Playing BINGO with the Best of Them

Abstract

As the author explored different community programs for older gays and lesbians, he realized his own ambivalence as a middle-aged man about associating with older gay men. Gerontological differences and needs are explored in the context of these community programs.     

American Indian Lesbians and Gays

Abstract

This article is a study of American Indian lesbians and gays. Using interview content, this study helps practitioners understand these virtually unstudied individuals. Interview data are compared to reports in the literature in an effort to understand how American Indian lesbians and gays are similar to and different from other lesbians and gays. Implications about future research and social work practice with American Indian lesbians and gays are discussed.     

Rural HIV/AIDS Social Services for Gays and Lesbians

Abstract

The HIV pandemic persists into its second decade, with an untoward toll on rural gays which continues to generate suffering and loss. Rural HIV infections are increasing, and the unique problems of health and social services represent new challenges. Professional social services that would overcome barriers to care for rural gays and lesbians have been historically inadequate or non-existent. The HIV pandemic shows that services for HIV diseases must become part of efforts to strengthen the care delivery services for all in rural America, especially by fostering the power and resiliency of gays and lesbians. The empowerment of rural gays, bisexuals, lesbians and transgendered persons assumes that basic differences occur between those in rural and urban areas, and health and social services must build upon the unique strengths of these diverse groups.     

Life Course Diversity Among Older Lesbians and Gay Men: A Study in Chicago

How much can we assume about the shared life experiences of older lesbians and gays? This article is broadly concerned with rethinking the significance of this question as it pertains to cultural images and stereotypes of “older gay and lesbian” identities in a large and diverse American city. In 1996, the authors completed a 10-month needs assessment study regarding the lives and needs (social and psychological), which must be addressed for older lesbians and gays in the city of Chicago. The authors take the approach that simply being of the same or similar age is insufficient to understand the meaning of people's sexual identities. They entered into this study aware of some stereotypes about older lesbians and gays, but like previous investigators, they were surprised at the range of diversity that they uncovered. They discovered not only the common denominators in their participants' experiences and their lives, but as some commentators have already suggested, they also discovered a great deal of variation. To address the issues, the authors describe conceptual problems that emerged in a recent needs assessment of older lesbians and gay men in Chicago.     

The Privatization of Social Services from Public to Sectarian

ABSTRACT

This article explores the privatization of social services from public to sectarian points of view while examining the implications of the Charitable Choice movement on the gay and lesbian community. The history of this movement is explored from a developmental perspective outlining the socioeconomic makeup of gays and lesbians, the societal perceptions and mythology of the economic status of homosexuals, and actual figures related to the number of gays and lesbians who rely on publicly supported social service providers. The article explores the history as well as the positive and negative aspects this type of privatization movement involves. Finally, a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this movement on the gay and lesbian community is presented and future recommendations will be made.     

Correlates of Homophobia and Use of Gay Affirmative Practice Among Social Workers

ABSTRACT

Research on social work practice with gay and lesbian clients has historically focused on examining social workers' attitudes towards gay and lesbian individuals, however, no studies have examined the relationship between attitudes and practice using validated measures to assess practice. The focus of this study was therefore to examine the relationship between attitudes and practice with gays and lesbians using the recently developed and validated Gay Affirmative Practice Scale (GAP). Significant relationships were found with the GAP and two measures of homophobia as well as with measures that assessed feelings about lesbians and gay men, contact with gays and lesbians, attendance at workshops that focused on gay and lesbian issues, relationship status, sexual orientation, political party, and primary area of practice. Relationships with measures of attitudes were also examined. Implications for social work practice, education, and research are discussed.     

From Fragmentation to Integration

Abstract

Within the mental health field, there is an increased attention to issues of diversity. However, this awareness has not yet been applied to racially and culturally diverse gays and lesbians who are chronically mentally ill. Some of the reasons for this include the long history of homogeneity of American institutions; the underutilization of mental health services by minority groups; the stigmatization of the mentally ill; and homophobia, within both the psychiatric community and society at large. As a result, there is a need for mental health professionals to acknowledge minority gays and lesbians with chronic mental illness, and begin to provide programs that affirm their sexual orientation, race, and cultural identities.     

