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LGBTQ Discrimination

Have you or a loved one ever faced discrimination based on sexual orientation? The

LGBTQ community faces daily discrimination ranging from workplace discrimination to health

care discrimination; discrimination against the LGBTQ is everywhere and is found all over the

world. Not only does LGBTQ discrimination exist in the workplace and the healthcare field, but

discrimination of the LGBTQ community also exists in the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ people. I

ask why. Why does this type of discrimination exist and how can we as a society get better at

recognizing and fixing this issue? This literature review examines the different types of

discrimination the people of the LGBTQ community face. Additionally, it illustrates how

LGBTQ discrimination is not only prominent in America, but all over the world.

The term LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or

questioning. The first national gay rights organization was called The Mattachine Society, and it

was formed in 1951. People of the LGBTQ community celebrate pride, diversity, individuality,

and sexuality. These topics that the LGBTQ community celebrates are also represented by the

colors in the Pride flag. The LGBTQ community is pushing the movement where they are no

longer discriminated against solely based off their sexual orientation.

While sexual orientation is seen as fluid (by many) and is viewed scientifically as

genetic, sexuality is socially constructed. Despite the fact that sexual orientation and gender

identity have no bearing on job performance, a large body of research using a variety of

methodologies has consistently documented high levels of discrimination against lesbians, gay

men, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace over the last four decades.
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(Sears et al.). Many people base their opinions around what society believes and they act

accordingly.

Discrimination in access to goods and services based on sexual orientation takes various

forms. Typical incidents as reported by non-governmental organizations. Equal rights

organizations have received complaints about same-sex couples being denied entry to restaurants

and bars or being forced to leave; couples being denied services or access to double rooms in

hotels; uneven treatment in obtaining special airline travel deals or museum entrance fees:

refusal to rent apartments or houses; refused access to insurance policies and bank loans

provided to married couples, etc. (Calleja et al.). As it can be seen, sexual orientation has a

significant impact on one's life and can radically transform it.

Some might argue that maybe those in the LGBTQ community shouldn’t reveal their

identity. Though it has been found that not revealing or purposely without that kind of

information about your personally life can do harm as well. Discrimination, fear of

discrimination, and hiding one's LGBT identity have all been shown to have a negative impact

on LGBT employees' mental and physical health, workplace productivity, and job satisfaction,

according to studies. (Sears et al.). So even concealing their true identity, like how some might

suggest, is not an option for LGBTQ members because it can still impact their workplace

environment which is not good for them nor for the company they are working at.

All people who need medical care should be able to see a doctor without worrying about

being mistreated, harassed, or just outright denied service. LGBTQ people do not have this

luxury. In regard to health care, LGBTQ patients are discriminated against at a high rate. After

an HIV positive patient told a hospital that he had had sex with other men, the hospital refused to
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provide him with his HIV medication (Mirza et al.). The hospital staff refused to help him not

because he was HIV positive, but because he revealed his sexual orientation.

It is this kind of health related discrimination that needs to be brought into the light and

corrected. This kind of discrimination could lead to LGBTQ people not seeking medical care or

withholding information about their sexual orientation or gender identity from medical

professionals. This is why it is critical to have LGBT-specific health plans in place, as well as

healthcare personnel with specialized experience in the subject. This way LGBTQ patients will

not feel the need to withhold information from medical professionals; which makes things safer

for them.

While it is not like this in America, there are still some countries that do not grant legal

recognition to same-sex partners. These partners are not recognized as the next of kin. Because

of this, their partner is prohibited from making decisions about their treatment when they are in

life-threatening conditions or when they are suffering from chronic illnesses. In some cases,

partners are not even allowed at their bedside. There are many other ways LGBTQ people can be

discriminated against in the health care field. When gay and bisexual men seek medical help,

they are often thought to be HIV-positive (Calleja et al.).

Not only are adults discriminated against but so are children. LGBT teenagers may be

exposed to unpleasant experiences such as social rejection and isolation, a lack of social support,

discrimination, and verbal and physical abuse in their social surroundings (Almeida et al.).

Because of this, LGBTQ adolescents are more likely than heterosexual, non-transgendered

adolescents to get bullied or physically assaulted. While one would think that school might be a

safe haven for children; LGBTQ students do not get the same “safe haven” feeling that a
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heterosexual student might get. Negative school experiences related to sexual orientation can

lead to suicide and self-harm among LGBTQ students. Furthermore, unpleasant experiences can

lead to absenteeism and truancy, as well as inferior academic achievement, and could cause the

student to drop out.

