Lesbians,gay men and family therapy: a contradiction in terms?

This paper seeks to review the history of discussions about lesbian and gay male sexuality in family therapy theory and practice. It examines whether homophobic and heterosexist attitudes are present in family therapy thinking. Possible connections are explored between attitudes towards lesbian and gay issues and the professional backgrounds of family therapists, wider debates on homosexuality within society, and conceptualizations of the family life cycle. The question of why relatively little has been written on the issues raised by lesbians, bisexuals and gay men in therapy is discussed. The implications of this oversight on practice are addressed and suggestions made for future work.     

Antecedents and Potential Moderators of the Relationship Between Attitudes and Hiring Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation

A sample of 236 undergraduates (most of whom were White women) rated resumes in which gender, masculinity/femininity, and sexual orientation were manipulated while qualifications were kept constant. Overall, participants rated lesbian and gay male applicants less positively than heterosexual male applicants, but more positively than heterosexual women. Religiosity, beliefs in traditional gender roles, beliefs in the controllability of homosexuality, and previous contact with lesbians and gay men were related to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, which was in turn related to beliefs about employing them. Several factors were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between beliefs about employing lesbians and gay men and discrimination, although the expected relationships were not found. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Criminal law,multicultural jurisdictions and cultural evidence

This article investigates whether providing minority groups with power over criminal law can create injustices that target lesbians, gays and bisexuals within those groups. In order to carry out the task of evaluating to what extent providing power over criminal law to minority groups can result in negative consequences for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals, this paper assesses the work of Ayelet Shachar. I contend that her model leaves lesbians, gays and bisexuals within minorities vulnerable because her division of jurisdictions collapses when put into practice; additionally, her principles do not provide normative guidance for avoiding jurisdictions that criminalise homosexuality, and that protect lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals from violence. This rejection of transformative accommodation, however, does not mean that cultural evidence is irrelevant for criminal procedures. Rather, I assert that cultural evidence is relevant for trials and including it does not jeopardise the interests of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals.     

Imagined contact with famous gay men and lesbians reduces heterosexuals’ misidentification concerns and sexual prejudice

Gay men and lesbians experience bigotry at alarmingly high rates. Traditionally, researchers have focused on reducing sexual prejudice; however, research indicates that heterosexuals’ concerns about being misidentified as gay/lesbian also contribute to the derogation of gay/lesbian individuals. Thus, reducing misidentification concerns is a critical part of decreasing negativity toward gay/lesbian individuals. In the current work, we explored a novel addition to the imagined contact paradigm—imagined contact with famous outgroup members—for reducing misidentification concerns. We found that imagined contact with famous gay men/lesbians reduced misidentification concerns within the imagined interaction and engendered an eagerness to befriend the famous gay/lesbian interaction partner. Moreover, we found that the reduction of these misidentification concerns led to fewer general contagion concerns, and increased eagerness to befriend led to decreased sexual prejudice. The current work develops a useful intervention for improving multiple responses toward gay men and lesbians.     

Individual Differences in Males' Reactions to Gay Males and Lesbians1

Males who were tolerant or intolerant of homosexuals participated in an experiment wherein they interacted with a gay male, a lesbian, or a person of unknown sexual orientation. Results showed that although both attitudes toward homosexuality and the partner's sexual orientation affected reactions to that person. there were few effects due to target sex. Although men's reported attitudes toward gay males are more negative than their attitudes toward lesbians. these attitudes d o not necessarily affect reactions to these individuals.     

Challenges of Being Simultaneously Gay or Lesbian and Spiritual and/or Religious: A Narrative Perspective

The purpose of this article is to describe the struggle that gays and lesbians face as they incorporate their sexual orientation and identity within the context of an existing religious or spiritual identity. An overview of the religious and spiritual context that makes individuals unique will be followed by how the narrative perspective can help individuals who identify themselves as gay or lesbian with their struggle for identity. Finally, new narrative directions will be suggested for marriage and family therapists and their work with gays and lesbians who are confronted with these issues.     

Application of the attribution-value model of prejudice to homosexuality

According to the attribution-value model, prejudice toward a group stems from 2 interrelated variables: attributions of controllability and cultural value. Thus, prejudice toward gay men and lesbians may stem from others' holding them responsible for their behaviors and perceiving negative cultural value regarding homosexuality. The author tested that model by using the issue of homosexuality. The participants were Turkish undergraduates who completed a homophobia scale and answered questions about the origins of homosexuality, cultural attitudes toward homosexuality, and their own gender and sexual preferences. In general, the participants were prejudiced against gay men and lesbians. As expected, attributions of controllability and negative cultural value regarding homosexuality operated jointly to explain 39% of the variation in homophobia. The participants who thought that homosexuality was controllable had more negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians than did those who thought that homosexuality was uncontrollable. The female participants were more tolerant of homosexuality than were the male participants.     

