Showing papers on "Transgender published in 2008"
TL;DR: This systematic review of the US-based HIV behavioral prevention literature identified 29 studies focusing on male-to-female (MTF) transgender women and found prevalence rates of HIV and risk behaviors were low among FTMs, while higher HIV infection rates were found among African-American MTFs.
Abstract: Transgender populations in the United States have been impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This systematic review estimates the prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviors of transgender persons. Comprehensive searches of the US-based HIV behavioral prevention literature identified 29 studies focusing on male-to-female (MTF) transgender women; five of these studies also reported data on female-to-male (FTM) transgender men. Using meta-analytic approaches, prevalence rates were estimated by synthesizing weighted means. Meta-analytic findings indicated that 27.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.8–30.6%) of MTFs tested positive for HIV infection (four studies), while 11.8% (95% CI, 10.5–13.2%) of MTFs self-reported being HIV-seropositive (18 studies). Higher HIV infection rates were found among African-American MTFs regardless of assessment method (56.3% test result; 30.8% self-report). Large percentages of MTFs (range, 27–48%) reported engaging in risky behaviors (e.g., unprotected receptive anal intercourse, multiple casual partners, sex work). Prevalence rates of HIV and risk behaviors were low among FTMs. Contextual factors potentially related to increased HIV risk include mental health concerns, physical abuse, social isolation, economic marginalization, and unmet transgender-specific healthcare needs. Additional research is needed to explain the causes of HIV risk behavior of transgender persons. These findings should be considered when developing and adapting prevention interventions for transgender populations.
848 citations
TL;DR: The specific needs of LGBT populations on the basis of the most recent epidemiological and clinical investigations, methods for defining and measuring LGBT populations, and the barriers they face in obtaining appropriate care and services are discussed.
Abstract: We describe the emergence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health as a key area of study and practice for clinicians and public health professionals. We discuss the specific needs of LGBT populations on the basis of the most recent epidemiological and clinical investigations, methods for defining and measuring LGBT populations, and the barriers they face in obtaining appropriate care and services. We then discuss how clinicians and public health professionals can improve research methods, clinical outcomes, and service delivery for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
723 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a scale of prejudice against transgender individuals was developed, validated, and contrasted with a homophobia measure in 153 female and 157 male US college undergraduates and found that transphobia and homophobia were highly correlated with each other and with right-wing authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and hostile sexism.
Abstract: A scale of prejudice against transgender individuals was developed, validated, and contrasted with a homophobia measure in 153 female and 157 male US college undergraduates. For both sexes, transphobia and homophobia were highly correlated with each other and with right-wing authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and hostile sexism, but aggression proneness was predictive of transphobia and homophobia only in men. Benevolent sexism and rape myth acceptance were more predictive of transphobia and homophobia in women than men. With homophobia partialled out, authoritarianism, fundamentalism, and aggression proneness no longer predicted transphobia for men, but authoritarianism, fundamentalism, benevolent sexism, and rape myth acceptance continued to predict transphobia in women. Discussion focused on gender differences in issues that drive prejudice against transgender and homosexual individuals.
409 citations
303 citations
TL;DR: TFSWs could benefit from targeted HIV prevention interventions, HIV testing, and interventions to help reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV, and structural interventions to reduce reliance on sex work among transgender women may be warranted.
Abstract: Transgender women are a key risk group for HIV and epidemiologic studies have attributed high rates of HIV infection to behaviors associated with sex work in this population. This systematic review compared HIV prevalence among transgender female sex workers (TFSWs) with prevalence among transgender women who do not engage in sex work male sex workers and biologically female sex workers. We conducted systematic searches of 6 electronic databases and including studies that met pre-established criteria. We extracted data appraised methodologic quality assessed heterogeneity and organized meta-analyses by comparison group. We identified 25 studies among 6405 participants recruited from 14 countries. Overall crude HIV prevalence was 27.3% in TFSWs 14.7% in transgender women not engaging in sex work 15.1% in male sex workers and 4.5% in female sex workers. Metaanalysis indicated that TFSWs experienced significantly higher risk for HIV infection in comparison to all other groups (relative risk[RR] = 1.46 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02 to 2.09) and particularly in comparison to female sex workers (RR = 4.02 95% CI: 1.60 to 10.11). We observed significant heterogeneity among the included studies along with methodologic limitations and imprecise definitions of sex work and gender. TFSWs could benefit from targeted HIV prevention interventions HIV testing and interventions to help reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV. Structural interventions to reduce reliance on sex work among transgender women may be warranted. (authors)
286 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that intersectionality provides a generative approach for interpreting these experiences of gender multiplicity, and apply the framework of intersectionality to understand their exploration of transgendered experience and identification.
