HOMOSEXUALITYThe long road to acceptance, Psychology, College Term Papers.com


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HOMOSEXUALITYThe long road to acceptance

HOMOSEXUALITYThe long road to acceptance Homosexuality, unlike many other psychological issues, is not associated with starting at birth. For the most part, it is an issue dealt with mostly by adolescence and adults. That is not to say that it does not become an issue sooner, it is just to say that it most commonly occurs later in life. Homosexuals have been the subjects of many studies to discover their multifaceted lives. These studies focus on steps and problems that homosexuals undergo and encounter on their journey to acceptance. According to Papalia, Olds, and Feldman (2001), sexuality may be influenced by a series of hormonal and neurological events during gestation. If the sex hormones are within the typical female range between two and five-month gestation, then the child, whether male or female, will be attracted to males. Similarly, if the hormone levels are within the typical male range during these same months of gestation, then the child, male or female, will be attracted to females. Genetics may also play a role in sexuality. Evidence has shown that children of homosexuals may inherit homosexuality. An identical twin of a homosexual parent may have as much as a 50% chance of being homosexual as well. Even adopted children of homosexuals have as much as a 10% chance. Remafedi, French, Story, Resnick, and Blum (1998) conducted a study that consisted of 29 white, middle class gay men. They found that 31% became aware of their attractions to males around age 6. The mean age of first awareness was 11 years old. Another study showed that homosexuals go through four stages; sensitization, identity confusion, identity assumption, and commitment (Beaty, 1999). The stage in this study that affects middle childhood is sensitization. During the sensitization stage, which begins before puberty, the individual becomes aware of his/her feelings toward the same sex (Beaty, 1999). Dempsey (1994) suggested that although these children are different from their peers, they do not perceive themselves as sexually different, because they have no concept of the words gay, lesbian, or bisexual. By far, most of the studies done are on adolescence primarily because it is between adolescence and young adulthood when a person really deals with their sexuality. According to Beaty (1999), during adolescence, the homosexual individual is in the second of four stages, which is identification confusion. During this stage, the individual realizes he/she may be homosexual. Males seem to reach this self-identity about one and one half years sooner than females, although they started the process at about the same time (Rosario, 1996). Typically during this stage, the individual will feel troubled by his/her feelings and deny his/her homosexual orientation and assume heterosexual roles. It is also during this time that many adolescents begin abusing drugs and alcohol, attempt suicide, run away from home, or drop out of school (Dempsey, 1994). The rate of self-reported suicide attempts among bisexual and homosexual males in the age group of 12 – 14 years of age was 28.1% and 20.5% of bisexual and homosexual females of the same age group. Homosexual males are 7 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual males. Homosexual females are twice as likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual females (Remafedi, et al, 1998). In fact, homosexual youth suicide accounts for 30% of all teen suicides. The average age of the first attempt was 15 years old and of these, 30% did so the same year they identified themselves as homosexuals (Dempsey, 1994). During this time of emotional turmoil, many homosexual adolescents turn to drugs and alcohol to alleviate their pain. In a clinical trial of gay teens, 58% reported that they regularly abused substances (Dempsey, 1994). In a sample of 136 males and 80 females, 48.2% of the males were reported heavy drinkers, more than 5 drinks at one time, and 27.1% of females were heavy drinkers. Four percent of the females consumed alcohol before school, whereas 19% of the males reported consuming alcohol before school. Females have more of a tendency than males to abuse drugs with a rate of 35.9% as compared to the males 25.5% (Coenen, 1998). Running away from home is another coping mechanism of adolescents. According to Dempsey (1994), 48% pf gay teens in a non-clinical sample reported running away from home. Running away is a self-protective behavior in response to a disapproving or rejecting family or from fear of rejection. A study of gay males in 1987 found that sexual revelation causes stress in the parent-adolescent relationship (Dempsey, 1994). Over time, however, the relationship with parents tends to improve. Unsupportive families may make the achievement of a positive outcome much less certain (Beaty 1999). The last two stages found in Beaty (1999) are identity assumption and Identity Commitment. Both of these are associated with young adulthood but actually occur primarily in the 20’s for both males and females. Identity assumption, occurring between the ages of 19 – 21 for males and 21 – 23 for females, is when the individuals define themselves as homosexual, develop homosexual friends, become involved in the homosexual community, and are involved in sexual experimentation. During this time, involvement in the gay community alleviates feelings of alienation. Many in this stage lead double lives, separating their social worlds into those who know who they are and those who do not know, hoping the two worlds never collide (Dempsey, 1994). Identity commitment usually begins in the early 20’s and is when the individual adopts homosexuality as a way of life. By this time, the individual has realized it is easier to be true to themselves and lead a homosexual life rather than continually try to pass themselves off as heterosexuals. It is at this point that the individual becomes aware that homosexuality is not merely a sexual orientation, but a way of life (Dempsey, 1994). Homophobia is an irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. Without homophobia, most of the struggle that homosexuals undertake would be eradicated. Acceptance would just be the norm. Being a teenager is hard enough without all the odds stacked against them. Education of homosexuality is the only way to change the opinions of the general public. Without education, homosexual stereotypes will only progress until there is no room for them. Bibliography: REFERENCES Beaty, L. A. (1999). Identity development of homosexual youth and parental and familial influences on the coming out process. Adolescence 34, 597-601. Coenen, M. E. (1998). Helping families with homosexual children: A model for counseling. Journal of Homosexuality, 36, 73-86. Dempsey, C. L. (1994). Health and social issues of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents. Families in Society, 75, 160-169. Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. E., Feldman, R. D. (2001). Human Development (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Remafedi, G., French, S., Story, M., Resnick, M. D., and Blum, R. (1998). The relationship between suicide risk and sexual orientation: Results of a population based study. American Journal of Public Health, 88, 57-60. Rosario, M., Meyer-Bahlburg, H.F.L., Hunter, J., Exner, T., Gwadz, M., and Keller, A. M. (1996). The Psychosexual development of urban and lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. The Journal of Sex Research, 33, 113-126. Sell, R. L., Wells, J. A., Wypij, D. (1995). The prevalence of homosexual behavior and attraction in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France: Results of national population-based samples. Archives of sexual behavior, 24, 235-248. Zera, D. (1992). Coming of age in a heterosexist world: The development of gay and lesbian adolescents. Adolescence, 27, 849-854.

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