Abstract
LGBTQ is one of the most commonly used terms in our contemporary society. The group represent people of a minority group, which includes the Queer community, Gays, the Bisexual, and the Transgender, as well as Lesbians. LBGTQ is commonly used because it is more user-friendly when referring to sexual and gender minorities. This paper analyzes the existing stereotypical beliefs of the LGBTQ communities. Theoretical foundations have been used in an attempt to explain how positive and negative stereotypical beliefs have been developed and how the existing stereotypes have impacted the minority groups. In essence, the discussion indicates that the LGBTQ face a wide range of emotional, psychological, social, and economic, as well as health disparities compared to the heterosexual. Hence, a plan aimed at addressing the stereotypical attitudes has been developed. Notable, self-acceptance is an important step that members of the LGBTQ communities should uphold.
Keywords: LGBT, biases, stereotype
Theory
Section 1: Stereotypical Beliefs about LGBTQ
LGBTQ is one of the most commonly used terms in our contemporary society. The term LBGTQ is commonly used because it is more acceptable when referring to sexual and gender minorities. One of the things that make the mainstream society harbor stereotypical beliefs towards members of the LGBTQ is that they do not have an opportunity to understand or interact with them. The stereotypical attitudes are then transferred from one generation to the next generation through interactions with peers, learning from social environments, parents, and the community. The mass media have also played a critical role in the formation of stereotypical beliefs about LGBTQ. Several decades ago, stereotypical beliefs about the LGBTQ community were extremely negative.
The group has been chosen for analysis based on diverse misconceptions by heterosexuals and other groups in the society, which has exposed LGBT to undue discrimination. For instance, a huge proportion of the heterosexual society, including researchers and doctors believed that the LGBTQ community suffered from mental disorders (Nadal et al., 2016). Although the stereotypical beliefs surrounding this community has changed over time because of social justice activism, this group continues to be considered “different” and therefore have been subjected to bias and stereotyping. The discussion will offer another perspective with the intentions of providing a diverse understanding of LGBTQ. Although the analysis might not influence individuals with rigid perceptions, it is evident that the discussion will educate and influence liberal individuals with an open mind to change their perspectives.
Furthermore, to gain more insight about the LGBTQ community and perhaps to change the stereotypical perceptions that might be preconceived in people’s minds, it is imperative to discuss the negative and positive stereotypes that exist. One of the most common stereotypes about the LGBTQ community is that it is unnatural to have sexual attractions and relationships to people of a similar gender (Higa et al., 2014). The myth stems from the belief that sexual relationships are designed for a man and a woman only. People who are “straight” hold that God was the founder of sexual relationships and that He designed them to be between a man and a woman when he created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He then commanded them to go and fill the earth, which means to procreate. The fact that the lesbians and gays cannot procreate forms the foundations of their argument against the people of these sexual orientations, terming them as unnatural.
For the LGBTQ community, it is natural to be sexually attracted to members of similar gender and acting upon these feelings is natural. The group discourages living an entire life when suppressing such feeling or hiding and not accepting the inner feelings. In essence, this would cause great pain and suffering. Therefore, they should act on feelings and sexual attractions as it would be a natural process, just as individuals whose sexual orientations are heterosexual (Higa et al., 2014). Again, the decision to have children is also complex, even for heterosexual relationships. Many people of heterosexual gender orientations are married, but they might fail to procreate. More importantly, the LGBTQ community can decide to have children through adoption.
