Transcript Washington D.C., HIV and Our Young People

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED
TO KNOW ABOUT WORKING WITH
GAY YOUTH, FROM A TO Z
Angel Brown
Director of Outreach & Community Partnerships
Isaiah Webster III
Director of Capacity Building
October 15, 2010
Goal
 This
professional development workshop will
explore 26 things youth services providers need to
know about working with young people who
identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or
questioning (LGBTQ). Formatted as a roundtable,
this training will allow for rich discussion and will
allow time for participants to ask questions and
network.
Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able
to:
 Define
terms and slang relative to LGBTQ youth
 Dispel myths about LGBTQ youth, their culture and
community norms
 Explore best practices in working with LGBTQ youth for
HIV/STI prevention
 Explore successful youth-adult partnership models
 Discuss the nuances and unique perspective of LGBTQ
youth in D.C.
 Discuss resources available to LGBTQ youth in D.C.
Introduction Activity
Group Agreements/Parking Lot
Expectations?
Agenda
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9:30-10:30
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10:30-10:45
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M-R
2:00-2:15
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Lunch (provided)
12:30-2:00
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G-L
12:00-12:30
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Morning Break
10:45-12:00
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A-F
Afternoon Break
2:15-4:00
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S-Z
Relevance to HIV/AIDS work?

How and why is understanding youth who identify
as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or
questioning (LGBTQ) important to HIV/AIDS service
providers?
Asexual
Lacking sex or functional sex organs; devoid of
sexuality.
Bisexual
Of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency
to direct sexual desire toward “both” sexes
Myths about bisexuality
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It’s just a phase
It doesn’t really exist
Bisexual people are really gay but unwilling to
acknowledge it yet
Only women are really bisexual
Bisexual people are promiscuous
What percent of people are bi?
The Kinsey theory
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Alfred Kinsey (1894 –1956) was an American
biologist and professor, who in 1947 founded the
Institute for sex research at Indiana University,
which is now known as the Kinsey Institute for
Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
Kinsey is generally regarded as the father of
sexology, the systematic, scientific study of human
sexuality. He initially became interested in the
different forms of sexual practices around 1933.
During this work, he developed a scale measuring
sexual orientation, now known as the Kinsey Scale
which ranges from 0 to 6, where 0 is exclusively
heterosexual and 6 is exclusively homosexual.
The Kinsey Scale
The points on the Kinsey Scale
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0 Exclusively heterosexual
1 Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2 Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally
homosexual
3 Equally heterosexual and homosexual; bisexual.
4 Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally
heterosexual
5 Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6 Exclusively homosexual
X Asexual, Non-Sexual*
Dissenting viewpoints over Kinsey’s work
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Today, many sexologists see the Kinsey scale as
simplistic. They suggest that sexual orientation and
sexual identity are more complex and varied.
Other criticisms of Kinsey’s study:
 Sample
size and selection criteria in 1948 study of men
 Over-represented groups (jailed men, commerical sex
workers)
 Lack of diversity
Closet
Refers to persons who do not openly acknowledge
their sexual orientation.
Ex: Susan is gay, but she is in the closet about it.
Coming Out of the Closet
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The process of “coming out” is
ongoing and continues
throughout life
The coming out experience is
varied and not experienced
by all LGBT people
National Coming Out Day is
October 11.
Down Low
Refers to men who have sex with men (MSM), but
who don’t self-identify as “gay” or publicly
acknowledge any gay sexual behavior.
Men on the DL
Facts about the “Down Low”
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“DL” is not limited to AfricanAmerican men
Men on the DL are not responsible
for HIV rates in black women
The Down Low was stigmatized
and sensationalized by pop
culture and books
Effeminate
Having feminine qualities untypical of a man; not
manly in appearance or manner
Ex: He had a high and somewhat effeminate voice.
Gay = Effeminate?
Jay & Miss Jay
John Amaechi
Questions, Concerns, Comments?
