Table of Contents
The purpose of the interview practice was to explore the worldviews of other people of culturally different backgrounds, in this case, a member of the LGBTQ community.
Selection of the Interviewee
I was comfortable selecting the interviewee. I chose to interview a lesbian to explore the worldviews of the LGBTQ community and relate their experiences to the concepts covered in class. Through the interview, I was able to point out the absurd line of thought that individuals have regarding their fellow beings. Before formulating the interview questions, I feared to approach the client with openness and acceptance as I had little knowledge on working with LGBTQ individuals. I was unsure of the appropriate terminology and acceptable language to use. I also held the assumption that sexuality of lesbians was a consequence of people viewing lesbianism as a problematic unnatural and pathological condition. I also assumed that homosexuals are abnormal and unstable. The interview practice refuted all my assumptions, and it was a learning experience that fostered cultural competence.
Agents are groups of people with increased access to privilege and social power based ongroup membership. Targets, on the other hand, are individuals with limited access to power as a result of their group membership. Upon asking the interviewee whether she felt privileged or oppressed by her group membership, she answered that the felt oppressed. She narrated instancesat around ten years where her peers constantly harassed her as a result of being different. They would throw words like queer, fag and sissy to her and during the following years, the situation worsened. She tended to keep away from other people. The constant harassing and her fear of turning into a target forced her to avoid the world.
127 our experts are availableright now
Descriptive Information on the Social Groups of the Interviewee
The interviewee belongs to social groups that highly target groups. While LGBTQ individuals are diverse as are the rest of the population, they encounter discrimination which has an impact on their health. Heterosexuality is the most acceptable form of sexual orientation. Therefore, lesbians and gays are highly marginalized and discriminated. LGBTQ individuals livein fear of homophobic violence such as sexual assault, physical violence, and exclusion.
How Homophobia Oppresses individuals of the LGBTQ Community
Members belonging to the LGBTQ community are the most despised group in the UnitedStates today. Paradoxically, in society, homosexuality makes people different while heterosexuality makes people similar. The western culture highly targets LGBTQ individuals, from having negative stereotypes towards them, which may or may not express to exclusion, denial of both civil and human rights and violence in extreme cases. Negative stereotyping stiflestheir emotional growth and damages their spirits. Homophobia operates in four integrated levels.
These are cultural, institutional, personal and interpersonal levels. Institutional homophobia consists of ways in which professional organizations and business discriminate individuals based on their sexual identities. Personal homophobia is one’s beliefs that perceive LGBTQ individuals as people who deserve pity, powerless individuals who cannot control their desires, genetically defective and psychologically disturbed individuals. Interpersonal homophobia, on the other hand, occurs when personal prejudice affects their relationship with other people. Examples include physical harassment, name calling, rejection, and exclusion fromsocial and health services (Collins & Rocco2014).
Cultural homophobia reflects the norms and social standards that demonstrate that heterosexuality is better than homosexuality. It is evident in media advertisements where heterosexual couples are perceived as happy and satisfied whereas LGBTQ members are portrayed as stereotyped, ambivalent of their sexual orientations and people who mostly engage in destructive behaviors. Effects of HomophobiaHomophobia is likely to hurt everyone. It prohibits heterosexuals from forming intimate friendships with people of the same gender. Typically, in the society, individuals develop close relationships with members of the same gender. After reaching a certain age, they have to cut offthe connections to avoid putting their sexuality into question. Homophobia also locks people in gender-based roles, an action that inhibits self-expression and innovation. Mostly in the western culture, masculinity and femininity promote the dominance of men over women and the association of masculinity with power. These gender roles sustain the sexist nature of the society,which in turn increases gender disparities (Buyantueva, 2018).
My Assumptions and Stereotypes About the Interviewee Differences
Lesbian stereotypes are preconceived ideas on how they live their life, which is generally accepted as truth but are not necessarily true. Before the interview, I was homophobic. I was of the supposition that physical attraction has an unusually prominent role in relationships of the same gender. Wearing baggy clothes, keeping short hair and playing sports characterize most lesbians. Typically, I stereotyped lesbians as belonging to the ‘butch and femme’ categories. I also suffered from the stereotype that most lesbians were molested as men, resulting in a hateful feeling towards men and that in lesbian couples; one has to play the man role. I also held the assumption that most lesbians do not wear lipstick. The assumptions and stereotypes are likely toinfluence my interaction with the interviewee in a helping capacity. Like other forms of oppression, homophobia establishes and maintains power among disfranchised and marginalized individuals.
Assumptions of the Interviewee The interviewee feared opening up as she held the assumption that the society equates LGBTQ identities to mental disorders. The concept contributes to the stigma and discrimination of such individuals, affecting their mental health and access to medical services. The intervieweealso held the assumption that LGBTQ couples are no different from heterosexual couples and that both seek to merge their identities in a way which modern marriage encourages. I believe that the assumptions and biases in a way influence the interaction with the interviewee. At first, she was not willing to communicate. The sexual orientation of individuals is a private matter that individuals decide to reveal or conceal.
She feared that I would non-verbally behave differently than when interacting with heterosexual individuals. She also feared Iwould use homophobic language and labels. Only after assurance that I perceive LGBTQ individuals equal to heterosexuals and that they are equally entitled to similar dignity, human rights, and socio-political amenities as heterosexuals that the interviewee was willing to open up.She confirmed that communicating sexual orientation increased her self –acceptance and favorable social comparison.ComfortThe interviewee was reluctant about sharing her sexual identities. At first, she preferred to stay closeted as they came from a state that does not have LGBTQ friendly laws and policies.
She also feared ridicule, neglect of care and improper disclosure of their health statuses or sexualorientation to third parties. I, however, ensured her I would maintain confidentiality, and she eased up.I was comfortable discussing the issues with the interviewee as I wanted to explore the different worldview and discrimination that LGBTQ members face as a result of diverse sexual identities. Open and honest communications of LGBTQ can increase awareness and reduce both health and social disparities. I wanted to foster open, honest dialogue as comfortable conversations of one’s sexual identity and relationship in healthcare can personalize professional assistance and increase the quality of care to the LGBT community.
My identities and status identifications influenced how I understood the experiences of the interviewee. I perceive gender non-conformity and same-sex attraction as a part of the typicalspectrum of the human condition. A host of issues that affect LGBTQ individuals such as chronic illnesses, mental illness, communicable diseases, and environmental hazards are the same issues that confront the rest of humanity.