Abstract: Dichotomous models of gender have been criticized for failing to represent the experiences of individuals who claim neither an unambiguously female nor male identity. In this paper we argue that the feminist theoretical framework of intersectionality provides a generative approach for interpreting these experiences of gender multiplicity. We review our previous research on four young sexual-minority (i.e., nonheterosexual) women who are participants in a 10-year longitudinal study of sexual identity development, applying the framework of intersectionality to understand their exploration of transgendered experience and identification. Our analysis highlights the value of intersectionality as a framework for understanding not only multiplicity across identity constructs (e.g.., race, gender, etc.) but also within identity constructs (i.e., female and male).
256 citations
TL;DR: This issue of WSQ centrally address the challenges presented to traditional feminist scholarship by the transgender sociopolitical movement of the past two decades, but it aims to resist applications of "trans" as a gender category that is necessarily distinct from more established categories such as "woman" or "man."
Abstract: The tide that appears on the cover of this journal is Trans-, not Trans, and not Transgender. A little hyphen is perhaps too flimsy a thing to carry as much conceptual freight as we intend for it bear, but we think the hyphen matters a great deal, precisely because it marks the difference between the implied nominalism of "trans" and the explicit relationality of "trans-," which remains open-ended and resists premature foreclosure by attachment to any single suffix. Our call for papers read: "Trans: -gender, -national, -racial, -generational, -genie, -species. The list could (and does) go on. This special issue of WSQ invites feminist work that explores categorical crossings, leakages, and slips of all sorts, around and through the concept 'trans-'." While gender certainly - perhaps inevitably - remains a primary analytical category for the work we sought to publish in this feminist scholarly journal, our aim in curating this special issue specifically was not to identify, consolidate, or stabilize a category or class of people, things, or phenomena that could be denominated "trans," as if certain concrete somethings could be characterized as "crossers," while everything else could be characterized by boundedness and fixity. It seemed especially important to insist upon this point when addressing transgender phenomena. Since the early 1990s, a burgeoning body of scholarly work in the new field of transgender studies has linked insights and analyses drawn from the experience or study of phenomena that disrupt or unsetde the conventional boundaries of gender with the central disciplinary concerns of contemporary humanities and social science research. In seeking to promote cutting-edge feminist work that builds on existing transgenderoriented scholarship to articulate new generational and analytical perspectives, we didn't want to perpetuate a minoritizing or ghettoizing use of "transgender" to delimit and contain the relationship of "trans-" conceptual operations to "-gender" statuses and practices in a way that rendered them the exclusive property of a tiny class of marginalized individuals. Precisely because we believe some vital and more generally relevant critical/political questions are compacted within the theoretical articulations and lived social realities of "transgender" embodiments, subjectivities, and communities, we felt that the time was ripe for bursting "transgender" wide open, and linking the questions of space and movement that that term implies to other critical crossings of categorical territories. This issue of WSQ centrally address the challenges presented to traditional feminist scholarship by the transgender sociopolitical movement of the past two decades, but it aims to resist applications of "trans" as a gender category that is necessarily distinct from more established categories such as "woman" or "man." Rather than seeing genders as classes or categories that by definition contain only one kind of thing (which raises unavoidable questions about the masked rules and normativities that constitute qualifications for categorical membership), we understand genders as potentially porous and permeable spatial territories (arguable numbering more than two), each capable of supporting rich and rapidly proliferating ecologies of embodied difference. Our goal is to take feminist scholarship in expansive new directions by articulating the interrelatedness and mutual inextricability of various "trans-" phenomena. Any gender-defined space is not only populated with diverse forms of gendered embodiment, but striated and crosshatched by the boundaries of significant forms of difference other than gender, within all of which gender is necessarily implicated. To suggest a few examples: do transgender phenomena not show us that "woman" can function as social space that can be populated, without loss of definitional coherence, not only by people born with a typical female anatomy and reared as girls who identify as women, but also by people reared as girls who identify as women but who have physical intersex conditions, or by people who were born with a typical male anatomy but who selfidentify as women and take all possible steps to live their lives that way, or by people born female who express conventionally masculine social behaviors but who don't think of themselves as or want to be men? …
222 citations
TL;DR: Findings from qualitative research conducted in the UK that sought to explore the connections between sexual identities and self‐destructive behaviours in young people suggest ‘modalities of shame‐avoidance’ suggest young LGBT people manage homophobia individually, without expectation of support and, as such, may make them vulnerable to self‐ destructive behaviours.