Another stereotypical belief is that LGBTQ people are promiscuous as compared to the heterosexual population. They are thought to be more sexually active and that their lives revolve around unnatural sexual practices. Indeed, this is a stereotypical idea propagated by the society, considering that the LGBTQ community is visible as the topic keeps coming back and forth the media channels and other social forums (Higa et al., 2014). It is also due to this myth that a huge percentage of the LGBTQ people are thought to have HIV/AIDS. The idea that LGBTQ people are promiscuous and more sexually active compared to the heterosexual individuals is not supported by research. Not only are they capable of having stable monogamous relationships, but they are also able to have committed relationships. Their lives revolve around various activities just as the “straight” populations; for instance, they go to work, do laundry, and shop at groceries, among other activities. Although some people from this community have contracted HIV/AIDS, individuals from the straight populations also live with the viral disease. Therefore, being characterized as LGBTQ is about the person one loves emotionally, sexually, and how individuals identify themselves.
Being a member of a targeted minority group such as the LGBTQ is potentially alienating, especially when people who do not recognize or appreciate such a group surround an individual. Many are times when one feels alone and not good enough. In my neighborhood, we live in a community where people know one another. Kyle has been my childhood friend, but his associations with people changed during his teenage years. He stopped playing basketball and became a loner. It was just the other day that I saw him on the L-Word television where he identified himself as a gay. Since his appearance on national TV, I stopped interacting with him since I would not have wanted to be associated with him. One Friday afternoon I was walking to a grocery shop in the neighborhood when Kyle stopped me, and I decided to listen to what he had to say. He inquired why I stopped talking to him, but I could not respond since I did not have a genuine reason. I learned that we should appreciate people irrespective of their sexual orientation. We should not discriminate based on their traits but should accommodate everyone for whom they are as human beings. Initially, I thought that LGBTQ people chose to be what they are, but I have come to realize that it is natural and feelings evolve and solidify in the adolescent and adulthood phase. Notably, this disclosure changed my negative perception of the LGBTQ community.
Section 2 Research about Stereotypes for LGBTQ
Researchers trying to explain how stereotypes of the LGBTQ community were developed and why they have persisted in our contemporary society have tended to infer empirical data and theoretical speculations with little synthesis. In other words, theoretic explanations of many writers reveal individualized biases towards the LGBTQ community as compared to society’s reactions to the group. An example of social scientists and researchers is William James, who conjectured that having a sexual attraction to members of the same sex is instinctive and is a phenomenon that is common in men than their female counterparts (Croce, 2017). He argued that in societies where such vices as same-sex-marriages are found were characterized by instinctual aversion being overcome by habit. Therefore, people who practice the “unnatural act” such as the LGBTQ are overcome by their habits (Croce, 2017). In essence, this was due to his belief that while tolerance is learned, revulsion is innate, instead of the other way round.
Edward Westermarck also held a similar school of thought, though he went ahead and explained the foundations of stereotypes of this minority group from a cross-cultural study of morality. At first, he indicated that social perceptions of homosexual engagements stem from the aversion or the feeling of disgust in which people engaging in same-sex relationships averts normality of sexual intercourse between heterosexual adults whose sexual instincts have developed under normal environments, thus explaining the development of stereotypical beliefs (Fuechtner, Haynes., & Jones, 2018). Due to the feeling that this explanation would be inadequate, especially when explaining the stereotypical explanations and the violent responses that the LGBTQ communities received from Christian, Jewish, and the Zoroastrian religious factions, he changed his perception towards the minority group. The Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian religions believe that homosexuality was squarely connected to heresy and idolatry, and this was a practice that was condemned by the rules, regulations, laws, as well as doctrines and customs of their religious practices.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychodynamic school of thought, offered a more social psychological view of the establishments of sexual attractions towards people of the same gender, which can be used to elucidate the positive and negative stereotypes about the faction. According to Freud et al. (2016), the exclusive heterosexual orientation is not founded upon the biological causes only. It involves an interplay between the biological causes and the environmental facets such as prohibitions of distinct societies on homosexual engagements and the early childhood experiences with parents. Freud also inferred that as children, all men and women had strong sexual attractions to parents of a similar gender. However, the feelings are repressed after completely dissolving the Oedipus complex. He argued that in many instances, individuals do not completely dissolve the Oedipus complex. As a result, the persons whose Oedipus complex is not repressed my become sexually attracted to people of the same sex. In return, those whose Oedipus complex has completely dissolved develop the feeling of aversion towards people engaging in same-sex relationships. They develop the feelings of disgust and hostility, which becomes the foundations of the negative stereotypical attitudes.