Creating a Space for Spiritual Practice: Pastoral Possibilities with Sexual Minorities

Is a religious gay person an oxymoron? It appears possible, given that the research on religion and spirituality among sexual minority individuals is so limited. While books written on the intersection of religion and psychotherapy may include a chapter addressing the religious and spiritual lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, there are no critical texts focusing solely on this issue. In this paper, we review some of the most recent research on homosexuality, religion, and spirituality, and discuss how LGB individuals may integrate these two identities. A case presentation is offered and implications for pastoral counselors and methods of supporting the integration of the spiritual/religious identity in tandem with a LGB identity are also discussed.     

Psychological Adjustment of Lesbians and Gay Men

Previous research has documented that lesbians and gay men proceed through a series of stages in developing a positive lesbian and gay identity. The relationship between lesbian and gay identity and subsequent psychological adjustment has not been evaluated. These empirical studies found that positive lesbian and gay identity is related to psychological adjustment as measured by lower neurotic anxiety and greater ego strength in both an older and a younger sample of lesbians and gay men. Two coping strategies—self-labeling as a homosexual and self-disclosure of sexual orientation to others—were related to development of a positive lesbian or gay identity. These findings suggest that development of a positive lesbian or gay identity is an important task in promoting the psychological adjustment of lesbians and gay men.     

“Foot-in-the-Mouth” Versus “Door-in-the-Face” Requests

Abstract

According to the attribution-value model, prejudice toward a group stems from 2 interrelated variables: attributions of controllability and cultural value. Thus, prejudice toward gay men and lesbians may stem from others' holding them responsible for their behaviors and perceiving negative cultural value regarding homosexuality. The author tested that model by using the issue of homosexuality. The participants were Turkish undergraduates who completed a homophobia scale and answered questions about the origins of homosexuality, cultural attitudes toward homosexuality, and their own gender and sexual preferences. In general, the participants were prejudiced against gay men and lesbians. As expected, attributions of controllability and negative cultural value regarding homosexuality operated jointly to explain 39% of the variation in homophobia. The participants who thought that homosexuality was controllable had more negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians than did those who thought that homosexuality was uncontrollable. The female participants were more tolerant of homosexuality than were the male participants.     

The Protestant work ethic,religious beliefs,and homonegative attitudes

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the Protestant Work Ethic (PWE) on negative attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women (homonegativity). The influence of religious beliefs and the notion of homosexuality as a choice were also examined in combination with PWE in regards to homonegativity. Previous research suggested that those who subscribe to the PWE have more negative attitudes towards societal out-groups (e.g., African–Americans). Thus, it was hypothesized that those with high PWE scores would display more homonegative attitudes. A significant correlation between PWE and homonegativity supported this hypothesis. Multiple regression analyses revealed that PWE interacted with religious beliefs, and religious beliefs interacted marginally with the idea of homosexuality as a choice. Those with high religious beliefs and who strongly believed that homosexuality was a choice were more likely to have negative attitudes towards homosexuals. The implications of these findings are discussed, with particular respect to reducing homonegative attitudes.     

"Lesbians, gay men, and their parents": a critique of LaSala and the prevailing clinical "wisdom"

This article challenges the popular assumption that coming out to family of origin is important for lesbians and gay men's mental health and couple relationships. First, I present theory emphasizing the unique position of lesbians/gays in families of origin and the significance of "families of choice." Second, I review the quantitative research on social support received by lesbians/gays from family of origin, friends, and other social network sources. Third, I demonstrate how the dominant clinical opinion about coming out to family is based on an unwarranted use of theory developed for heterosexuals and on overgeneralization of findings from studies of white, upper-middle-class, North American lesbians/gays. Fourth, I propose five determinants of lesbian/gay persons' decisions to come out to family-of-origin members. Fifth, I argue that such decisions are constrained by "realistic" costs/benefits in various sociocultural niches rather than being a simple function of individuals' levels of differentiation. Lastly, I offer an expanded contextual stance for the family therapist working with lesbian/gay clients.     

Non-religious lesbians and gays facing AIDS: A fully psychological approach to spirituality

Treatments of spirituality among HIV-positive lesbians and gays overlook the people who do not believe in God. Conceptualizing the human core of spirituality, this paper discerns a spiritual potential within the homosexual experience and illustrates the matter in the case of non-religious gay and lesbian persons with AIDS (PWAs). Under this analysis, many commonplace facets of individual and social life reveal important spiritual implications. These considerations are relevant to both religious and non-religious professionals attempting to address spiritual needs among all populations in a pluralistic society.     

