Project Q’s-
Working With LGBTQ Youth: What You Really Need To Know
Rebeca K Grande, BA ITFC Program manager The Village Family Services
Culturally Competent Care
•Competent care involves understanding basic facts about LGBTQ youth and the issues they face
What does LGBTQ mean?
•LGBTQ: includes all individuals and communities who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender or those who are questioning their sexual orientation and/or gender identity
•Other acronyms: GLBTQ, LGBTQQIA
Gender and Sex
Sex: A biological marker assigned at birth‐‐usually male and female Gender Identity: Personal, deeply‐felt sense of being a man, woman, something else, or in between
Gender Expression: Individual’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions that are perceived as masculine or feminine
Source: Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights. 2004. Beyond the Binary: A Toolkit for Gender Identity Activism in Schools. San Francisco, CA:
Authors. [Retrieved from www.GSANetwork.org]
Gender Identity
•One's internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman (or a boy or girl)
•For transgender people, their birth‐assigned sex (male or female) and their own internal sense of gender identity do not match
Gender Expression
•External manifestation of one's gender identity, usually expressed through "masculine,"
"feminine" or gender variant behavior, clothing, haircut, voice or body characteristics.
•Typically, transgender people seek to make their gender expression match their gender identity, rather than their birth-assigned sex.
•They MAY do so through medical/hormonal interventions and they MAY NOT (identity based model)
Sexual Orientation
•Three components of sexual orientation
•Identity: Straight/Heterosexual, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Pansexual
•Behavior: Opposite-sex contact, same-sex contact, both-sex contact, all-sex contact
•Attraction: Who is someone romantically, emotionally, physically, spiritually attracted to?
•Source: American Psychological Association. 2008. Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Washington, DC: Author.
[Retrieved from www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.pdf.]
•LGBTQ people may become aware of their orientations/identities as a child or as an older adult
•Never “too young” or “too old” to come out
•Not everyone has to come out
•Coming out is a life long and ongoing process Being Aware of Sexual Orientation/Identities
How do I know if I’m gay?
How do I know if someone else is gay?
• Never assume someone identifies as a LGBTQ person based on myths or stereotypes
• The only way to be certain is if they tell you LGBTQ identity and the Individual
The Experience of Being LGBTQ and Latino/Latina
Goals and Objectives
By the end of this module participants will be able to:
•Understand the role of “machismo” in Latino culture
•Describe the importance of family in Latino culture
•Understand the role of the church as a LGBTQ Latino
Being LGBTQ and Latino
“There are so many significant experiences in my culture that have something to do with a person’s life as a
heterosexual.”
-Sandra T., a Mexican-American activist
•Keeping family relationships strong can be critical to an individual’s identity
•The possibility that a LGBTQ Latino/a may lose that important family support structure can be devastating
•Despite challenges, more LGBTQ Latino/as are coming out
LGBTQ Latinos and Family Support
Defining Basic Terms
• La Familia
• Machismo
• Respeto
• Marianismo
Masculine/ feminine in every instance of the Spanish language–
gender issues are influences
•Within the world of machismo, a Latino or transgender Latina can be suspected as homosexual if his or her behavior does not match the behavior that is expected and vice versa for marianismo
•LGBTQ Latinos/as can be disrespected or abused for not living up to culture’s gender standards
Treatment of LGBTQ Latinos/as
•Family is a group of people that gives us a sense of identity, belonging, and being somebody
•However some may experience rejection and hurtful words/actions in their families
•LGBT youth from a rejecting home are 9 times more likely to attempt suicide than their LGBT peers from supporting homes; for Latino/as increased to 11
times. (Ryan, 2009)
Family
•Family is central to their very being
•Being a LGBTQ youth in a Hispanic or Latino household can be a challenge for an individual,
especially when deciding to come out
•Sexuality is perceived as a private matter, which can lead to silence
Hispanic and Latino Families
•Fear of discrediting their family name
•Fear of bias against the LGBTQ community
•Even within LGBTQ communities there are biases against Latino/as
•Even after coming out, where do I go now?
Concerns of Latino/a LGBTQ Individuals
Coming out means something different to everyone and is always a process
• Attracted to people of the same sex, both sexes, all sexes
• Identifies as a LGBTQ person
• Coming out to self v. others
• Deciding to tell others about your feelings and attractions (sometimes without identifying themselves and remaining label free)
What is Coming Out?
•Traditional parents often feel a degree of disappointment
•Concern that their child will be harassed and/or discriminated
•Concern about contracting HIV
•Their child has been sexually abused
•Influenced by others
•Personal failure as a parent– didn’t raise them
Parental Reaction to a
LGBTQ Youth Coming Out
• Research studies have shown that the single most significant factor in predicting mental health outcomes for LGBTQ youth is the response of their families when they come out
• LGBTQ youth from highly‐rejecting families are at a far higher risk for major mental health problems as young adults
• Problems may include: suicidal ideation and attempts, depression, substance abuse, and higher risk behaviors (Ryan, 2009)
Family Acceptance
• Physically hurting a child because they are LGBTQ
• Verbal/emotional harassment because they are LGBTQ
• Excluding LGBT youth from family events
• Blocking access to LGBT friends, events, and resources
• Blaming your child when they are discriminated against because of LGBT identity (Ryan, 2009)
Family Behaviors that Increase Risk for Mental Health Issues, Incl. Suicide
• Pressuring your child to be more (or less) masculine or feminine
• Telling your child that God will punish them because they’re LGBT
• Telling your child that you’re ashamed of them or that the way they act will shame the family
• Making your child keep their LGBT identity a secret in the family and not letting them talk about it (Ryan, 2009)
Family Behaviors that Increase Risk for
Mental Health Issues, Incl. Suicide (Cont.)