Abstract: This paper reports on findings from qualitative research conducted in the UK that sought to explore the connections between sexual identities and self-destructive behaviours in young people. International evidence demonstrates that there are elevated rates of suicide and alcohol abuse amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Rarely included in this body of research are investigations into young LGBT people's views and experiences of self-destructive behaviours. Data from interviews and focus groups with young LGBT participants suggest a strong link between homophobia and self-destructive behaviours. Utilising a discourse analytic approach, we argue that homophobia works to punish at a deep individual level and requires young LGBT people to manage being positioned, because of their sexual desire or gendered ways of being, as abnormal, dirty and disgusting. At the centre of the complex and multiple ways in which young LGBT people negotiate homophobia are 'modalities of shame-avoidance' such as: the routinization and minimizing of homophobia; maintaining individual 'adult' responsibility; and constructing 'proud' identities. The paper argues that these strategies of shame-avoidance suggest young LGBT people manage homophobia individually, without expectation of support and, as such, may make them vulnerable to self-destructive behaviours.
220 citations
TL;DR: A simple curricular intervention at the University of California at San Francisco led to significant short-term changes in a small number of survey items assessing students' knowledge and beliefs about LGBT persons.
Abstract: Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons represent an underserved population susceptible to health care disparities. Description: In February 2004, we implemented an LGBT health curriculum for students at the University of California at San Francisco. Confidential matched questionnaires elicited students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about LGBT health issues before and after the intervention. Evaluation: The surveyed population (52% response rate) was demographically similar to the entire class. There was statistically significant change in the responses to 4 of 16 questionnaire items ( p ≤ .001; largest absolute change was 0.57 on a 5-point scale). Students demonstrated increased knowledge about access to health care and LGBT relationships, increased willingness to treat patients with gender identity issues, and enhanced awareness that sexual identity and practices are clinically relevant. Conclusions: Our simple curricular intervention led to significant short-term changes...
216 citations
TL;DR: The pros and cons of the various approaches to youngsters with GID are presented, hopefully inciting a sound scientific discussion of the issue.
193 citations
TL;DR: A range of strategies that LGBT young people employ in the face of distress are described, categorised as resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour (including self-harm and suicide), which have potential implications for health and social care.
Abstract: The research presented in this paper set out to explore the cultural context of youth suicide and more specifically any connections between sexual identity and self-destructive behaviour, in the light of international evidence about the disproportionate risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people. The empirical basis for the paper is qualitative research that was carried out in the North West of England and South Wales. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with a total of 69 young people, with a purposive sample to reflect diversity of sexual identity, social class and regional and rural-urban location. The paper presents a thematic analysis of the data specifically relating to the experiences of LGBT young people. A range of strategies that LGBT young people employ in the face of distress are described. These are categorised as resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour (including self-harm and suicide). The potential implications for health and social care of these strategies include the need for ecological approaches and for sexual cultural competence in practitioners, as well as prioritisation of LGBT risk within suicide prevention policies.
Book•
01 Jun 2008
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive first-of-its-kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state, from birth through college.
