out of sight, out
of mind” approach, that same-sex sexual behavior doesn’t exist.
Many questions were raised regarding this policy. Consider the
following facts.
Under the so-called “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, 13,000
service members were fired or discharged (O’Keefe, 2011),
many of them specialists who were critical to military

operations. These included health-care specialists, sonar and
radar specialists, combat engineers, law enforcement agents,
security guards, and biological and chemical warfare specialists
(Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [SLDN], 2005a).
Many gay and military personal serving in Iraq and other places
in the Middle East experienced serious difficulties because of
their sexual orientation. Because they “couldn’t tell” that they
were gay or lesbian, they couldn’t cite their partners as next of
kin if something happened to them. And their partners were not
beneficiaries of supportive services provided to heterosexual
partners and families. At times, many partners were left hanging
regarding whether their loved one was alive, hurt, or dead.
In December 2010, President Barack Obama repealed the “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The repeal finally went into effect on
September 20, 2011; by that time almost “2 million service
members had been trained in preparation” for the disclosure of
sexual orientation by lesbian and gay military personnel in
anticipation of potential issues (Bumiller, 2011).
Some estimate that at least 2 percent of service members
(including active and reserve) are lesbian, gay, or bisexual
(Bumiller, 2012). One survey found that 32 percent have
divulged their nonheterosexual orientation; however, this
estimate may be high due to a sample that may have used
participants who are less guarded about their sexual orientation
(Bumiller, 2012).
Bumiller (2012) makes several points concerning the new policy
of military personnel being open about their gay or lesbian
sexual orientation. The policy generally appears to be
successful. Troops have not protested by quitting in droves, as
some adversaries to the change had feared. Many gay and
lesbian service members express relief that they may be open
about their relationships without being discharged. However,
many others remain fearful of negative repercussions if they
come out to others in a military context. They feel that many
heterosexual peers still think a nonheterosexual orientation is

unacceptable. “[H]arassment and discrimination against gays in
the military has not disappeared.” There are derogatory
comments and jokes. There have been incidents. For example,
one female officer was dancing with her partner at a military
ball. A senior officer commanded the women to stop dancing.
When the women refused, the senior officer “shoved” them off
the floor. The female officer filed a complaint, the Pentagon
investigated it, and the senior officer was removed from his
position and compelled to retire.
A major positive aspect of the policy concerning openness is the
fact that spouses of gays and lesbians in the military may now
receive spousal benefits such as Social Security survivor
benefits and family leave (Williams & McClam, 2013). Federal
benefits for same-sex couples after new U.S. Supreme Court
determinations will be discussed in
Personal Relationships, Finances, and Same-Sex
Marriage.
Personal Relationships, Finances, and Same-Sex Marriage
The right of lesbian and gay people to marry legally in the
United States has been a hotly debated issue. A major change
occurred in June 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck
down major aspects of the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA). DOMA had defined marriage as being between a
man and a woman (Gacik, 2014). In 2013 the Court ruled that
same-sex marriage must be accepted by the federal government
and that such couples should receive all the federal benefits
available to heterosexual couples. These benefits include
“Social Security survivor benefits, immigration rights and
family leave” (Williams & McClam, 2013). They also include
federal tax benefits such as filing joint federal tax returns. Note,
however, that federal agencies may determine which same-sex
marriages are eligible for benefits; for example, some agencies
such as the IRS will recognize all same-sex marriages, whereas
the Social Security Administration takes into consideration the
couple’s state residence and whether that state recognizes same-
sex marriage (NOLO, 2014a).