Older Lesbians and Gays Accessing Health and Aged-Care Services

Abstract

The present paper examines older lesbian and gay people's experiences of and expectations for the delivery of health and aged-care services. In-depth narrative interviews were conducted with older gays and lesbians in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney (NSW, Australia). Data were analysed by identifying evaluative statements within specific narratives and grouping these statements into themes. Participants reflected on the meaning of their sexual identity and how they would like it to be acknowledged when in contact with health and aged-care service providers. In addition to direct discrimination, participants reported a more indirect form of discrimination in providers’ assumption of heterosexuality among clients and their failure to provide lesbian- or gay friendly services. The findings highlight the need for health and aged-care services to better understand and acknowledge older gay and lesbian people's sexual identities to enable improved access to services in the future.     

African American Gay Men and Lesbians: Examining the Complexity of Gay Identity Development

Abstract

This article addresses the concept of gay and lesbian identity development with respect to African American gay men and lesbians. The authors suggest that the integration of one's gay identity and the coming out process are uniquely constructed for African American gay men and lesbians, who may be multiply challenged by racial prejudice, limited acceptance by the African American community, and a lack of integration into the larger, White gay community. Race, African American culture, a continuum of gay cultures, gender, and individual characteristics are suggested as salient variables that distinguish the gay identity experience of African American gays from that proposed by most gay identity models.     

Mentoring for Gay and Lesbian Youth

Abstract

Coming to terms with one's sexual identity always has presented a challenge to gay and lesbian adolescents. Older gays and lesbians have useful knowledge to contribute to the younger generation, whose members usually lack role models of successful gay and lesbian adults. Mentoring programs that involve gay and lesbian youth and adults are an important, but overlooked resource for sexual minority youth.     

Incorporating Information from Neuroscience and Endocrinology Regarding Sexual Orientation into Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

The brains of heterosexual males and heterosexual females are different. Moreover, the brains of gay men are similar to those in heterosexual females, whereas the brains of lesbians are similar to those in heterosexual males. Gender-atypical features in gays and lesbians are not limited to brain structures but extend to other physical features (auditory function, finger print patterns, relative size of index and ring fingers) and interest patterns and behaviors. The research supporting these postulates is reviewed. The gestational processes that might explain the differences in brain structure and function corresponding with sexual orientation are reviewed. A discussion of the physiological bases for the expression of gender-related traits and a discussion of factors contributing to sexual identity are provided. Throughout the article, alternative ways to think about gender are suggested. The importance of integrating the information presented in this article into the curriculum of social work education is explained.     

Coming Out and Coming Home

This paper draws on the testimonies of British disabled lesbians and gay men about their experience of coming out as gay, and coming out as disabled. They reflect on the different aspects of their identity, and the interrelation of their sexuality and their disability. The respondents share their experiences of exclusion and marginality in both the disability and gay communities, and discuss where they feel most at home as disabled lesbians and gays.     

The Shape of Queer

ABSTRACT

The rise of queer theory and activism have posed problems of identity and of goals. Queer theory has problemaiized identity, including queer identity: who or what is queer? Queer activism, on the other hand, has been fraught with those challenging sexual boundaries and those for whom “queer” is just the new name for gays and lesbians. Many of these latter activists reject earlier politics, and are in danger of returning to interest-group liberalism as a result. This paper sketches these problems and argues that wholesale rejection of lesbian-feminism and gay liberation is a mistake. The broader vision of these movements offers the possibility of articulation with other movements for change, and this possibility must be renewed and rethought.     

Envisaging the adoption process to strengthen gay- and lesbian-headed families: recommendations for adoption professionals

Although a growing number of child placement agencies are serving lesbians and gay men, a dearth of literature exists for adoption agency policies and practices related to working with this population. This article explores the unique characteristics and strengths of prospective gay and lesbian adoptive parents throughout each of the three phases of the adoption process-preplacement, placement, and postplacement-as well as provides suggestions for adoption professionals working with gays and lesbians. Data from a recent qualitative study of single, gay adoptive fathers are used to illustrate examples and expose areas of potential strengths of adoptive parents not generally explored in the preplacement or preparatory stage. Special attention also is given to the continuing needs of adoptive families headed by gays and lesbians after adoptive placement. Specifically explored are the needs for developing linkages with similar families, as well as providing resources designed to promote successful outcomes of adopted children raised by gays and lesbians.     

Invisibility,Illegibility, and Stigma: The Citizenship Experiences of Divorced Gays and Lesbians

The campaign for marriage equality emphasized that without access to legal marriage, gays and lesbians were relegated to “second-class citizenship.” Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), gays and lesbians find that marrying can lead to greater acceptance and support from family, friends, and colleagues, suggesting that marriage helps gays and lesbians achieve citizenship, defined in terms of belonging and inclusion. However, it remains unclear whether such acceptance and support then disappears or diminishes after divorce. In this article, the informal social consequences associated with same-sex divorce were explored by drawing on in-depth interviews with a small convenience sample of recently divorced gays and lesbians. Results indicate that same-sex divorce is largely invisible, which leads divorced gays and lesbians to worry that their life circumstances will make them illegible to others. In turn, some also withdraw from social interaction, and others report experiencing stigma.     

