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The LGBTQ community: Experiences with Society

Gretchen Dineen

Sinclair College Social Diversity Interview Paper

General Psychology 1100 K04

April 11, 2021

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A social group is “a collection of people who interact with each other and share similar

characteristics and a sense of unity”. The LGBTQ social group consists of persons whose sexual

orientation aligns with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning. I do not identify

with this group. Therefore, I chose to research this social groups experience in and out of the

United States and interview three of my friends from the LGBTQ community. The goal is to gain

deeper knowledge and awareness from my previous beliefs and thoughts. For my research, I

chose two articles, one about the state of LGBTQ community in the U.S. and the other about its

state in China.

According to both articles, LGBTQ people in both China and America face

discrimination. China has the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)

population, yet there is still discrimination. According to BMC Public Health, “Although the

Chinese Society of Psychiatry no longer considers homosexuality a mental disorder as of 2001,

the related stigma and discrimination against the LGBT community still remains in Chinese

society”. One the other hand, “In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed

the diagnosis of “homosexuality” from the second edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual (DSM)”. 1973 and 2001 are not long ago, and people still exist from those time periods

with some of the knowledge and beliefs as back then. Therefore, discrimination will be seen no

matter what because of the people who were raised to believe that this is wrong or a “disease”.
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I interviewed three of my friends who are part of the LGBTQ community. For this

research, I will keep their names anonymous. I found out a lot. The first question I asked was,

“What characteristics/stereotypes do you find that people seem to associate with the LGBTQ

community? How do they make you feel?” Many responses had to do with relationships.

Cheating was a common thing brought up, and the thought that people who are bi or

polyamorous are more likely to cheat because they “can’t choose” made all three of my friends

mad. This characteristic made them feel bad and they felt it was unfair to say the least.

Next, I told them to describe some of their experiences as a member. There were some

diverse but interesting answers. My friends are all in high school, and they have shared with me

that they face discrimination in school. At least they have each other to back one another up

though. Which leads me to another answer I received about with this question. One of my friends

felt as if they only really liked being friends with other LGBTQ people and didn’t feel as

connected with straight people. I guess that is what a social group is about though, unity.

Finally, my last questions were, “What do you want other people to know about the

LGBTQ group? What is your hope for this group in the future?” They commonly agreed that this

community is one of the most accepting communities. But they did say they will never accept

pedophiles.

I wrote down an answer to this question from one individual. They said they wanted

others to know that the LGBTQ group is, “Not based on religion, and hopefully religious people

in the future realize that. You will not be sent to hell over love” This brings me to personal

experience.
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I am a religious person. I grew up and am continuing to grow in my faith as a catholic

woman. Yes, catholic. I get a lot of hate for it. My beliefs may be different from yours, and yours

from mine. That doesn’t mean we can’t listen to others cry for help and opinions though. Before

researching and interviewing, I did not really understand and appreciate this community. I

always grew up on the idea that it was only acceptable for a man and women to get married/date.

As the time changes, from my perspective, I saw the community to be flourishing and more

accepted in society. I saw pride parades on social media, and it seemed like this celebration made

them happy and more accepted. However, according to research and interviews, that is not the

case. I have come to realize that there is still discrimination towards LGBTQ people in the world.

Not everything is as it seems, and I know that now.

Before interviewing I would use, as some may say, hurtful or homophobic slurs. I didn’t

mean for anyone to feel bad, because I was just joking around, but I come to realize some things

I may have said in the past could really hurt someone’s feelings. I am more aware of my actions

and will be more sensitive and respectful on this topic. I do agree that they have rights and go

through a struggle I could never imagine. Fear of coming out, scared in society from verbal

abuse, and the overall feeling that they “don’t belong”. I am aware that the LGBTQ community

faces struggles in the United States and really, all over the world.

I grew up as a catholic, but also am growing up as a Gen Z. This generation, I feel, is more ready

to listen and change rather than a millennial or boomer. Even though I am aware of the

challenge's LGBTQ people face, the word may not be as easily spread to other ages. Society is

hard to change, and it will take time for LGBTQ members to fully be accepted and treated with

no discrimination.
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Drescher, Jack. “Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality.” Behavioral Sciences (Basel,

Switzerland), MDPI, 4 Dec. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4695779/.

Sharita Gruberg, Lindsay Mahowald. “The State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020.” Center

for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-

rights/reports/2020/10/06/491052/state-lgbtq-community-2020/.

Wang, Yuanyuan, et al. “Mapping out a Spectrum of the Chinese Public's Discrimination toward

the LGBT Community: Results from a National Survey.” BMC Public Health, BioMed

Central, 12 May 2020, bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-020-

08834-y.
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