In its 2013 decision the Supreme Court did not force states to
accept gay marriage, but rather left them to make their own
determinations (Williams & McClam, 2013). (For many decades
prior to 2015, a majority of the 50 states had banned same-sex
marriages.)
Whether gays and lesbians have the right to marry has been a
hotly debated issue for the past few decades in the United
States. In June 2015, the United States Supreme Court in a
landmark ruling said that same-sex couples have a
constitutional right to marriage. The 5–4 U.S. Supreme Court
decision means all 50 states must perform and recognize gay
marriage.
Internationally, the following countries now allow same-sex
marriage, in addition to the United States: Netherlands,
Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden,
Argentina, Iceland, Portugal, Denmark, Uruguay, New Zealand,
Brazil, and France, England, and Wales.
The right of lesbian and gay people to legally marry was a hotly
debated issue in the United States.
Jim West/Alamy Stock Photo
EP 1
1. Should lesbian and gay people have given the right to
marry?Child Custody and Visitation Rights
In the past, lesbian and gay parents have experienced major
difficulties in custody debates over their children because of
their sexual orientation. Numerous courts have denied parents
custody simply because they were lesbian or gay (ACLU,
2014b; Barusch, 2012; Carroll, 2013b; Hunter & Hickerson,
2003; Parks & Humphreys, 2006). For example, a Florida
lesbian mother lost “custody of her 11-year-old daughter to the
child’s father, who was convicted of killing his first wife”
(CNN, 1996). Further complicating the matter, the man’s

daughter with his first wife accused him of sexually abusing her
when she was a teenager. In another case, an Alabama court
refused custody to a lesbian mother; the chief justice
condemned homosexuality as an “inherent evil and an act so
heinous that it defies one’s ability to describe it” (Kendell,
2003). Still another instance involves a grandmother who was
awarded custody of her grandson because his mother was a
lesbian living with a female partner; the Virginia judge ruled
that the mother’s “conduct is immoral” and that her behavior
“renders her an unfit parent” (Kendell, 2003). On the other
hand, some state courts have ruled that child custody could not
be denied purely on the basis of parental homosexuality unless
it was proven that such sexual orientation would hurt the child
(Berger & Kelly, 1995).
Judges presiding over custody disputes can make arbitrary
judgments concerning what is in the child’s best interests (Hyde
& DeLamater, 2014; Kendell, 2003). Some judges may have
homophobic ideas, which have the potential of influencing their
decisions.
There are several myths about lesbian and gay parenthood that
might influence people against lesbian and gay parents. First,
there is the misconception that lesbian or gay parents will
influence their children to become gays or lesbians. No
verification exists for this myth or for the worry that children
growing up in families with lesbian or gay parents are more
likely to be lesbian or gay (Barusch, 2012; Carroll, 2013b; Hyde
& DeLamater, 2014; Morales, 1995). Second, there is the idea
that children will be damaged by growing up in lesbian or gay
homes. All indications are that children growing up in such
households flourish as well as those raised in heterosexual
homes (Carroll, 2013b; Hyde & DeLamater, 2014). Third, some
people mistakenly believe that gay and lesbian people’s
parenting skills are inadequate. No evidence bears this out
(Barusch, 2012; Moses & Hawkins, 1982). Finally, research
indicates that fears about children with lesbian or gay parents
experiencing difficulties in peer relationships, having

inadequate social skills, or enjoying less popularity than their
peers with heterosexual parents are also unsupported (Hyde &
DeLamater, 2014).
It’s interesting that the American Association of Pediatrics
“endorsed its support of gay and lesbian parents to adopt a
partner’s children” (AASECT, March 2002, p. 10). It
maintained that it is in the best interest of children, and their
security, that they live with legal parents.
Highlight 13.4Arguments for and against Same-Sex Marriage
Pros
Cons
1.
Same-sex couples should be allowed to publicly celebrate their
commitment in the same way as heterosexual couples.
1.
The institution of marriage has traditionally been defined as
between a man and a woman.
2.
Same-sex couples should have access to the same benefits
enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.
2.
Allowing gay couples to wed will further weaken the institution
of marriage.
3.
Marriage is redefined as society’s attitudes evolve, and the
majority of Americans now support gay marriage.
3.
It potentially leads down a “slippery slope” giving people in
polygamous, incestuous, bestial, and other nontraditional
relationships the right to marry.
3.
Gay marriage is protected by the Constitution’s commitments to
liberty and equality.
3.
Gay marriage may lead to more children being raised in same-