Being Heard on Sexual Orientation

Abstract

In 2001, Maryland became the twelfth state to pass legislation that prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals in employment, housing, and public accommodations. As part of a ten-year effort to pass such protections, the Governor of Maryland established a Commission to Study Sexual Orientation Discrimination. The Commission held five public hearings throughout the state in 2000 and used the testimonies to prepare a report which helped pave the way for the passage of the legislation. This article is an analysis of 113 oral testimonies, both for and against the legislation. Such information may be helpful in other states where anti-discrimination efforts are on-going.     

Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians Serving in the Military

The purpose of the resent study was to identify correlates of attitudes towards permitting gays and lesbians to serve in the military. Two studies were conducted, one with 210 adults enrolled in classes at a university and one with 31 high school students, most of whom were enrolled in ROTC classes. Although the high school students were more conservative, both samples revealed the high school students were more conservative, both samples revealed the same general pattern of findings. Support for having gays and lesbians serve in the military was closely related to endorsement of arguments in favor of their service, and both samples revealed the same general pattern of findings. Support for having gays and lesbians serve in the military was closely related to endorsement of arguments in favor of their service, and both variables were related to a complex of other conservative values as well as to personal acquaintance with gays and lesbians and to factual knowledge about homosexuality. People with less conservative views on a number of issues, who knew more gay and lesbian individuals, who knew more about homosexuality, who did not belong to a traditional religion, who did not own guns, and who were female were more likely to agree that gays and guns, ands who were female were more likely to agree that gays and lesbian should be permitted to service in the military. The results imply that increasing knowledge and personal familiarity might lead to greater acceptance of military service for gay and lesbians. Ways in which social service providers can use these findings to improve service to gay and lesbian client are discussed.     

Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gays Among American and Dutch Adolescents

Attitudes toward lesbians and gays vary across national populations, and previous research has found relatively more accepting attitudes in the Netherlands as compared to the United States. In this study, we compared beliefs about and attitudes toward lesbians and gays in samples of Dutch and American heterosexual adolescents, utilizing survey data from 1,080 American adolescents (mean age = 15.86 years) attending two schools and from 1,391 Dutch adolescents (mean age = 16.27 years) attending eight schools. Findings indicated the Dutch participants were more tolerant of lesbians and gays, after adjusting for the gender, age, and racial/ethnic minority status of the participants. However, between-country differences were attenuated by accounting for the beliefs about lesbians and gays that participants used to justify their attitudes. American participants were more likely to justify their attitudes using beliefs related to social norms and religious opposition, while the Dutch participants were more likely to justify their attitudes using beliefs related to individual rights and the biological/genetic basis of homosexuality. The results suggest that the relative importance of particular beliefs about lesbians and gays to attitudes at the group level may be context dependent but also that certain beliefs are salient to attitudes across national contexts.     

A Gay and Lesbian Congregation Seeks Social Justice for Other Marginalized Communities

SUMMARY

The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas, is the world's largest gay and lesbian congregation. As an unabashedly liberal church, the Cathedral of Hope views social justice as the foundation of theological beliefs and the heart of community building activities with other marginalized and oppressed people. These actions of social justice and community building have produced an unexpected outcome. Social justice has been returned to this congregation in the form of community affirmation, acceptance, recognition, and advocacy. Thus, one significant way for gays and lesbians to achieve social justice is to work for the same with other oppressed people, devoid of strings or hidden agendas.     

The Transition to Parenthood for Lesbian Couples

Abstract

While there is a slowly growing literature on lesbians with older children, the literature on the transition to parenthood for lesbian couples is scant. The current study examines aspects of the transition to parenthood experience for 29 lesbian couples. Specifically, this study explores aspects of couples' decision-making regarding alternative insemination (e.g., who would carry and bear the child, donor type), perceptions of social support across the transition to parenthood, and availability and use of legal safeguards (such as wills, powers of attorney, and coparent adoptions by nonbiological mothers). Future studies should explore how single lesbians manage the transition to parenthood. Research on lesbians and gay men who are pursuing parenthood through adoption is also needed.