Individuals who feel threatened by members of the LGBTQ communities are thought to develop strong aggression towards them. Those who do not feel threatened by the minority group may develop neutral or constructive criticism and attitudes towards the group. Stereotypical attitudes may result from defensive mechanisms in cases where people of heterosexual orientations develop prejudiced attitudes to reduce the tension aroused by unconscious and unresolved conflicts. For instance, heterosexual men develop some jealous towards gay men because of their masculine ideal and the sexual freedom enjoyed by the LGBTQ community. In these cases, the jealousness is presumably transformed into aggression and hostility that in turn breeds stereotypical attitudes.
The female-male binary is a concept that can be used to explain why stereotypes about the LGBTQ community persists. According to this concept, there are specific roles that are defined by gender. Therefore, every partner has a role to play either feminine roles or masculine roles. Developing roles that are contrary to the inherent roles dictated by gender appears to be uneven and opposite to the norm (Steffens, Niedlich, RosaBeschorner, & Köhler, 2019). Hence, heterosexual individuals continue holding stereotypical attitudes towards the LGBTQ community due to the notion that they do not practice gender roles that are consistent with creation.
The LGBTQ community often feels pressured to fit in the hegemonic society that is predominantly heterosexual. In many instances, they are subjected to intimidation, ridicule, and in the worst case scenario, physical abuse. Although many LGBTQ people report dealing remarkably well as far as systematic discrimination is concerned, most experience depression, emotional stress, anxiety and other forms of mental conditions. These forms of prejudices are felt in all areas of livelihood, including schools, work, and social institutions.
Despite the increased awareness and the significant progress in fighting for equal rights among the LGBTQ community, they continue to face pervasive discrimination that impacts almost all aspects of their lives. One of the areas where the LGBTQ community is impacted is in health. Although this community is protected by the same law that protects people from heterosexual relationships, they are not able to see the doctor without worrying about harassment, mistreatment, and at times, outright denial of health services. Discrimination in healthcare facilities endangers the LGBTQ community in a variety of ways. While some people cite delays of medical procedures due to their sexual orientations, others acquire diseases and illnesses that could otherwise have been prevented.
An example is a scenario where a member of the LGBTQ community has had unprotected sex with a partner of unknown status. Under normal circumstances, the person is supposed to receive post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent him or her from acquiring HIV infections. Any delay in receiving the drugs could result in the completion of the developmental cycle of HIV viruses attaching themselves to the CD4 cells, which is an irreversible process. Imagine visiting a health facility with this awareness and having been exposed to a situation depicted above to face unwarranted delays. These are some of the situations that members of the LGBTQ community face daily.
The CDCP (2019) indicates that over a million individuals in America are living with HIV/AIDS. A study conducted between 2005 and 2014 indicated that the numbers of people who acquired new infections reduced by 19 percent. However, this was not the case for minority groups. For instance, the gay and bisexual men who make up a total of 2% of the American population are in the group of 55% of people living with HIV/AIDS (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). If this trend continues, then one out of every six gay and bisexual men will have contracted the deadly virus.
The LGBTQ community also faces unique vulnerabilities in their working environments. Although they may not receive overt discrimination such as being fired from employment, they still face threats that shape their lives in subtle ways. For instance, when “straight” men are invited for drinks by their bosses, gay men may fail to receive such an invite (Brooks, RussellLuyt, Zawisza, & McDermott, 2017). It is worth noting that these platforms create opportunities for promotion. They are also susceptible to unique vulnerabilities within the public spheres such as government offices, restaurants, and hotels. Not only have they been treated as unequal, but they have also faced brutal beatings.
