Region,Social Identities,and Disclosure Practices as Predictors of Heterosexist Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities in the United States

Exposure to heterosexist discrimination may vary by a person's place of residency. Utilizing a minority stress perspective, an online survey of self‐identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals (n = 285) examined whether rural and small town inhabitants experienced greater exposure to six types of enacted stigma. After comparing the frequency of enacted stigma by community type, findings demonstrated that rural LGBs reported experiencing more homophobic statements, property damage, and employment discrimination than urban LGBs. Small town LGBs also encountered additional amounts of housing discrimination and were more often chased by strangers compared with urban sexual minorities. Finally, disclosure practices and hierarchies based on race and social class also influenced exposure to discrimination. The importance of spatial factors often intensified when respondents disclosed their sexual identity more publicly. When exploring racial and class differences, affluent sexual minorities experienced less employment discrimination and white sexual minorities were less likely to experience several forms of heterosexist events (especially being punched and kicked).     

Belonging and Acceptance: Examining the Correlates of Sociopolitical Involvement Among Bisexual and Lesbian Latinas

This article employs a national sample of almost 400 bisexual and lesbian Latinas to examine the impact of community-level support/comfort, as well as the importance of sexual orientation and racial identity, on sociopolitical involvement. Results indicate that feelings of connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community are the most important predictor of sociopolitical involvement within both LGBT and people of color (POC) communities. While comfort within the LGBT community had no impact on LGBT sociopolitical involvement, it had a negative impact on POC sociopolitical involvement.     

Unpacking Civic Engagement: The Sociopolitical Involvement of Same-Gender Loving Black Women

Employing a national sample of over 600 same-gender loving (SGL) Black women, we explore the relative impact of community-level support/comfort and the importance of sexual orientation and racial identity on two dependent variables—sociopolitical involvement within lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as sociopolitical involvement within people of color (POC) communities. Findings indicate that feelings of connectedness to the LGBT community are the most important predictor of sociopolitical involvement within both LGBT and POC communities; while, counterintuitively, being comfortable within the LGBT community had a negative impact. Further, the impact of the importance of identity was negligible.     

Psychosocial Problems Associated With Homelessness in Sexual Minority Youths

Sexual minorities are overrepresented among homeless youths, and this is often related to reactions to their status as sexual minorities. While on the streets, they are at increased risk for victimization, substance and alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and mental health issues compared to homeless heterosexual youths. This article uses ecological systems theory to examine psychosocial problems associated with homelessness among sexual minority youths and reviews empirical literature examining outcomes related to homeless sexual minority youths including mental health, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Implications for social work are discussed including practice, policy, and suggestions for future studies.     

Homeless youth,strain, and justice system involvement: An application of general strain theory

Using Agnew's (2006) general strain theory as a guide, we seek to identify some of the key events and experiences that place homeless youth at high risk of justice system involvement. By expanding and elaborating on the particular types of strains and stressors that are relevant to homeless youth, we identify several key (and understudied) strains that may help to account for their high risk of justice system involvement and that may also place them at risk of persistent homelessness. These strains include experiences of polyvictimization, experiences of discrimination and violent victimization that result from an LGBT identity, and a variety of failures and setbacks associated with multiple system involvement. The implications of this work for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Examining Differences in Identity Disclosure Between Monosexuals and Bisexuals

Sociological research has uncovered many ways social factors and locations influence identity disclosure decisions and strategies among sexual minorities. However, most research has examined only monosexual sexual minorities (i.e., lesbian and gay identified respondents) or lumped various sexual minorities together as one despite similarities and differences in experience and social recognition. In this article, we drew on insights from Queer Theory to compare and contrast social factors that influence identity disclosure among monosexual and bisexual sexual minorities,respectively. Utilizing data from the 2013 Pew Research Center Survey of LGBT adults, we demonstrate ways bisexual identity disclosure experiences both confirm aspects of existing research on monosexual sexual minorities, and reveal nuances and variations typically missing from such literature. In conclusion, we draw out implications for (1) understanding similarities and differences between monosexual and bisexual identity disclosure experiences, and (2) the usefulness of expanding sociological analyses beyond monosexual issues, concerns, and populations.     

