Cultural Diversity and Global Awarness of the LGBTQ Community 1

Cultural Diversity and Global Awarness of the LGBTQ Community

Khalid S. Malik

Sinclair Community College

PSY 1100
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Summary of the Research

With new laws and support groups, more of the LGBTQ population was able to come out

and live openly. Especially for students and young adults, LGBTQ support has been an option in

many schools around the country. LGBTQ students report more support in schools from their

teachers and peers than a decade ago. Despite new strides in our social and political systems, the

LGBTQ population still feels some resentment from groups around them.

A survey conducted by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (2018) on students in

schools found significant differences on school experiences between heterosexual, homosexual,

bisexual, and transgender students. Despite these schools implemented many policies in order to

support students of other sexualities, LGBTQ students still reported more frequent negative

school experiences. It is worth to note that those identifying as transgender reported more

frequent negative school experiences than all other groups. Those identifying as gay, lesbian, or

bisexual had more postive school experiences than transgenders but less than people identified as

heterosexual (White et al., 2018)

The LGBTQ population in the US is only a small part of the entire LGBTQ population

worldwide. With vastly different circumstances for LGBTQ members worldwide, the feelings of

safety and support varies greatly. A study conducted by Sanz Lopez and Josep Maria (2018) on

the LGBTQ population in rural Spain shows different issues some may face. This study

conducted a survey and interview on people identifying as LGBTQ in Spain. They asked

questions relating to the safety and representation within the media.

Most of the interviewed group claimed that they feel out of place. Most of the people

around them follow Christianity which does not allow members of the LGBTQ community.

They also state that although western media has LGBTQ respresentation, most of the group feels
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that they are not portrayed correctly. The portrayal of the LGBTQ community in these movies

and TVshows is very stereotypical and, they say, does not correctly portray how an LGBTQ

member acts. (Lopez, 2018)

Summary of Interview

I interviewed an 18-year-old male who identified as bisexual. He is attracted to both

males and females. He is open about his sexuality despite lacking enough support from family

members. He currently is a senior in high-school with plans to pursue a higher education. The

person asked not to include his name but allowed me to refer to them as a male.

In order to get background knowledge, I asked about the time when he first knew about

his sexuality. He had started to feel attraction to males and females at the beginning of high-

school and he made it aware to people during the end of his junior year of high-school. He had

stated that he does not have any family members or distinct relatives who identify as bisexual.

His family members do not support his decision of coming out as bisexual but are not completly

against him. He stated that he does not feel too much pressure from his family members on his

sexuality but would like them to fully support his decision.

My next step was asking about his high-school experience as well as outside experience

with identifying as bisexual. Because he had come out as bisexual relatively late into his high-

school career, he didn’t experience too much negative or positive instances relating to his

sexuality. He did however, state that some teachers and peers always made known of their

support for LGBTQ students without directly referring to him. He stated that this led him to be

open about his sexuality. He felt that there was enough support to not feel out of place in his

school.
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In his time as being open about his sexuality, he stated that he has not yet experienced

any form of harassment or bullying from peers or teachers. His explanation for this is most likely

due to the fact he has not joined or applied for any LGBTQ-specific groups. He has not joined

any after-school clubs dedicated to bisexuals or people who identify as LGBTQ and does not

have plans to join in the future. His reasoning for this is that he does not feel out of place and his

sexuality has not caused any significant change in his life.

I finally asked about his type of support options at school and if they are doing enough to

help himself and other people who identify as LGBTQ. He has stated this his school is very

progressive and offers after-school clubs and counselor support for those who are LGBTQ. As

previously said, he felt comfortable to open up about his sexuality because of seeing the support

from his peers and teachers within his school.

Personal Reflection

I had the privilege of growing up in a progressive area that allows for students who

identify as LGBTQ to openly come out. Although I do not identify as LGBTQ, I am able to see

the options that they have. I am aware of my school providing some support groups for LGBTQ

students as well as teachers openly supporting them.

Although the area I live might be more supportive of these groups, I am also aware that

many places around the world do not support people who identify as LGBTQ. Especially in areas

where there homosexual or transgederism is not legally allowed, the circumstances of those

people may be very different. I was very surprised to hear that many portrayals of LGBTQ

people in western media were completely wrong and weren't supported. It seems that the

stereotypes in these shows and movies are exaggerated and not true.
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I don’t know many people that are part of the LGBTQ community so I don’t have the

knowledge of their experiences. From the person I interviewed, I could tell that there isn’t much

support from families towards these groups but I am surprised to see the support from schools.

Of course, the experience varies as the people who are part of the LGBTQ community

interviewed in the survey by Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (2018) had worse

experiences. This as well as other parts of my research shows that the LGBTQ community faces

more discrimination than a heterosexual person, and this varies with the part of the world they

are in. Despite this difficulty, I learned that it is much easier for someone to live as LGBTQ

because of support and representation in the media, even though it may not be the best. There is

an improvement from the last decade and with time, discrimination on the LGBTQ community

will change drastically for the better.

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References

Sanz López, J. M. (2018). Shaping LGBTQ Identities: Western Media Representations and

LGBTQ People’s Perceptions in Rural Spain. Journal of Homosexuality, 65(13), 1817–

1837. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1390812

White, A. E., Moeller, J., Ivcevic, Z., Brackett, M. A., & Stern, R. (2018). LGBTQ Adolescents’

Positive and Negative Emotions and Experiences in U.S. High Schools. Sex Roles,

79(9/10), 594–608. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0885-1