Due to the lack of equal employment opportunities, job loss, homelessness, and poor living conditions, members of the LGBTQ community face a myriad of economic problems. They are left with few if any options of ensuring that their basic needs are met. This phenomenon mostly affects women. They find themselves engaging in commercial sex for survival. Notably, this is one of the reasons that has increased the rates of HIV/AIDS infections among this community. CDC 2019 indicates that LGBTQ women, especially the transgender are highly vulnerable to acquiring HIV as compared to the mainstream heterosexual society. The rates of HIV diagnosis are five times more to people who have engaged in commercial sex as compared to those who have not. Therefore, the lack of basic needs has detrimentally impacted on the LGBTQ community.
The LGBTQ advocates have faced enormous challenges in their attempt to end the stereotypical attitudes and to engage human rights of this community. Some even risked their safety to amend the laws that discriminate against the minority group. After many struggles and endless battles, the turning point for gay liberation occurred in June 1969 when the clients of the famous Stonewall Inn, a gay pub in New York City fought back the police (Center for American Progress, 2017). The liberation of the gay movement saw the establishment of various political organizations that differed with each other. Owing to the reason that the lesbians were frustrated with the male dominance of the gay liberation group, they formed their organization known as the lesbian rights within the mainstream groups such as the National Organization for Women.
It was not until the year 2000 that President Bill Clinton acknowledged the struggles of the LGBTQ community, which was followed by the recent public policy initiatives during President Obama’s administration. In mid-2015, the LGBTQ rights movement attained a major milestone in search of equal rights when the American Supreme Court legalized marriages between people of the same gender across the United States (Perry, Ravi, McCormick, & Joseph, 2015). Despite the milestone, there was formulation and enactment of more than 200 laws that were intended to allow prejudice toward LGBTQ people. These laws were introduced at the state, federal, and local stages in 2016. The most important threat towards the LGBTQ is Trump’s administration that has seemingly vowed to ascertain that LGBTQ people do not enjoy equal rights with the heterosexual mainstream society.
Section 3: Application
One of the stereotypical beliefs towards LGBTQ is that their relationships are unnatural and ungodly. This myth has created adverse implications for this minority group. For instance, they do not have access to equal healthcare opportunities as compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Hafeez, Zeshan, Tahir, Jahan, & Naveed, 2017). Hence, to understand how the LGBTQ sexuality is linked to health disparity, one should imagine a world where this minority group has been accepted, appreciated, and are understood universally as part of the mainstream societal practices. In this world, being a member of the LGBTQ community would carry no social stigmatization, no stereotypes, and no bias. The practice would not be seen as unnatural and unholy. In this world, all people would worry about similar illnesses such as cancers, non-communicable diseases, communicable illnesses, psychiatric illnesses, and the threat of terrorism. In essence, every member of this society would be confronted with similar health and social issues. However, such an idealized world only exists in our minds. Ever since they came into the limelight, the LGBTQ community has not been understood or recognized as part of the hegemonic society, but instead have been stereotyped as deviants. Considering that the LGBTQ community is prone to health risks just as other members of society, they face a profound and uninformed set of additional health risks squarely contributed by stereotypical attitudes. It is due to this reason that a plan needs to be developed to address the health disparity among the LGBTQ community.
Stereotypical attitudes from the mainstream society have enhanced a lack of access to healthcare coverage and healthcare services, poor health outcomes, and limited access to disease prevention programs among the LGBTQ community. The poor health outcomes exhibited by members of these communities stem from systematic discrimination. Heterosexism has been internalized in our clinical settings and caregivers may unconsciously hold anti-LGBTQ stereotypical attitudes, which manifests in acts of prejudice and victimization (Kulick, Wernick, Woodford, & Renn, 2017). For instance, this can be demonstrated when gays are denied care or when they are refused to be with their life partners in the intensive care unit. At times, they are also denied access to the bodies of their significant other in case of death.