Fabulous
A term used in the youth community to describe a
person, place or thing that is pleasing,
supportive or generally superior.
Gender Reassignment
Also known as sex reassignment surgery or sex-change
operation, gender reassignment is a term for the surgical
procedures by which a person's physical appearance
and function of their existing sexual characteristics are
altered to resemble that of the other sex. Generally a
procedure conducted for transgender individuals, it may
also be performed on intersex people, often in infancy.
Homosexual
A person who is emotionally, spiritually,
physically, and/or sexually attracted primarily
to those of the same gender (clinical term).
The Circles of Sexuality
Intersex
A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is
born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit
the typical definitions of female or male.
For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on
the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside.
Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between
the usual male and female types.
Source: Intersex Society of North America
Jesus
The Jewish religious teacher whose life, death,
and resurrection as reported by the Evangelists
are the basis of the Christian message of
salvation — called also Jesus Christ.
Religion’s impact on LGBTQ Youth
Gay & Religious
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GLBTQ youth often find themselves struggling to negotiate their sexual
orientation with their religious/spiritual beliefs.
Many GLBTQ youth believe that their religion viewed homosexuality as
“wrong and sinful.
In many Latino communities, machismo and Catholicism contribute to
homophobic attitudes that hamper efforts to reach Latino gay and bisexual
youth with HIV prevention information.
Though many religious communities frown upon homosexuality there are
some safe spaces within religious/spiritual communities:
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Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons www.affirmation.org
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Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists http://www.wabaptists.org/
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Brethren/Mennonite Council http://www.bmclgbt.org/index.shtml
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DignityUSA http://www.dignityusa.org/
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The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
http://www.huc.edu/ijso/
King
Drag kings are mostly female performance
artists who dress in masculine drag and
personify male gender stereotypes as part of
their performance. A typical drag king routine
may incorporate dancing and singing or lipsynching. Drag kings often perform as
exaggeratedly macho male characters.
Questions, Concerns, Comments?
Lesbian
Of or relating to homosexuality between females.
Ex: Susan and Rebecca are lesbians.
Metrosexual
Describing a man who displays attributes stereotypically
associated with homosexual men (such as a strong concern for
his appearance), although he is not homosexual.
Ex: Ryan Seacrest is not gay; he’s just metrosexual.
Exploring stereotypes of LGBTQ people
The Stereotype…
The Fact…
Nature v. Nuture
The nature versus nurture debates concern the relative
importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature",
i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences
("nurture", i.e. empiricism or behaviorism) in determining
or causing individual differences in physical and
behavioral traits.
The Heterosexual Questionnaire
Out
Refers to being publicly open about one’s sexual orientation.
“Out” can also mean “out of the closet.”
Ex: He’s out to his family now, so he brings his boyfriend home
for holidays.
Openly gay people…an Activity
Pride
The quality or state of being proud; a reasonable or justifiable selfrespect. “Pride” can also refer to events where LGBTQ people and
their allies gather to celebrate their community.
Ex: I’m so excited about Pride this year; Mya is performing!
Queer
Differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal.
“Queer” is also a political term that has been reclaimed by
some LGBT people who find it empowering.
Ex: I’m not gay; I’m queer!
Questions, Concerns, Comments?
Realness
Related to ball culture, “realness” refers to the
ability to present oneself as the gender that
does not match the sex they were born as and to
be accepted as such.
You Better Work!
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In the Ball culture, the house system, the
ballroom community and similar terms
describe the underground LGBT
subculture in the United States in which
people "walk" (i.e. compete) for
trophies and prizes at events known as
balls. Those who walk often also dance
and vogue while others compete in
various genres of drag often trying to
pass as a specific gender and social
class. Most people involved with ball
culture belong to "houses" led by a
single leader.
