Sexual Minorities - 3395 Words

Sexual Minorities Tiffin University Angela Hofacker February 25, 2013 Instructor Nancy Golinski SOC360 Multicultural Issues in Society When thinking of the different minorities, the one minority that is sometimes not acknowledged as a minority is sexual minorities. These types of minorities can include those who are gay, lesbian, and even bisexual. For purposes of referring to sexual minorities, gays as a reference will be the primary focus. Sexual orientation has been deemed a hot and emotional topic. It can be controversial for many reasons but primarily because it affects so many on the emotional side. Sexual minorities are an established minority because of the discrimination, harassment, and hate crimes they have endured.†¦show more content†¦This then leads to a certain way of thinking that sexual minorities only want to party and meet other gays and or lesbians and have brief sexual encounters; this is a misconception. â€Å"For many people, sexual orientation is just one part of their identity and is not the overriding factor that defines their entire identity† states the Sinclair Institute ( 2012, p. 2). Every person lives life how they see and feel fit to live their lives. Their sexual orientation does not implicate that their lifestyle is only a particular way. Other barrier’s to the gay culture is gender identification. One of the basic problems that sexual minorities encounter is their gender identity or expression. This means â€Å"a person’s internal sense of gender, as well as how a person behaves, appears, or presents with regard to societal expectations of that person† (Bell, 2012, p. 355). Many times a person from a sexual minority faces their own internal challenges along with the discrimination that they face from others. These two issues alone can cause total chaos in the gay or lesbian’s life as well as affecting their friends and family. Another barrier faced by the gay community is homophobia, which is the fear of gays by heterosexuals. Gay people in the military face this problem all the time. With the military employing more than 1.4 million people, there is a very wideShow MoreRelatedSex Minority And Sexual Minority Orientation1156 Words   |  5 Pagesissues they feel are specific to sexual minority (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) adolescents and those that are questioning their sexuality. Williams et al. questions the way sexual orientation, victimization, psychosocial adjustment, and social support are intertwined in relation to sexual minority youth. They hypothesized that the absence of social support, from both family and friends, along with the experiences relating to being a victim, bring about a sexual minority orientation in adolescents. AdditionallyRead MoreSexual Orientation Of Sexual Minority Health Essay2560 Words   |  11 PagesRelatively recent inclusion of sexual orientation measures in a few fe deral and state health surveillance surveys is enabling the production of population-based information about sexual minority health and its status relative to that of the heterosexual majority. Few studies have been adequately powered to investigate variability in health by sexual orientation, let alone by orientation and other key social characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status); yet research suggestsRead MoreIssues and Intolerance of Sexual Minorities in Arizona1625 Words   |  7 PagesISSUES AND INTOLERANCE OF SEXUAL MINORITIES IN ARIZONA Gays and lesbians are discriminated against and oppressed by archaic sex laws used by the conservative Arizona government. Some statutes include the restriction of same-sex marriage, and no monetary or federal benefits for domestic partners of homosexuals who work for a government agency. 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Hate-motivated violence refers to an act of violence that is motivated by bias or prejudice (Grattet, 2009). Reasons for bias crimes occurring include that these criminal offenses tend to occur in communities with high levels of social disorganization, they occur as a defense against neighborhood in-migration of ethnic others†, and neighborhoods with concentratedRead MoreDeveloping Christian Counseling Techniques For Sexual Minorities1862 Words   |  8 Pages Developing Christian Counseling Techniques for Sexual Minorities Stephanie M. Johnson Liberty University Abstract This paper focuses on counseling clients a part of the â€Å"sexual minority† (Yarhouse, Kays, and Jones, 2013). The information regarding sexual minorities and the techniques to counsel these clients are summarized from Yarhouse et al.’s â€Å"The Sexual Minority Client† (2013). The basis for counseling the sexual minority is competence. This shift to competence is primarily fromRead MoreSexual Minority Youth And Juvenile Justice System1920 Words   |  8 PagesIntro / Problem: Sexual Minority youth (SMY) involved with the Juvenile Justice System (JJS) have a culture that require sensitivity treatment . Many youth that identify as or question their sexuality have experience prejudice attitudes from the initial point of entry( arrest). Navigating through the JJS has been a harsh and unwarranted experience with many fearing their safety from other inmates and staff. Many staff lack the knowledge of the societal realities that SMY struggle with. In additionRead M ore Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - The Struggle of Sexual Minorities710 Words   |  3 PagesThe Struggle of Sexual Minorities Explaining how to challenge the discriminatory attitudes that remain rampant throughout the world, Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a recent article, quotes the incisive words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu: We are all of equal worth, born equal in dignity and born free and for this reason deserving respect. . . . We belong in a world whose very structure, whose essence, is diversity almost bewildering in extent, and it is to live in aRead MoreSexual Minority Clients, My Reflections And Plans Of Actions Essay1769 Words   |  8 Pagesto summarize a chapter I read about sexual minority clients, my reflections and plans of actions. Christian counselors counsel sexual minority clients and will encounter several ethical conflicts while working with these clients. The main focus is concentrated on treatments of clients trying to figure out their identity and same-sex attractions. It is emphasized that professional s need to become competent in several aspects while counseling sexual minority clients. Some the areas listed are multiculturalismRead MoreEvidence Based Practices For Homeless Sexual Minority Youth2345 Words   |  10 PagesRunning Head: EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES FOR HOMELESS SEXUAL MINORITY YOUTH Evidence Based Practices for Homeless Sexual Minority Youth Kerri Dunn-Bales and Mary Ann Callaway University of Oklahoma â€Æ' Abstract: SMY (sexual minority youth, which refers within this paper to youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer) are at risk for trauma in particularly high numbers. When SMY become homeless, their risk for exposure to trauma becomes even higher, presenting