On the other hand, Kulick et al. (2017) conducted a study aimed at assessing the levels of health disparities among the LGBTQ communities as it relates to multilevel processes of gender and sexual marginalization and its relationship to racism. The cross-sectional study collected data from different samples of LGBTQ college students. They later split the data into racism statuses. The concept of the linear regression was used in this study to assess the impacts of heterosexism after their engagement with college organizations and how this aspect affected their psychological wellbeing. Depression was found to be suitable in this assessment. The study found a variance between the white LGBTQ people and those of color. For the White LGBTQ, it was indicated that engagement with leadership lowered the levels of depression. LGBTQ members of color who participated in the study indicated that there was a strengthened association between their engagement and depression and victimization attributable to their sexual orientations (Kulick et al., 2017). The findings of this study are consistent with the view that the LGBTQ communities face increased disparities in all aspects of their livelihood, including healthcare.
Recommendations
- An important step in eliminating unavoidable inequalities and creating healthcare environments that foster trust and comfort across society is a fundamental step towards promoting a society that recognizes and appreciates same-sex and transgender marriages. Hence, to achieve this, the government should develop a gender identity that is not based on people’s sexual orientations. The definition of the new gender identity should be incorporated as part of the anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies that govern both the private and public sectors as well as the social arena.
- One of the reasons the members of the LGBTQ community are stereotyped is based on the assumption that they cannot have “real families.” As such, the definition of “family” should also comprise of members of the LGBTQ communities who maintain ongoing emotional relationships irrespective of their biological formations or legal relationships.
- Hospital personnel should allow patients to determine the persons to visit them while in the medical facilities regardless of their gender, religion, or sexual orientations.
- The department of health should develop medical facilities for members of the LGBTQ communities. The initiative would help to minimize the health disparities faced by these minority groups.
- Since clinical ethicist plays a very important role in shaping the culture of healthcare organizations, they should develop policies that create a more conducive environment for the LGBTQ communities. In addition, they should include nursing policies that support LGBTQ communities. In other words, nursing home policies should be developed in a manner that supports the diversities in sexual orientations. Not only would this ensure equal access to healthcare, but would also eliminate stereotypical attitudes in healthcare settings.
Section 4: Lessons Learnt from the Assignment
As it is evident from the discussion, many members of the LGBTQ communities have believed that heterosexuality is the only way to live right, based on their external world. Since infancy, they all had the dream of being “straight.”’ They thought that when they came of age, they would fall in love with members of different sex, join in holy matrimony, procreate, and live a happy life. However, nature made them who they are. They live with the knowledge that they do not fit into the mainstream heterosexual society. They acknowledge that something about them might be different, and hence feel less than others. They have been told that having heterosexual relationships is the only way to live right. In addition, the majority of LGBTQ members feel that they should be like mainstream society. Struggling to fit in and trying to understand why and how they became who they are may bring feelings of shame and unacceptability among most LGBTQ people. Others may spend years hiding their sexual orientations from everyone and surprisingly, they even try to hide from themselves.
Furthermore, this assignment has taught me about self-acceptance. People would find complete joy and contentment when they develop self-acceptance. By developing self-acceptance, we can encompass and adopt all aspects of ourselves, even those dark secrets that irritate and sometimes make us feel awkward about ourselves. With self-acceptance, we get the ability to understand ourselves, our limitations and weaknesses, and accommodate inner feeling without allowing the inner darkness to destroy our balance or become barriers to our self-esteem. Therefore, such a move is what it takes for members of the LGBTQ communities to “come out’ and disclose their sexual orientations to the public. The greater our self-esteem, the more we let ourselves to recognize and accept happiness in our lives. Therefore, the hegemonic heterosexual society should not become stumbling blocks to this happiness. They should view the LGBTQ communities as complete human beings who should be accorded the same rights they enjoy.Top of Form
References
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