Gender Identity Is The Assumption Of There Being Binary Categories

Appleby, G A., & Anastas, J.W. (1998). Not just a passing phase: Social work with gay, lesbian and bisexual people (pp. 3–43, 44-75). New York: Columbia University Press.

Consider the frustrations of bisexual and/or transgender individuals when the LGBTQ community’s experiences are defined largely by the experiences of gay and lesbian individuals (LGBT Advisory Committee, 2011). Self-identified bisexuals make up the largest single population within the LGBTQ community in the U.S. (Egan, Edelman, & Sherrill, 2008; Herbenick et al., 2010; Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005). However, both research on the LGBTQ community and funding for LGBTQ organizations tend to focus exclusively on gay and lesbian individuals, rendering bisexual individuals invisible and sidelining or eclipsing their particular needs (Miller, André, Ebin, & Bessonova, 2007). This invisibility has serious consequences for bisexual individuals’ sense of belonging within the LGBTQ community (LGBT Advisory Committee,

With more and more people coming out and developing their sexual identity each year. I feel as future social workers we have an obligation to support and respect this community as well as each person's identity. Our job involves understanding this population and advocating for equal rights for all individuals. It is clear that the concept of social justice will not be realized until society can embrace the notion that different does not mean bad.“The only idea involved in all questions of sexual orientation are the great transcendent issues of justice and love. Acceptance of the homosexual community will leave both communities free from the need to conform to narrow stereotypes and free to develop all the qualities that belong to the fullness of the human personality.”( Blackwell, C. W., Ricks, J. L., & Dziegielewski, S. F.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has never received as much attention as they are right now. Much of this attention is stemming from this population struggling to obtain the same rights given to the remainder of the population. The LGBT community faces many challenges in their personal system, social environment, and then in the public system. In working with the LGBT population, the social worker needs to examine how the individual views themselves, not only through sexual identity, but as an individual. We need to look at the prejudices and condemnation they have encountered which may have led to further uncertainty or confusion.

Two broader themes of codes were identified, including conflation encounters and reactions to a stigmatization of transgender individuals based on the confounding of sexual orientation and gender identity. The second theme included inter-dependence experiences and identify changes associated with the intersecting relationship of gender and sexuality among transgender individuals. Participants included 45 individuals who identified as transgender and gender non-conforming. Gender and sexuality intersect in different ways for transgender and gender non-conforming

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community is among the subculture groups that are stigmatized by the U.S. society. They are deviant of the heterosexual norm. Society labels sexualities, which expressions of sexuality it values or stigmatizes. The meanings of sexuality change over time in different contexts, which reveals the sexuality as defined by the society. Sexuality is defined as “the ways we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings”. Sexuality is more than sexual behaviors, it encompasses socially constructed meanings of sex and gender, which includes the culturally specific norms, beliefs, traditions and taboos that are related to sex. For an instance sex between an adult and a child is considered a taboo in the U.S. If sexuality is socially constructed, so are sexual identities. What makes a man “gay” or “straight”? Is a straight guy who slept

The assigned readings for this course have been extremely beneficial in helping me formed a foundation of understanding towards the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Because of these readings I have increased my understanding of the many obstacles that individuals in this community must overcome; specifically the youth. LGBT individuals are often faced with a unique set of problems that clinical social workers should be aware of. Most times, this group of sexual minorities feels that they are being discriminated against by their friends, family, and the society as a whole (Bennett, 2013, p. 1). Unfortunately this feeling and thinking of alienation and discrimination subjects them to stress, anxiety and depression. All of which

Various studies recognize a deficit of information related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults with even less information related to transgender individuals (Muller & Hartman, 1998; Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2010; Tharinger & Wells, 2000). LGBT individuals seeking social support from others to gain understanding of themselves and their own development may become discouraged in their endeavors. Many family members and medical professionals lack sufficient knowledge in sexual orientation and/or identity development, believing LGBT identification as a result of external influences or just a “phase”

Within this paper, the umbrella term “queer” will be used to encompass many different sexual identities mentioned. While once used as a derogatory term, it has been rebranded and revitalized as a term of unification for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In order to prevent erasure of the narrative of subsets of members within the larger queer community, their identities will be included. When discussing the larger implications of the development of sexual minority identification, queer will be employed.

Intersex is a part of queer theory that is lacking in research, but is necessary and has good reason to be included. The link between queer theory and intersex can be analyzed. Intersex individuals may have more difficulty finding fixed and stable identity-categories for themselves. Labeling and queer theory and intersex individuals is also a topic for discourse.

The authors of the study recruited LGBTQ students who were part of Project Q2, which was a longitudinal study of LGBTQ students between the ages 16-20 and given a survey to complete. Students were recruited from the Chicago area who self-identified as LGBTQ or were attracted to the same sex. The students were part of a longitudinal study and were asked to follow up on six occasions in a span of 3.5 years. They completed “self-report measures on health, mental health, victimization, and health behaviors”(p. 282). Participants were asked to identify themselves as male, female or transgender (male to female or female to male). On a

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin When it comes to writing prompts, essays, or research papers I find myself continuously starting with a quote. I find myself wondering what the reader must be thinking to him or herself when they see that I start with a quote. Do they sigh with a sarcastic feeling great another quote” or do they take the words in consideration to what is to follow. During my academic years in college I have yet to find myself writing as much as my teachers through high school emphasized I would so repeatedly see. I have found myself doing most of my writing my freshman year with my prerequisite courses it being ENG 1280 which was offered at my past University. Where wrote

For most heterosexuals, when they see a person, they see them as heterosexual unless the observed person displays some “homosexual” characteristic, such as being flamboyant for males. Despite the progressions society has made in accepting the LGBTQ+ community, there is still a long way to go to de-genderize sexuality, or to unlink sexuality, gender identity, and gender roles. As seen in various studies including “The Complex Negotiations of Gender Roles, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation” by Nagoshi et. al, “Does Nature Rule? A Sex Reassignment Tragedy” by Lindsey, and “‘I Always Felt I Had to Prove My Manhood’: Homosexuality, Masculinity, Gender Role Strain, and HIV Risk Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men” by Fields, sexuality is often strongly associated to gender identity, which is in turn influenced by behavioral gender roles due to gender socialization. From the gendering of sexuality comes various other social issues, including the discrimination against people in the LGBTQ+ community and an increased chance of HIV in homosexual men.

It is also necessary, before diving into the concepts of this paper, that I elucidate the terms which I will be using, as they are easily confused. Gender, in the context of this paper will describe the sets of culturally prescribed behaviors, actions, and functions assigned to a particular sex. Sex, when used as an adjective, will refer to the biological or "chromosomal" physical identity which separates males from females. Sexuality, like gender, will be used to define individuals on the basis of their cultural/social role within society, but not as an unchangeable feature of a person's identity. It is important to distinguish the meaning of these terms because as they are commonly used, they are usually considered synonyms in some way. By separating and elucidating their meanings, I hope to further press the queer theorist argument that gender and identity within one's sexuality are deeply imbedded in social influences.

Although Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and homosexuality has been in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) for many years, I was personally unaware of the controversy that surrounded it. I realized that I needed to educate myself in the issues and changes that have occurred in the DSM regarding GID and homosexuality over the years.