Abstract: This comprehensive first of its kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state. Through extensive research and interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the authors cover gender variance from birth through college. What do you do when your toddler daughter's first sentence is that she's a boy? What will happen when your preschool son insists on wearing a dress to school? Is this ever just a phase? How can you explain this to your neighbours and family? How can parents advocate for their children in elementary schools? What are the current laws on the rights of transgender children? What do doctors specializing in gender variant children recommend? What do the therapists say? What advice do other families who have trans kids have? What about hormone blockers and surgery? What issues should your college-bound trans child be thinking about when selecting a school? How can I best raise my gender variant or transgender child with love and compassion, even when I barely understand the issues ahead of us? And what is gender, anyway? These questions and more are answered in this book offering a deeper understanding of gender variant and transgender children and teens.
TL;DR: A United States sample of 166 transgender adults including 50 maleto-females (MTFs), 52 female-to-males (FTMs), and 64 genderqueers (neither completely female nor completely male), were surveyed about identity development, levels of disclosure of transgender status, and relationship to community as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A United States sample of 166 transgender adults including 50 male-to-females (MTFs), 52 female-to-males (FTMs), and 64 genderqueers (neither completely female nor completely male), were surveyed about identity development, levels of disclosure of transgender status, and relationship to community. There was no difference among transgender groups in age of first experiencing oneself differently from assigned birth sex. MTFs first identified as other than their assigned sex earlier than FTMs. However, they did not present themselves to others in a gender-congruent way until much later than FTMs. MTFs were less likely to disclose their gender identity to their parents than were FTMs. Disclosure of assigned birth sex was more common among younger participants. There was no difference in the extent to which individuals felt connected to the transgender community. Genderqueers felt more connected to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community than did MTFs or FTMs. Implications for health care professional...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the role of psychotherapy in planning the real-life experience (RLE) for a client undergoing genital-reconstructive surgery and the impact of stigma on psychological adjustment.
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the most widely used foundations of education textbooks for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) content, and found that they are often used for homophobic and transphobic content.
Abstract: This research analyzed the most widely used foundations of education textbooks for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) content. Because foundations of education coursework routinely intr...
TL;DR: This text forthrightly addresses clinicians' concerns and biases in caring for these patients and gives practical suggestions on how to manage these concerns, and is an excellent resource for most primary care physicians who care for LGBT patients.
Abstract: Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Makadon HJ, Mayer KH, Potter J, Goldhammer H, eds. Philadelphia: American Coll of Physicians; 2007. $59.95. ISBN 9781930513952. Order at www.acponline.org. Field of medicine: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health. Format: Softcover book. Audience: Primary care physicians who care for adolescent or adult LGBT patients. Purpose: To provide primary care clinicians with a comprehensive handbook on the appropriate approach to the health issues of LGBT patients and offer practical guidance for their routine health care. Content: As background, the text provides a historical context for LGBT health care and its development in the history of modern medical care. The book then discusses such topics as culturally competent approaches to LGBT care, social issues of LGBT patients, and LGBT health promotion and disease prevention. Other topics include coming out, aging in the LGBT population, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. Several chapters cover the unique health issues of LGBT adolescents and transgender and intersex patients. The book addresses legal issues of concern to providers of LGBT health care and provides patients and clinicians with multiple resources on a wide array of topics. Highlights: This text is an excellent resource for most primary care physicians who care for LGBT patients. The book provides concrete suggestions about how to approach LGBT patients and deliver the care they deserve. The book forthrightly addresses clinicians' concerns and biases in caring for these patients and gives practical suggestions on how to manage these concerns. The section on transgender and intersex health is especially helpful. Physicians need to know that gender identity issues are often quite different from sexual identity issues. Limitations: By design, this book is not a comprehensive guide to HIV care. Yet, it could give more attention to the unique issues of HIV-infected gay men. The patient intake form provided in the appendix is very comprehensive, but it is not practical for most busy clinicians. Related reading: The textbook itself offers many excellent companion resources and references in its appendix. Further resources for caring for LGBT patients can be found at the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Web site (www.glma.org) and in the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association's Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders (available at www.wpath.org). Reviewer: Michael A. Horberg, MD, MAS, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California.