Understanding Sexual Minority Health Disparities in Rural Areas

This article reviews research from several disciplines including sociology, psychology, and public health to examine recent inconsistencies in findings of rural/urban health disparities among sexual minority populations. Previous work has found that sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) report worse health than their heterosexual counterparts on many physical and mental health measures. To understand this occurrence, scholars have situated these findings most often within either minority stress or fundamental cause frameworks. These theories attribute health differences to unique stressors and stigmatization experienced by sexual minorities within a heteronormative social climate. This review provides an overview of specific health disparities by gender and sexual orientation, critically examines research on rural/urban health differences among sexual minorities, and offers three avenues for future research to help remedy the inconsistent results of previous rural/urban sexual minority health disparities research. Discussions of the ‘rural effect,’ rural social support resources, and the importance of geographic region for health are included as opportunities to further social scientific research on sexual minority health disparities.     

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Personal Mastery Among Sexual Minority African-American Female Sex Workers

Research among sexual minorities has traditionally examined problems such as substance use, HIV risk, mental health problems, and victimization. Among sexual minority street-based female sex workers, these vulnerabilities can be magnified. Grounded in theories of resilience, this study examines risk and protective factors associated with a high level of personal mastery among a vulnerable population of women. Data are drawn from baseline interviews from street-based African-American female sex workers enrolled in a randomized intervention trial in Miami, Florida. We compare sexual minority (N = 197) and heterosexual (N = 365) women on measures of risk and protective factors; among sexual minority women we present logistic regression analyses which reveal that severe mental distress and HIV transmission risk are associated with low levels of personal mastery, while protective factors of transportation access and social support are associated with high levels of personal mastery. These findings suggest that these protective factors may potentially facilitate the development of personal mastery and represent beneficial avenues for intervention efforts.     

Kenyan Religious Leaders’ Views on Same-Sex Sexuality and Gender Nonconformity: Religious Freedom versus Constitutional Rights

Religion plays an important role in framing the public discourse on sexuality, especially in countries where religion fully permeates social life. We explored the perspectives of Kenyan religious leaders on sexual and gender diversity in their country’s specific context. A total of 212 Catholic, Islamic, and Protestant leaders from urban centers and rural townships completed a self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for this study. The leaders’ perspectives were predominantly negative. Limited acceptance was conditional on sexual minorities not engaging in same-sex practices or seeing such practices as sinful. A substantial minority (37%) endorsed the use of violence for maintaining social values, especially regarding homosexuality and gender nonconformity. The majority of religious leaders agreed on the difference between civil law and religious doctrine. Human rights principles enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution were considered to be applicable to sexual and gender minorities. Decriminalization of same-sex sexuality was seen as against one’s religion. Perspectives were less negative if leaders were familiar with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Interventions that promote intergroup contact could be effective in changing religious leaders’ mind-sets and advancing human rights and health for sexual and gender minorities.     

Still stressful after all these years: a review of lesbians' and bisexual women's minority stress

This article reviews the conceptualization of, and empirical literature on, lesbians' and bisexual women's sexual minority stress. In much of the early research, the experiences of sexual minority women and men were considered together (or women's experiences were inferred from men's), obscuring important differences. There is empirical and theoretical justification to consider the experiences of women and men separately and to develop and evaluate comprehensive models of sexual minority stress for women. Existing conceptualizations of sexual minority stress that include assessment of discrimination, victimization, harassment, concealment, internalized homonegativity may be applied, and perhaps adapted, to facilitate understanding of the unique stressors associated with women's sexual minority status. Future research must include mediators of the relationship between stressors and outcomes such as individual (e.g., coping and resilience) and group (e.g., social support, identification with a sexual minority community) resources. It is also essential to understand what factors may buffer the deleterious effects of these stressors.     