PFLAG outreach programs/groups PFLAG publication:
“Nuestras Hijas y Nuestro Hijos:
Preguntas y Respuestas Para Padres de Gays, Lesbianas y Bisexuales ”
www.pflag.org
Resources for LGBTQ Latino/as
•In Latin American countries, the family of the church often supplants blood family
•Importance of supporting LGBTQ resistant families determine if their lack of support is due to their faith or using faith as an excuse to support cultural views
•LGBTQ youth may be treated as sexual or spiritual outcasts and church may not support differences
•Females seen as saints or whores
Religiosity and Being a LGBTQ Youth
“Papa, soy gay!” Ruben has decided to take the plunge and finally tell his father, a devoted Pentecostal, about his homosexuality. No more arranged dates with women at the church, no more hiding or sneaking around. He knows what he must do, and the consequences that will likely follow. His father is not a violent man so the hurt will probably not be physical.
Nevertheless, later Ruben will wonder if physical pain would have been a better alternative.
He has to endure rejection, isolation and unbearable psychological pain in exchange for the price of freedom‐to be who he thought God created him to be. True to his character, Ruben’s father tells him in no uncertain terms that he has only two choices: attend the church’s two months of salvation classes or forever be banished from his home. Ruben’s father will not tolerate a sinner under the shadow of his own roof. As his father spells out the ultimatum, Ruben can hear his mother quietly crying in the kitchen. She has dreamed of babysitting grandchildren, of a daughter‐in‐law with whom to share recipes, shopping excursions and gossip. But what she really wants is for her beloved son to be true to God.
Unfortunately, for Ruben’s parents the Bible is clear: “Thou shall not lie with a man as with a woman.” In his parents’ minds, Ruben is condemning himself to the eternal fires of hell. It
Testimonio
Lost in Translation
Seven Commonly Used Biblical Versus when Discussing Homosexuality
• Genesis:1:1-31 and Chapters 2-3 “Adam and Eve”
• Genesis:19:1-29 “The Sin of Sodom”
• Levitcus:18:22 and 20:13 “The Law”
• Romans:1:26-27 “Being True to Our Nature”
• 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10 “Exclusion of Sexual Abusers”
- Fish Out of Water (2009) Dir Ky Dickens and A La Familia (HRC)
ww.thevillagefs.org
•Everyone reads the Bible with our own personal biases
•The Bible should not be used to keep LGBTQ persons from coming out
•Refer to the Human Rights Campaign’s A La Familia Final Curriculum to examine specific Biblical verses that opposing groups may quote
•Welcoming and Affirming churches
Religiosity and the Bible
•Some Latino/as experience shame and hide their orientations because they believe being a LGBTQ person is a problem with one’s gender
•Communities that are unaware or unsupportive ask whether LGBTQ persons can change or whether they choose to be LGBTQ
LGBTQ Latino/as in the Community
Challenges/ Stressors for LGBTQ Latino/as
• Struggle with multiple identities
• Difficult to access healthcare for lower income people
• Culture clash of LGBTQ persons within the Latino community
“At the end of the day I feel you shouldn’t have to choose between your culture and sexual
orientation.”
‐anonymous LGBT Latino/a Youth
•Some ethnic and cultural groups (i.e. first- generation immigrants from Latin America) are less accepting of children who do not conform to standard gender roles than are families that have been in the United States for several generations (Ryan, 2004)
•California Latino LGB are 1/3 less likely to identify as LGB compared to their White counterparts
(The Williams Institute, 2010)
Research among Latino/a Groups
•Experience assault 3x more than other transgender individuals
•Twice as likely to experience family violence
•Undocumented noncitizens experience physical and sexual assault 3x more than other transgender individuals
•Undocumented noncitizens are 50% more likely to lose their jobs
Latino Transgender Individuals
Racism Within the LGBTQ Population
• More than two-thirds of LGBT persons from a racial minority group say that there is as much sexism and racism among the LGBT population as among the non-LGBT community
(Human Rights Campaign. 2009.
At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality and Gender)
• Being LGBTQ and belonging to a racial minority group can be a two front battle
How Latino LGBT Say They Are Treated by the LGBT Majority
Latino LGBT participants were asked how they were treated by the larger LGBT community
• 66% said they were treated like any other LGBT person
• 41% said they are discriminated against
• 50% said they are empowered and encouraged to be a leader in the community
N=261
Source: Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (2009). At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality, and Gender. www.hrc.org/equalityforward
Any Questions or Comments?
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