TL;DR: Other risk and resiliency factors associated with experiencing traumatic violence among transgender populations are addressed in this paper, where culturally competent treatment suggestions are provided for clinicians working with transgender survivors of trauma in a clinical setting.
Abstract: The transgender community is disproportionately affected by violence (Wilchins, Lombardi, Priesing, & Malouf, 1997). Transphobia—prejudice, discrimination, and gender-related violence due to negative attitudes toward transgender identity—may pose a risk factor for experiencing trauma in transgender individuals. Other risk and resiliency factors associated with experiencing traumatic violence among transgender populations are addressed in this article. Finally, culturally competent treatment suggestions are provided for clinicians working with transgender survivors of trauma in a clinical setting.
TL;DR: Transgender youth have become more visible in the last decade but remain one of the most underserved populations on college campuses and have largely been ignored in the higher education literature as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Transgender youth have become more visible in the last decade but remain one of the most underserved populations on college campuses and have largely been ignored in the higher education literature. To provide a context for understanding the experiences of gender variant students, this article provides a brief history of transgenderism before discussing the handful of published narratives by transgender youth. It concludes with recommendations for educators seeking to improve the campus climate for people of all genders.
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: This article examined the racial identity and culture of the Center, a Los Angeles lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization with a national reputation for multiculturalism, a visible presence of people of color in leadership, and a staff of more than 50 percent people of colour.
Abstract: This article builds on examinations of whiteness in organizations by considering how white normativity—or the often unconscious and invisible ideas and practices that make whiteness appear natural and right—is sustained even in organizations that are attentive to structural factors. Based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork, this article critically examines the racial identity and culture of the Center, a Los Angeles lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization with a national reputation for multiculturalism, a visible presence of people of color in leadership, and a staff of more than 50 percent people of color. Despite these indicators of racial diversity, the organization also maintained a local reputation among queer people of color as the white LGBT organization in Los Angeles. The author demonstrates that the Center's formal and public attempts to build and proclaim a racially diverse collective identity, along with its reliance on mainstream diversity frames available in the broad...
TL;DR: Results indicated that basic counseling skills and relationships were key determinants of the quality of LGBT clients’ therapy experiences.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify a broad range of variables that characterize the helpful and unhelpful therapy experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Interviews were completed with a diverse sample of 42 LGBT individuals who have been in therapy, and a content analysis was conducted. Results indicated that basic counseling skills and relationships were key determinants of the quality of LGBT clients' therapy experiences. Also important to the helpfulness of the therapy experience were therapist variables such as professional background and attitudes toward client sexual orientation/gender identity; client variables such as stage of identity development, health status, and social support; and environmental factors such as confidentiality of the therapy setting.
TL;DR: This gynecologic health care needs assessment of transgender men begins to characterize the barriers transgender men face when seeking health care.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore homophobic discrimination in South Africa and highlight pertinent issues and impacts of sexual orientation-based hate victimisation, and consider contextually and historically appropriate remedies in this regard.
Abstract: Post-apartheid South Africa was founded on democratic values, and a constitution that enshrines the principles of human dignity, equality, and social justice. In stark contrast with constitutional guarantees of freedom and human rights for all, research indicates that homophobic victimisation is an endemic part of the South African landscape. Crimes motivated by prejudice (‘hate crimes’) are not recognised as a separate crime category in current legislation. Research conducted in Gauteng province illuminates the nature and prevalence of prejudice-motivated hate speech and victimisation against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people. These research findings, based on self-reported data, indicate a disconcertingly high prevalence of homophobic discrimination. The findings confirm that higher levels of ‘outness’, integration into lesbian and gay communities and challenging patriarchal gender roles, are all linked to increased rates of certain forms of homophobic victimisation. The relationship between gender presentation and vulnerability to victimisation points to the highly gendered nature of homophobic discrimination. Whilst existing policy frameworks within the ambit of the National Victim Empowerment Programme go some way in addressing homophobic discrimination, service provider deprioritisation, marginalisation, exclusion and targeted victimisation, are everyday realities in many communities. This is especially true for those who are perceived to differ from, or challenge, social and gender norms. The lack of targeted strategies to address LGBT discrimination negatively impact on the extent to which the criminal justice system and other service delivery agents can adequately respond. Hate crimes in South Africa require specific approaches in terms of legislative and policy responses. This paper considers possible multi-leveled measures to address hate crime both within the criminal justice system and in shaping appropriate service delivery responses more broadly. In particular, the paper explores homophobic discrimination in South Africa; highlights pertinent issues and impacts of sexual orientation-based hate victimisation; and considers contextually and historically appropriate remedies in this regard.
