LGBTQ+ Population

Question 1

Gender Dysphoria

Answer 1

• Distress caused when a person’s assigned sex at birth and assumed gender is not
  the same as the one with which they identify
• According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the term
  “…is intended to better characterize the experiences of affected children, adolescents,
  and adults.”

Question 2

Gender Non-conforming

Answer 2

• A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to
  traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not fit neatly
  into a category.
• While someone who is gender non-conforming many also identify as transgender, not all gender non-conforming individuals identify as transgender.
• It can help to view gender in a continuum that exists with infinite possibilities outside of the binary that is common in our society.

Question 3

Genderqueer

Answer 3

• People who typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity
  of gender identity and often (though not always) sexual orientation.
• People who identify as “genderqueer” may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female, or as falling completely outside these categories.

Question 4

Intersex

Answer 4

• Refers to a variety of conditions where a person is born w/ sexual and/or
  reproductive anatomy or chromosomal patterns that don’t fit standard binary
  categorization of ‘male’ or ‘female’ bodies.
• They possess bio characteristics for both ‘male’ and ‘female’ anatomy and biology, e.g. someone who has both testicular and ovarian tissue.

Question 5

Conversion Therapy

Answer 5

• AKA “reparative” or “sexual reorientation” therapy
• Dangerous and unethical practice that holds the goal of changing a person’s sexual orientation, attempting to “convert” them from gay or bisexual to straight
• Conversion therapy violates NASW Code of Ethics and is unethical to practice as a
  social worker
• Illegal in some states, but not all.

Question 6

Considerations When Working With the LGBTQ+ Population

Answer 6

• Navigating the “coming out” process can look different for at any stage during a person’s life
• Important to hold complexities of coming out
  process, e.g. how this will affect their relationships, is this is safe for them physically and emotionally, prep for potential changes in how others view them, processing potential internalized and externalized homophobia
• Risk factors: LGBTQ+ people are at greater risk for discrimination, verbal abuse,
  physical assaults, violence, suicide and childhood sexual abuse.
• When working w/ couples where one person has not come out, we need to support both clts. Something to consider is when one person is not out, often their partner might feel like they aren’t able to live as openly or freely. We still need to respect the other person’s decision to come out (or not) on their own terms.
• Pronouns: It’s important to ask about pronouns when beginning work with clients and to put clts’ pronouns on paperwork.