LGBTQ youths are faced with daily discrimination from society, peers, family, and even

schoolteachers and administrations. Some LGBTQ youths are both verbally and physically

abused by their parents. In addition to that, roughly about 40% of youths that are homeless are

LGBTQ youths. “YRBS data from both Washington, DC, and Massachusetts show that youth

with a minority sexual orientation are more likely to report having skipped school in the past

month because they felt unsafe there (26 and 20%, respectively), as compared to their

heterosexual peers (11 and 6%),” (Almeida et al.). It’s instances like these ones that raise these

types of questions: Are schools taking any kind of actions to minimize discrimination against

their gay students? What are they doing to help these kids?

While children are affected by this, this issue also affects adults and children of other

counties. Take China for example. China has the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual,

transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) population. China is also home to a lot of discrimination

against the LGBTQ community, especially the transgender community. Access to hormone

medication or gender-affirming surgery for transgender people is now highly challenging, and

transgender health care is scarce (Wang et al.). This is discriminatory to people who are in the

gay community and it’s especially discriminatory to those who identify as themselves as

transgender.
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Also, in China, before one who is transgender can be approved for gender-affirming

surgery, transgender people must undergo at least a year of psychotherapy (Wang et al.). China

treats transgender people as if they are mentally ill. Requiring transgender people to go through

psychotherapy is demeaning. It is the government’s way of saying that these people need help.

China’s view on the transgender and the LGBTQ community as a whole is very disappointing.

One can only hope that this will change.

Just as discrimination exists in China and America, it also exists in other parts of the

world. A study was done by two Trinidad college students, who surveyed people on campus to

investigate their attitudes towards homosexuality. From the study, it was found that being a

Christian was related with opposing same-sex rights (Stephenson et al.). This is what the

majority of people might have thought the result would have been. Though Christianity was not

the only religion that was surveyed. Being Hindu and having no religion were both linked to

advocating equal rights for gay and lesbian persons (Stephenson et al.). This shows that religion

plays a factor in people’s views on the LGBTQ community. Despite the fact that religion should

not play a part in this, the research demonstrates that it does.

While LGBTQ discrimination does exist and is a real problem in our community, there

are still many who believe it doesn’t exist or they feel as if it has gotten significantly better over

the years. “Only 55 percent of Americans believe that gay and lesbian people face a lot of

discrimination in the U.S., down from 68 percent in 2013,” (Cox). With this decrease, it shows

that each year fewer and fewer people will think that LGBTQ discrimination is a big deal.

According to mounting data, over half of Americans believe the that fight for LGBT rights is

becoming increasingly pointless (Cox). It’s having a mindset like this that keeps the LGBTQ

community down.
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As one can see, discrimination regarding people who are LGBTQ can happen anywhere

no matter the circumstances. Regardless of what the law says, LGBTQ people are still

discriminated against at a high rate. Discrimination against LGBT persons has been shown to

have a detrimental impact on health, earnings, job possibilities, workplace productivity, and job

satisfaction, according to research (Sears et al.). A lot more information on this subject can be

found anywhere; more information about this topic can be accessed in a variety of places, both

online and in person.

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Works Cited

Almeida, Joanna. “Emotional Distress Among LGBT Youth: The...” Journal of Youth and

Adolescence, 24 Feb. 2009, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-009-9397-9?

error=cookies_not_supported&code=5c571392-d52b-4902-9eae-26ad5b19ab65.

Calleja, Gabi, et al. “LGBT Discrimination Research Report.” Think Equal, 2011,

ncpe.gov.mt/en/Documents/Projects_and_Specific_Initiatives/Think_Equal/lgbt_research

.pdf.

Cox, Daniel. “Fewer Americans Think LGBT People Face Discrimination.” FiveThirtyEight,

ABC News Internet Ventures, 21 Mar. 2019, fivethirtyeight.com/features/fewer-

americans-think-lgbt-people-face-discrimination.

Mirza, Shabab, and Caitlin Rooney. “Discrimination Prevents LGBTQ People From Accessing

Health Care.” Center for American Progress, 18 Jan. 2018,

www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-rights/news/2018/01/18/445130/discrimination-

prevents-lgbtq-people-accessing-health-care.

Sears, Brad, and Christy Mallory. “Documented Evidence of Employment Discrimination & Its

Effects on LGBT People.” The Williams Institute, 1 July 2011,

escholarship.org/uc/item/03m1g5sg.
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Stephenson, Jacqueline, and Paul Balwant. “Sampling LGBTQ Discrimination in Trinidad and

Tobago – Perception or Reality?” Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, vol. 44, no. 2,

2019. EBSCO, eds.p.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=707c80f1-

7a48-4588-872e-61ee8a4dd8be%40redis.

Wang, Yuanyuan, et al. “Discrimination Against LGBT Populations in China.” The Lancet

Public Health, Elsevier Ltd., Sept. 2019,

secure.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/action/cookieAbsent.