The Oppression of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Individuals in Society

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER (LGBT)
Student's Name:
Professor's Name:
Institution:
Date:
Lesbians, Gay, Bisexuals, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals face several challenges in the society they live in. Ryan (2009) observes some events related to the oppression of LGBTs as follows:
* Conflict and Rejection: Most lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals are forced to hide their identities for fear of family conflicts and rejection by their heterosexual family members. Individuals who try to openly share their status and identities are rejected by their immediate family members.
* Social exclusion and marginalization: LGBT individuals face critical challenges at individual, interpersonal, and societal levels. These challenges occur due to marginalization making them have little control over societal resources as well as their own lives. They are also prone to public negativities and often become severely stigmatized.
* Barriers to care: Lesbians, gay, bisexuals, and transgender people often face numerous obstacles in their quest to access healthcare services. Normally, existing heterosexist assumptions are the main reasons behind poor treatment quality accorded to LGBTs. As a result, such people fear accessing healthcare services that may be important to them. Additionally, homophobia related to negative experiences may keep the LGBTs from seeking medical care or help.
Personal homophobia is defined as feelings of fear, dislike, disgust, or hatred with people of the same sex. It is normally based on individual beliefs that LGBTs are sick, immoral and inferior to heterosexuals; they may also be referred to as incomplete men and women. When such homophobia occurs in LGBTs, it is referred to as internalized homophobia. However, personal homophobia can occur in all groups of people regardless of their orientation in terms of sexuality or preference. Inter-personal homophobia is based on personal behavior as a result of personal (or internalized) homophobia. The feelings of hatred, disgust and dislike may be expressed through physical and verbal harassment, name-calling, and other indiscrimination acts (Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009, p. 348). Institutional homophobia is based on numerous ways through which LGBTs face discriminatory acts on the basis of their sexual orientation from governments, churches, businesses, and other organizations. Such homophobia may be expressed in denying LGBTs useful resources and services and failure by governments to insure all their citizens' basic rights, regardless of sexual orientations of the citizens. Lastly, cultural homophobia (or heterosexism) is based on societal norms and standards that tend to put the heterosexual individuals as being superior and better than LGBTs. Such cultural norms and standards dic...