Yet another minority issue or good news for all? Approaching LGBT issues in European social work education

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the questions of why to include and how to approach LGBT issues in the context of European social work education. Referring to social work’s commitment to LGBT people, the article points out its ongoing relevance as questions of marginalisation and discrimination point far beyond formal equality in legislation and normalisation of homosexuality within existing societal institutions. Furthermore, new questions and dynamics in rapidly changing and highly diverse societal contexts bring about new challenges in addressing LGBT issues. Against this background, the article discusses problems of representation and knowledge and underlines the potential of a queer approach. A queer perspective questions taken-for-granted assumptions about sexual orientation, gender identity and intimate relationships. It challenges normalising categories of sex, gender and desire and brings out possibilities existing beyond the heteronormative order. This way, it offers social work education a powerful theoretical lens to address issues on sexual orientation and gender identity not only as yet another minority issue, but as transversal matter and as good news for all. In this article, we use the acronym LGBT to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. LGBT is meant to include and at the same time emphasise the differences between people who do not (exclusively) define themselves as heterosexual and who cannot or do not want to match or identify with binarities of sex, gender and desire. We do not use the acronym LGBTI because we find it problematic to include intersex people without taking explicitly into account their specific situations and needs. Making a plea for a queer approach, we share – of course – a critical view on categorisations and identity labels.     

少数民族高等教育机会的城乡差异研究

我国少数民族学生的高等教育入学机会存在显著的城乡差异，农村少数民族学生高等教育机会获得的数量和质量都要低于城市少数民族学生：较之汉族，少数民族高等教育入学机会的城乡差异程度更为明显，反映了少数民族群体内部入学机会的城乡分化甚于汉族群体。分析我国少数民族群体内部高等教育入学机会的城乡分化状况及其成因发现，城乡教育机会的差异不是单纯的教育问题，其背后隐藏的是我国城乡二元分割的社会结构以及与此相关的一系列政治、经济、文化、教育等制度性和现实性的分离。农村少数民族学生受经济、文化、教育等多方面因素的制约，成为我国实现高等教育机会均等的最薄弱环节之一，亟待引起重视。     

Bullying Victimization Trajectories for Sexual Minority Adolescents: Stable Victims,Desisters, and Late‐Onset Victims

Sexual minority adolescents are bullied more frequently than heterosexual peers. Research is lacking on their rates of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization. The present study identified (1) the rate, onset, and desistance of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization, (2) the rate of bullying victimization trajectories, and (3) risk and protective factors across trajectories. A life history calendar method and thematic analysis were employed with a sexual minority adolescent sample (N = 52, 14–20 y/o). General bullying began at age 5 and declined after age 12, with sexual orientation bullying increasing throughout adolescence. Late‐onset victim (34.6%) was the most common trajectory, followed by stable victim (28.9%), desister (23.1%), and nonvictim (13.5%). Differences in risk and protective factors were found across trajectories.     

Facial emotion identification and sexual assault risk detection among college student sexual assault victims and nonvictims

Objective: High rates of sexual victimization among college students necessitate further study of factors associated with sexual assault risk detection. The present study examined how social information processing relates to sexual assault risk detection as a function of sexual assault victimization history. Participants: 225 undergraduates (M_age = 19.12, SD = 1.44; 66% women). Methods: Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing victimization history, an emotion identification task, and a sexual assault risk detection task between June 2013 and May 2014. Results: Emotion identification moderated the association between victimization history and risk detection such that sexual assault survivors with lower emotion identification accuracy also reported the least risk in a sexual assault vignette. Conclusions: Findings suggest that differences in social information processing, specifically recognition of others' emotions, are associated with sexual assault risk detection. College prevention programs could incorporate emotional awareness strategies, particularly for men and women who are sexual assault survivors.     

Intersections of Identities

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses several key issues related to counseling lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asian-Americans. An understanding of the intersections of these identities is important, yet can be complex because of the diversity within Asian-American cultural groups (i.e., ethnicity, generation, skin color, religion, levels of minority stress, and acculturation) and within LGBT communities. These factors may influence counselors' selection of developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive counseling approaches for LGBT Asian-American clients. We propose a framework for understanding the intersection of racial/ethnic and sexual identity development, the Racial Ethnic and Sexual Orientation Identification Chart (RSIC), which is designed to assist therapists in determining relevant counseling issues and strategies. A case study is included along with a discussion of multidimensional assessment and clinical implications.     