TL;DR: This article explores how minority MTFs, specifically in an urban environment, develop supportive social networks defined by their gender and sexual identities and uses principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) to do this.
Abstract: The literature on male-to-female transgender myriad problems such individuals face in their day-to-day lives, including high rates of HIV/AIDS, addiction to drugs, violence, and lack of health care. These problems are exacerbated for ethnic and racial minority MTFs. Support available from their social networks can help MTFs alleviate these problems. This article explores how minority MTFs, specifically in an urban environment, develop supportive social networks defined by their gender and sexual identities. Using principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), 20 African American and Latina MTFs were recruited at a community-based health care clinic. Their ages ranged from 18 to 53. Data were coded and analyzed following standard procedure for content analysis. The qualitative interviews revealed that participants formed their gender and sexual identities over time, developed gender-focused social networks based in the clinic from which they receive services, and engaged in social ca...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the workplace experiences of transgender individuals to provide new insights into the long-standing question of what role gender plays in shaping workplace outcomes, and find that while transgender people have the same human capital after their transitions, their workplace experiences often change radically.
Abstract: We use the workplace experiences of transgender people - individuals who change their gender typically with hormone therapy and surgery - to provide new insights into the long-standing question of what role gender plays in shaping workplace outcomes. Using an original survey of male-to-female and female-to-male transgender people, we document the earnings and employment experiences of transgender people before and after their gender transitions. We find that while transgender people have the same human capital after their transitions, their workplace experiences often change radically. We estimate that average earnings for female-to-male transgender workers increase slightly following their gender transitions, while average earnings for male-to-female transgender workers fall by nearly 1/3. This finding is consistent with qualitative evidence that for many male-to-female workers, becoming a woman often brings a loss of authority, harassment, and termination, but that for many female-to-male workers, becoming a man often brings an increase in respect and authority. These findings challenge the omitted variables explanations for the gender pay gap and illustrate the often hidden and subtle processes that produce gender inequality in workplace outcomes.
TL;DR: Espelage et al. as mentioned in this paper found that bullying and peer victimization sometimes include homophobic epithets directed at heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.
Abstract: . Bullying, aggression, and peer victimization among adolescents are significant public health concerns. Recent research has demonstrated that bullying and peer victimization sometimes include homophobic epithets directed at heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. It appears that being at the receiving end of homophobic banter generally contributes to worse outcomes among youth. This article highlights methodological issues in conducting research with LGBT youth, and stresses the importance of using theoretically and empirically supported definitions, including youth who are sexually questioning, focusing on multiple social and cultural contexts, and examining how support networks serve as buffering agents with regard to the effect of homophobic bullying on psychological outcomes. ********** Despite the links between bullying and homophobia, there has been little effort to integrate these areas of study. Findings focused on these topics highlight the prevalence and serious consequences of each area within the education system (Espelage & Swearer, 2003; Kosciw, 2004; Rivers, 2001; Stein, 1995). Broadly conceived, aggression includes behaviors such as fighting, name-calling, bullying, and social exclusion (Crick, 1996, Espelage, Bosworth, & Simon, 2000). Indicators of homophobia include negative attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and stereotypes toward individuals who are not exclusively heterosexual (referred to as LGBT--lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals; Wright, Adams, & Bernat, 1999). Research suggests that victimization as a result of homophobia is not necessarily limited to LGBT-identified individuals, but can create a hostile climate for all students as it is a way in which masculine/feminine gender-role norms are promoted and maintained (Epstein, 2001). Some 20 years ago in the book Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism, written by the founder of the Women's Project in Arkansas, Suzanne Pharr (1988), it was recognized that homophobia marginalizes and oppresses LGBT individuals, especially women. Pharr, in her chapter on eliminating homophobia, argued that prevention has to be at multiple levels, and pointed to the importance of eliminating the tendency for adults to overlook children and adolescents calling others derogatory names (i.e., "faggot"). More recent qualitative and ethnographic investigations have expanded on the importance of