Effects of a Workshop on Mental Health Practitioners' Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Counseling Effectiveness

The effects of a training workshop on mental health practitioners' attitudes toward homosexuality and counseling behavior were compared with the effects of no intervention. Treated subjects (n = 21) were enrolled in a 3-day multimodal workshop about gay/lesbian counseling, and no-treatment comparison subjects (n = 31) were enrolled in other counselor education coursework. Before and after the workshop, subjects completed homosexuality attitude questionnaires and a quasibehavioral gay/lesbian counseling effectiveness measure. Treated subjects improved significantly more than comparison subjects on all measures, and the gains remained in evidence at an 8-week follow-up. The multimodal training workshop thus appears encouraging as a possible means of instilling needed attitudes and skills in counselors of gay and lesbian clients.     

Heterosexual adolescents’ and young adults’ beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality and gay and lesbian peers

Reports on the school climate for gay and lesbian students in the United States suggest that negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals are quite common in adolescence. Very little research, however, has investigated adolescents’ sexual prejudice from a developmental perspective. In this study, 10th- (N = 119) and 12th- (N = 145) grade adolescents and college-aged young adults (N = 86) completed a questionnaire assessing their beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality, their comfort with gay and lesbian students, and their judgments and reasoning regarding the treatment of gay or lesbian peers in school. Results indicate that middle adolescents (14–16) are more likely than older adolescents (16–18) and young adults (19–26) to exhibit sexual prejudice related to social interaction with gay and lesbian peers. Interestingly, however, age-related differences in beliefs about whether homosexuality was right or wrong were not found. These findings provide evidence for age-related differences in some aspects of sexual prejudice but not others and underscore the importance of using multiple measures in assessing the development of this type of prejudice.     

Gay,Lesbian, and Queer Theologies: Origins,Contributions, and Challenges

Abstract : Theologians and biblical scholars have been writing about Christianity and homosexuality for over three decades, but lesbian/gay and queer theologies are still unfamiliar. Since questions about lesbian, gay, and queer Christians are confronting many denominations, it is important to study these proposals. This essay argues that lesbian/gay theologies trace their histories to theologies of liberation, while queer theology is indebted to postmodern and queer theories. Recent Christological and anthropological proposals are presented, and the essay concludes by exploring the distinct political implications of these theological proposals.     

Lesbian,gay and bisexual development: theory,research and social issues

Over the last 20 years there has been a marked increase in the number of published journal articles and books in the field of lesbian and gay psychology and psychotherapy. Much of this work has focused upon the negative effect of living as a lesbian, gay or bisexual adult in a heterosexual world. Despite our increased awareness concerning the problems lesbians, gay men and bisexuals face in society, little is understood about the process of development from the realization of sexual orientation through to identity formation and self-actualization. This article draws together various strands of research on lesbian, gay and bisexual development and addresses some of the theoretical and conceptual issues which surround this area of psychology. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suicidal Ideation in Gay Men and Lesbians in South Korea: A Test of the Interpersonal‐Psychological Model

Gay men and lesbians in South Korea are alienated and stigmatized due to the country's low tolerance of social differences, resulting in distress and suicidal impulses. This study investigated the predictors of suicidal ideation in a gay and lesbian group in South Korea based on the interpersonal‐psychological theory of suicide. Differences between the gay and lesbian group and the heterosexual group were found in the direct path between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation. The relationship was significant for both groups, but the path coefficient was greater for lesbians and gay men than for heterosexuals. These findings imply that perceived burdensomeness may be a more critical factor in suicidal ideation of lesbians and gay men.     

NEW VOICES, NEW VISIONS

This article proposes an alternative model for psychological inquiry based in the experiences of lesbians and gay men. I propose that there are three elements that cross-situationally define a lesbian and gay reality: biculturalism, marginality, and normative creativity. Each of these elements is explored with examples of how these perspectives might alter the way that certain dominant notions about human relationships are understood. The article closes with questions regarding the application of this lesbian and gay paradigm to methodologies for inquiry. The relationship between a lesbian/gay paradigm for psychology and feminist questions regarding epistemology is also explored.     

System Justification, Right-Wing Conservatism, and Internalized Homophobia: Gay and Lesbian Attitudes toward Same-Sex Parenting in Italy

Adopting a system justification perspective (Jost and Banaji 1994), we investigated the manner and extent to which gay men and lesbians might internalize a sense of inferiority when it comes to parenthood. In an Italian sample of gay and lesbian individuals, we found that gay men who scored high (versus low) on system justification and right-wing conservatism regarded same sex parents as less competent; these effects were mediated by internalized homophobia. Lesbian women, however, perceived lesbian parents as more competent than opposite sex parents, regardless of ideological orientations. For gay men the internalization of societal discrimination harms perceptions of parental competence, whereas for lesbians gender stereotypes about parenting trump the negative effects of bias related to sexual orientation. These findings suggest that men??s and women??s perceptions of their own bodies and capacities are strongly affected by sociocultural processes, including ideological processes.