Sexual Minority Women's Gender Identity and Expression: Challenges and Supports

Sexual minority women were divided into four groups to study their gender identities (butch and femme), and gender expression (traditionally gendered and non-traditionally gendered women who do not identify as butch or femme). Experiences of heterosexist events (discrimination, harassment, threats of violence, victimization, negative emotions associated with these events), mental health (self esteem, stress, depression), and supports for a sexual minority identity (social support, outness, internalized homophobia) were examined across these groups. Findings suggested that butch-identified women experienced more heterosexist events than femme women or women with non-traditional gender expressions. There were no differences in mental health variables.     

Sexual minority women's gender identity and expression: challenges and supports

Sexual minority women were divided into four groups to study their gender identities (butch and femme), and gender expression (traditionally gendered and non-traditionally gendered women who do not identify as butch or femme). Experiences of heterosexist events (discrimination, harassment, threats of violence, victimization, negative emotions associated with these events), mental health (self esteem, stress, depression), and supports for a sexual minority identity (social support, outness, internalized homophobia) were examined across these groups. Findings suggested that butch-identified women experienced more heterosexist events than femme women or women with non-traditional gender expressions. There were no differences in mental health variables.     

The LGBQ Social Climate Matters: Policies,Protests, and Placards and Psychological Well-Being Among LGBQ Emerging Adults

Sexual minority youth, including emerging adults, are at risk for negative health outcomes. Minority stress theory posits that heterosexism can contribute to these outcomes among sexual minorities. Researchers have tested this theory with respect to interpersonal heterosexism; however, little attention has been given to macro-level and environmental forms of heterosexism, especially among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) youth. In this study, we examine the role of objective social climate (LGB state-level policies) and experiential distal and proximal environmental microaggressions on the psychological well-being of LGBQ emerging adults. Furthermore, we examine the role of LGBQ identity salience as a moderating factor on the macro/environmental-heterosexism and well-being relationship. Multivariable linear regression results suggest that living in a state without same-sex marriage laws is associated with greater self-esteem, whereas both distal and proximal environmental microaggressions are risk factors for anxiety and perceived stress. Furthermore, identity salience can ameliorate the effects of distal microaggressions and intensify the effects of proximal microaggressions and same-sex marriage legislation. Implications for practice with sexual minority youth are discussed.     

What contributes to ethnic minorities’ identification with Hong Kong? The cases of South Asian and Filipino youth

ABSTRACT

The context of Hong Kong has not always been favourable for the integration of ethnic minorities, who face various difficulties in education, employment, and daily life. Research, however, has shown that many minorities, particularly the youth, have developed a fair sense of belonging to the city. To explore this puzzle, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 South Asian and Filipino youth and identified four main factors that may be associated with their local identification. They are (1) experiencing less discrimination, (2) achieving a higher level of sociocultural adaptation, (3) having an inclusive conception of Hong Kong identity, and (4) claiming to have received more social benefits. The findings suggest that the context of Hong Kong is not entirely detrimental for ethnic minorities to develop a local identification. Ethnic minorities themselves are also active agents in the construction of identity. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Differentiating the Social Service Needs of Homeless Sexual Minority Youths from those of Non-homeless Sexual Minority Youths

While homeless youths and sexual minority youths are at greater risk for negative life experiences, and homeless sexual minority youths are at greater risk than homeless heterosexual youths, little is known about the differential risks for homeless sexual minority youths compared to non-homeless sexual minority youths. Using a sample of 187 sexual minority youths from a community-based social service agency in Denver, Colorado, the findings of this study suggest that homeless sexual minority youths are at greater risk for victimization, mental health issues, substance abuse, and illegal or dangerous activities than their non-homeless counterparts. Implications for social work practice and social service provision are discussed.