changing the language children and adolescents use, improving school environments that promote homophobic attitudes and behaviors, and protecting sexually questioning and LGBT youth (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003; Phoenix, Frosh, & Pattman, 2003; Plummer, 2001). These studies, coupled with recent quantitative studies (Poteat & Espelage, 2005; Poteat, Espelage, & Green, 2007), have found strong associations among bullying, sexual orientation, and homophobia, and all of these have been related to negative school environments and over time related to negative psychological outcomes for students. This special series includes four data-based investigations that explore the relation among sexual orientation, homophobia, and bullying along with other mental health issues among middle and high school students. From these articles we work to frame the concept of homophobia within the context of current bullying research. By doing so, we seek to further examine ways in which homophobia perpetuates and defines forms of bullying and aggression. Several outcome variables are included in this research and underscore the serious nature of these social problems among adolescents. The research we present is quantitative in nature, and expands upon and clarifies prior qualitative findings. Collectively, our findings support the argument that homophobia and bullying should be examined concurrently in future research, and that discussion of homophobia should be included in bullying intervention programs within schools. …
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify a broad range of variables that characterize psychotherapists' perceptions of helpful and unhelpful therapy experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
Abstract: The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify a broad range of variables that characterize psychotherapists’ perceptions of helpful and unhelpful therapy experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 14 psychotherapists to identify such variables and patterns among them. Results suggest that a wide range of variables, including the therapeutic relationship, therapist response to the client’s sexual orientation/ gender identity, type of presenting concern, and the therapy environment, may affect the therapy experiences of this population. The data also suggest that factors such as ethnicity, gender identity, therapy needs, and socioeconomic status should be considered when providing mental health services to this population. Clients dealing with multiple types of marginalization may be particularly challenging for practitioners. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that GLBT respondents who believed that residents of care facilities are victims of discrimination were more likely to believe that they would have to hide their sexual orientation if admitted to a care facility.
Abstract: As an exploration of the potential impact of fears of discrimination against GLBTs in long-term health care settings, this study compared perceptions of GLBT persons and heterosexuals. A total of 132 GLBT persons and 187 heterosexuals living in Eastern Washington completed a survey that contained demographic questions and perceptions of discrimination in long-term care settings. Most respondents suspected that staff and residents of care facilities discriminate against GLBTs. GLBT respondents who believed that residents of care facilities are victims of discrimination were more likely to believe that they would have to hide their sexual orientation if admitted to a care facility. GLBT respondents were more likely than heterosexual respondents to believe that GLBTs do not have equal access to health care and social services, that GLBTs residents of care facilities are victims of discrimination, that GLBT sensitivity training programs would benefit staff and residents of care facilities, and that GLBT retirement facilities would be a positive development for older GLBTs. This study is offered as a preliminary investigation of concerns about GLBT discrimination in health care settings, how concerns are expressed, and the implications of those concerns for health care needs.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the relationship between the fundamental frequency (F 0 ) of speech and patients' happiness with their voice and found that a significant relationship between F 0 and participant happiness could not be demonstrated.
TL;DR: Focus groups with LGBT individuals in 4 US cities indicated that focus group participants often responded positively to tobacco company targeting, and targeting connoted community visibility, legitimacy, and economic viability.
Abstract: In the public health literature, it is generally assumed that the perception of “targeting” as positive or negative by the targeted audience depends on the product or message being promoted. Smoking prevalence rates are high among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, but little is known about how they perceive tobacco industry targeting.We conducted focus groups with LGBT individuals in 4 US cities to explore their perceptions. Our findings indicated that focus group participants often responded positively to tobacco company targeting.Targeting connoted community visibility, legitimacy, and economic viability. Participants did not view tobacco as a gay health issue. Targeting is a key aspect of corporate–community interaction. A better understanding of targeting may aid public health efforts to counter corporate disease promotion.