LGBTQIA+ Psychology

• LGBTQIA+ Psychology


  The study of issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual populations
• Until the 1970s, homosexuality was considered a mental illness
• Most psychology has focused on cisgendered, heterosexual populations
• The aim of LGBTQIA+ Psychology


  For a more inclusive psychology
• Biases still exist, not just for LGBTQIA+ people
• There will probably still be cultural bias towards western ideas
• Magnus Hirschfeld and Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs


  Suggested a third sex (that now falls under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella): intermediary
• Urning


  Male bodied attracted to males
• Urningin


  Female bodied attracted to females
• Universal bisexuality


  The idea that everyone has some degree of bisexuality
• Gender Inversion Theory (Hirschfeld)


  Alternative to deviants, non-heterosexual people were 'sexual intermediaries'
• Freud argued for law reform, but modern contemporaries align with conversion therapy
• Early sexologists established queer research as a valid field of scientific study, voices of queer people were heard, and sexuality and gender identity as central to individuals existence
• Kinsey Scale


  Established sexuality as a spectrum

  
• Cisgendered people tend to think the Kinsey Scale is a better representation of their sexuality than transgendered people

  
• The Kinsey Scale may be too limited, and there are calls to improve it
• There is a rise in asexuality, which the Kinsey Scale and categories may not capture well
• Evelyn Hooker (1957)


  Worked with 'overt homosexuals' and found no differences in personality tests compared to non-homosexual group, concluding homosexuality was devoid of pathology and had potential for superiority
• June Hopkins (1969)


  Refuted the idea that lesbians were neurotic, and found lesbian women were more resilient, independent, reserved, dominant, bohemian, self-sufficient, and composed
• Cass (1979) Homosexual Identity Formation Model


  Assumes identity is developmental and stability/change depends on individual/environment interaction, but doesn't capture bisexuality well and is underpinned by a homosexual to heterosexual binary
• Queer Theory


  Grounded in Foucault's principles, advocates for the removal of terms like gay or trans to remove the power held in these words, and abandons the idea of normalising non-heterosexual people
• Theories of why people are heterosexual


  • Essentialism (nature)
  • Social Constructionism (nurture)
• Trying to 'prove a cause' of sexual orientation is dangerous and can lead to things like eugenics and conversion therapy
• Methods in LGBTQIA+ Psychology


  • Qualitative (focus on participant understanding and meaning, 'give a voice' to marginalised groups, useful for exploratory research, provide meaningful, vivid data)
  • Quantitative (concrete information that can be used and applied both within and between communities, exploration of relationships between phenomena or differences between groups/categories, hard data allows for meaningful, objective claims to be validated)
• Issues when researching LGBTQIA+ populations


  • Definitions
  • Accessing specific populations (LGBTQIA+ are considered a 'hidden population')
  • Insider advantage vs insider disadvantage
  • Avoiding issues by attempting non-heterosexist and non-gendered research
  • What demographic data to collect (e.g. birth assigned sex, current gender identity, perceived gender identity)
• Theories of Gender


  • Traditional: Gender is innate
  • Feminist: Gender is constructed in 'male voice'
  • Gender as a salient category in everyday life: 'Doing gender' = Repetition of acts
  • Diversity of gender itself often ignored
  • Bem: Psychological Androgyny
• Gender diversity within LGBTQIA+ people is often overlooked, with a 'gender empty' model assuming everyone is the same
• Division of Household Labour


  • Heterosexual households: Men do less, women do more
  • Gay and lesbian households: Occupy a 'middle' ground
  • Lesbian families: Still experience an emphasis of the 'male breadwinner', differences between bio & non-bio moms, friends/neighbours apply heteronormative values
• Non-Binary


  Challenges the cis-trans binary, 'cisgenderism' (marginalising/dismissing an individual's understandings of their body/identity)
• Transgender Self-Conceptualisation


  Gender development typically references assigned sex, lack of language, conceptualised as innate, research with children, socially transition, medical affirmation, gender fluidity, stage models
• Transactional Development Model of Transgender Identity


  Considers sociocultural influences, biological influences, family adjustment/impact, stigma & cis normativity, support, and gender affirmation/actualisation
• Gender Non-Conformity


  Not just gender or sex, but gender perception - more bullying, victimisation, emotional distress, increased risk of self-harm for gender incongruent youth, gender nonconforming girls report lower friendship quality
• LGBTQIA+ Embodiment


  Clothing and visual identity explored as a way to identify individuals and communities, bisexuality requires repetitive coming out
• Male Psychology and Masculinity


  Conformity to some 'masculine' norms predict lower mental health, a more nuanced view of masculinity is needed, interventions to encourage men to seek mental health support
• LGBTQIA+ Mental Health


  Minority Stress Framework (higher risk of negative physical and mental health issues due to stigma and discrimination), comparison studies find LGBTQIA+ people at greater risk of mental health issues, personality and wellbeing
• Role-models


  • Convey information, recognise symptoms etc
• Utilising positive masculinity traits


  • Responsibility and strength
• Seeking help


  • Considered a sign of strength
• Minority Stress Framework (Meyer, 2003): Stigma and discrimination = higher risk of negative physical and mental health issues
• Stressors such as internalised homophobia and identity concealment