sex households, which are not an optimum environment because
children need both a mother and father.
5.
Legalizing gay marriage will not harm heterosexual marriages
or “family values,” and society will continue to function
successfully.
5.
Marriage should not be extended to same-sex couples because
they cannot produce children together.
6.
If the reason for marriage is strictly reproduction, infertile
couples would not be allowed to marry.
6.
Marriage is a religious rite between one man and one woman.
7.
Same-sex marriage is a civil right.
7.
Gay marriage is incompatible with the beliefs, sacred texts, and
traditions of many religious groups.
SOURCE: Gay Marriage: Pros and Cons, ProCon.org (2014).
Without the sanction of marriage, same-sex couples experienced
a number of disadvantages. Greenberg and his colleagues (2014)
cited five of these:
1. Any potential income tax benefits applied to married partners
did not apply to unmarried lesbian or gay partners.
2. Lesbian and gay couples had more difficulty adopting
children. Sometimes, states forbid the practice.
3. “Married couples do not have to pay any federal estate
taxes (and usually only a limited amount of state estate tax) on
the death of a first spouse (Emphasis added). State law provides
(for people without wills) that property moves directly to the
spouse (or spouse and children, depending on the state)”
(Greenberg et al., 2014, p. 393). In same-sex couples who lived
without the sanction of marriage, after a partner’s death, his or

her relatives could demand all of the deceased partner’s assets.
4. Partners in same-sex couples were often denied employment
benefits such as health or life insurance. Although many large
companies provided benefits, many small companies did not.
5. Unmarried partners did not automatically have decision
making rights when partners were seriously ill and unable to
make decisions for themselves. Gay and lesbian partners had no
legal rights under these circumstances because they did not fall
under the legal definition of family.The Future of Lesbian and
Gay Rights
Although lesbian and gay people are sometimes not treated
equally under the law, the great progress that has been made
should be emphasized. Same-sex couples in the United States,
and in many other countries, now have the legal right to marry.
Some states and localities are adopting equal housing and
employment legislation for lesbian and gay people.
Homosexuality is no longer considered a psychiatric illness.
Federal government agencies should no longer be able to
discriminate against gay and lesbian people. Lesbian and gay
people, through their advocacy and hard work, have achieved a
great deal.
Gays and lesbians’ struggles for equality is sometimes
characterized by the expression “Remember Stonewall!”
Stonewall was a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village.
On June 28, 1969, police stormed and raided the bar, an
incident not unusual in those times. How the gay men at the bar
responded, though, was indeed unusual. They fought back. The
struggle continued in the street for hours.
People involved in gay and lesbian liberation have provided
much impetus to progress made in gay and lesbian legal rights.
Such groups exist in many communities, especially in urban
settings. Group meetings often provide opportunities to discuss
issues, plan political interventions, and get help and support
concerning personal difficulties such as employment
discrimination. Additionally, they provide a means of becoming

acquainted with other lesbian and gay people and with the gay
and lesbian community in general.
Social workers need to attend to LGBT rights issues. Not only
is an objective, open-minded attitude and belief in individual
self-determination necessary, but an advocacy stance is also
critical. Unfair, discriminatory rules in public and private
agencies can be confronted. Attention can be called to any
discrimination that does occur. Political candidates who
encourage LGBT rights can be supported. Finally, others,
including friends, family, and professional colleagues, can be
educated about LGBT rights and encouraged to support them.
13-4bCommunity Responses: Violence against LGBT People
On June 12, 2016, homophobic Omar Mateen shot and killed 49
people in an Orlando, FL gay nightclub. An additional 53
people were injured. Mateen used an AR-15 semi-automatic
assault weapon. This incident was the deadliest mass shooting
in American history. Mateen was killed in a gun battle with
SWAT team members.
“In October [1998] Matthew Shepard, a gay college student,
was pistol whipped, beaten and left tied to a fence near
Laramie, Wyoming, for 18 hours. Shepard died of his injuries
four days later. Sources close to Russell Henderson, 21, and
Aaron McKinney, 21, claimed that originally the two men had
only intended to rob Shepard, but that awareness of his sexual
orientation drove them to violence” (AASECT, 1998, p. 1).
Consider the following homophobic hate incidents against
lesbian and gay people of color. In May, 2013, Mark Carson,
32, was walking with a friend in Greenwich Village in New
York City, when another man taunted him with insults and then
shot him with one bullet directly in the face (Slattery, Badia, &
Kemp, 2013). The gunman along with two companions had
called Carson and his friend “f——s” and “gay wrestlers” prior
to the shooting. RaShawn Brazell, 19, was allegedly on his way
to meet a lover; he was found mutilated, chopped into pieces,
and dumped in a Brooklyn, New York, subway tunnel (Burke &