Same-Gender Loving (SGL)
Same gender loving, or SGL, a term coined for African American use by
activist Cleo Manago, is a description for homosexuals, particularly in the
African-American community. It emerged in the early 1990s and is often
used by those who prefer to distance themselves from terms that they see as
associated with "white-dominated" lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities.
It is considered by many to be more descriptive of emotional links between
gay individuals than the identity "gay.” Same gender loving (SGL) is a Black
culturally affirming homosexual identity.
Sources:
Communities of African Descent Media Resource Kit, Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation and “Multiple Identities: Creating Community on Campus
for LGBT Students,” New Directions for Student Services
Transgender
Of, relating to, or being a person who identifies with or possesses a
gender identity or gender expression that differs from the one which
corresponds to the person's sex at birth.
Ex: Mike was born female, but now lives as an open trans man.
Transgender is an umbrella term
Unisex
Unisex refers to things that are suitable for either sex. It can
also be another term for gender-blindness. The term was
coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally.
Ex: All restrooms at the youth center are unisex.
Violence
Exertion of physical force so as to injure or
abuse
Violence
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Physical and/or sexual violence and abuse can be experienced by anyone,
regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Potential results
of rape and other sexual and/or physical violence may include emotional
instability, mood swings, depression, drug and alcohol use and abuse, early
debut of sexual activity, and engaging in risky sexual behaviors — all of
which are potential risk factors for sexually-transmitted infections (including
HIV) and unintended pregnancy.
Youth who experience physical and sexual dating violence are three times
more likely than those who do not to be diagnosed with HIV or another STI.
Harassment at School
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The 2009 GLSEN School Climate survey of 7,261 middle and
high school students found that at school nearly 9 out of 10
LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past
year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual
orientation. Nearly a third of LGBT students skipped at least
one day of school in the past month because of safety
concerns.
Harassment at School, cont.
84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being
physically harassed and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the
past year because of their sexual orientation.
63.7% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 27.2% reported being
physically harassed and 12.5% reported being physically assaulted at school in the
past year because of their gender expression.
72.4% heard homophobic remarks, such as "faggot" or "dyke," frequently or often
at school.
Nearly two-thirds (61.1%) of students reported that they felt unsafe in school
because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third (39.9%) felt unsafe
because of their gender expression.
The presence of supportive staff contributed to a range of positive indicators
including fewer reports of missing school, fewer reports of feeling unsafe, greater
academic achievement, higher educational aspirations and a greater sense of
school belonging.
Creating safe spaces for LGBTQ Youth
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Work towards creating an affirming environment
that supports non-stereotypical gender expression
and offers safe space for open discussion. Use
inclusive, affirming, non-presumptuous,
nonjudgmental, and gender-neutral language.
Creating safe spaces, cont.
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There are times when you have the power to stop
harassment and discrimination in its tracks.
Remember that homophobic and transphobic words
and actions are hurtful. They hurt the person
targeted, the witnesses, and the bully. There are
five steps you can use to stop harassment when you
see it.
5 Steps to stopping harassment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Assess if you are physically safe
Address the harassment
Put the focus on the person(s) that is being
offensive or rude
Name the harassment and its consequences
Refuse to join in
The “I Am” Activity
Woman
Some organizations are faced with the challenge of
accepting individuals who express a gender identity that
is inconsistent with their gender expression or assigned
gender. Programming should not exclude people based
on their self-identification.
X/Y Chromosomes
Females have XX chromosomes while male possess an X
and a Y chromosome. A person may be born with mosaic
genetics, so that some individual’s cells have XX
chromosomes and some of them have XY which can lead
to the birth of an intersex child.
Ze
“Ze” is a gender-neutral pronoun used by some LGBTQ
people who do not self-identify with “he” or “she.”
Ex: Frank is coming to the dinner party, but ze decided to
attend later in the evening.
Questions, Concerns, Comments?
ANGEL BROWN
[email protected]
ISAIAH WEBSTER III
[email protected]
www.metroteenaids.org