Cultural Competency Assignment: The LGBT Culture
Throughout its history, the United States has symbolized equality of opportunity for people of all races, origins, religions, and creeds. Despite these founding principles of equality and acceptance, the United States has also had a long history of denying basic rights to certain groups of people that live within the land. Still, most Americans describe our culture as the “melting pot” in which people from around the world contribute their own values, attitudes, and beliefs. In behavioral healthcare professions, it is important to understand how these unique qualities between persons influence personal autonomy, well-being, and self-determination. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) …show more content…
This was due to public perception of homosexual behavior as promiscuous and unlawful. Such social thinking remained until the late 1960’s, where a more liberal philosophy fractionalized the Civil Rights Movement, raising awareness regarding sexism, racism, drugs and sexuality. By 1962, Illinois became the first state to remove consensual sodomy from its criminal code (Canaday, 2008), but others were resistant to change. Activism soared and organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance emerged with civil rights, humanity, and dignity as their main goals (Cornell, 2006). The gay liberation movement spread through-out the United States and out of these advocacy organizations, others were established that sought reformism, equality, and health education due to the emergence of the AIDS crisis in 1981. The deaths of many homosexual, bisexual and lesbian persons in the LGBT community affected the political focus and redirected it towards raising awareness. The years since have brought a rapid social transformation in the United States, with LGBT Americans increasingly being accepted throughout society, but still far from legal protections. Today, focal points are mostly around civil rights, awareness, and same sex marriage, with most groups concentrating around these …show more content…
Some are aware but choose not to identify as male or female, while others choose not to disclose such private information at all. This makes it difficult to correctly assess the demographics of LGBT communities. Statistics show that 1 in every 10 people are gay (Steinmetz, 2016). A more recent study by Gallop states that 5% of Americans identify as LGBT, but disparities and the reliability of such relatively low number have been called into question. Labels and self-identification play a critical role in understanding the real demographics of LGBT due to the stigma that still accompanies their culture. (Steinmetz, 2016). Such information is crucial for developing policy to protect the LGBT community and the gaps affect participation in topics like family, health, labor, and criminal
Throughout its history, the United States has symbolized equality of opportunity for people of all races, origins, religions, and creeds. Despite these founding principles of equality and acceptance, the United States has also had a long history of denying basic rights to certain groups of people that live within the land. Still, most Americans describe our culture as the “melting pot” in which people from around the world contribute their own values, attitudes, and beliefs. In behavioral healthcare professions, it is important to understand how these unique qualities between persons influence personal autonomy, well-being, and self-determination. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) …show more content…
This was due to public perception of homosexual behavior as promiscuous and unlawful. Such social thinking remained until the late 1960’s, where a more liberal philosophy fractionalized the Civil Rights Movement, raising awareness regarding sexism, racism, drugs and sexuality. By 1962, Illinois became the first state to remove consensual sodomy from its criminal code (Canaday, 2008), but others were resistant to change. Activism soared and organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance emerged with civil rights, humanity, and dignity as their main goals (Cornell, 2006). The gay liberation movement spread through-out the United States and out of these advocacy organizations, others were established that sought reformism, equality, and health education due to the emergence of the AIDS crisis in 1981. The deaths of many homosexual, bisexual and lesbian persons in the LGBT community affected the political focus and redirected it towards raising awareness. The years since have brought a rapid social transformation in the United States, with LGBT Americans increasingly being accepted throughout society, but still far from legal protections. Today, focal points are mostly around civil rights, awareness, and same sex marriage, with most groups concentrating around these …show more content…
Some are aware but choose not to identify as male or female, while others choose not to disclose such private information at all. This makes it difficult to correctly assess the demographics of LGBT communities. Statistics show that 1 in every 10 people are gay (Steinmetz, 2016). A more recent study by Gallop states that 5% of Americans identify as LGBT, but disparities and the reliability of such relatively low number have been called into question. Labels and self-identification play a critical role in understanding the real demographics of LGBT due to the stigma that still accompanies their culture. (Steinmetz, 2016). Such information is crucial for developing policy to protect the LGBT community and the gaps affect participation in topics like family, health, labor, and criminal