Lemire, 2005). Sakia Gunn, 15, an African American who was a
lesbian, “was stabbed to death in Newark, NJ” by a man “after
she and a friend refused his advances by declaring that they
were lesbians” (LGBT Hate Crimes Project, 2010). Jose
Sucuzhanay, 31, a Latino, died of injuries from being beaten
over the head with a beer bottle, struck numerous times with a
baseball bat, and kicked repeatedly (McFadden, 2008). He had
been walking home with his brother after attending a church
function and later stopping at a bar. “They may have been a bit
tipsy as they walked home in the dead of night, arm-in arm,
leaning close to each other, a common [practice] … of men in
Latino cultures, but one easily misinterpreted by the biased
mind” (McFadden, 2008). A car suddenly pulled up and three
men jumped out shouting antigay and anti-Latino vulgar
remarks. The beating ensued. Jose’s brother managed to escape.
Carroll (2013b) describes the current context of violence
against LGBT people:
Hate crimes are those motivated by hatred of someone’s
religion, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic
group. They are known as “message crimes” in that they send a
message to the victim’s affiliated group. (American Psychiatric
Association, 1998). Typically, hate crimes involve strong
feelings of anger (Parrott & Peterson, 2008). (p. 288)
Swigonski (2006) cites the following statistics, based on
Mason’s (2002) summary of surveys conducted in several
English-speaking countries:
· 70 to 80 percent of lesbians and gay men reported
experiencing verbal abuse in public because of their sexuality.
· 30 to 40 percent reported threats of violence.
·
20 percent of gay men reported physical violence.
· 10 to 12 percent of lesbians reported physical violence.
Swigonski concludes, “For people whose sexual orientation or
gender expression is outside narrowly defined societal norms,

violence is a normative part of life. That is a fact, but it is not a
tolerable fact” (p. 366).
Seven types of victimization have been noted (Wertheimer,
1988): verbal harassment, which occurs most frequently;
threatening behavior, such as being followed by harassers or
being warned that attacks are forthcoming; physical attacks by
groups of men, which can result in emotional and physical
injury; assaults associated with AIDS and the resentment toward
gay and lesbian people related to it; sexual assaults of women
and men; assaults and discrimination by police; and even
murder. Homophobia seems to form the foundation for these
attacks.
What can be done to halt such victimization of LGBT
people? Wertheimer (1988) proposes four potential solutions.
First, LGBT civil rights legislation must be passed.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation must be
clearly illegal. People must get the message that such behavior
will not be tolerated. Victims need to feel safe in reporting
abusive incidents.
Wertheimer’s second suggestion involves the passage of laws
that specifically address crimes committed because of hatred
and prejudice toward specific groups. Such legislation would
protect not only LGBT people but also others subjected to
prejudice because of their gender, race, ethnic status, religion,
or beliefs.
The third proposal involves educating the police, and people
working in the criminal justice system, about homophobia,
LGBT victimization, and the needs and rights of gay people.
Education could include training employees to have greater
empathy for LGBT people, and to be more sensitive to their
situations. This would encourage LGBT victims to report crimes
instead of fearing harassment and retribution from authorities.
Finally, Wertheimer’s fourth suggestion for combating LGBT
victimization is to establish crisis centers for victims. Such
resources would resemble the centers that have already been
developed to help heterosexual victims of sexual assault and

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