Assignment: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Research
Misconceptions and stereotypes abound with regard to gender and sexuality. This is due to many factors, including media portrayals of LGBTQ individuals, outdated understandings, and socialization within the family and culture. Social workers must strive to avoid these misconceptions and remain bias-free while also making the best possible client decisions. By surveying evidence-based research, you can remain current with best practices and ensure you are using the most up-to-date language and methods with the LGBTQ population.
For this Assignment, you search for and analyze a peer-reviewed research article on gender identity or sexual orientation, consider what you have learned, and apply your findings to practice.
To Prepare:

Conduct      a search in the Walden Library to identify at least one peer-reviewed      research article that addresses gender identity or sexual orientation in      young or middle adulthood. (Gender identity and sexual orientation development      among young adult transgender men sexually active with cisgender men: ˜I      had completely ignored my sexuality ¦ thats for a different time to      figure out)
Select      an article that you find especially relevant to you in your role as a      social worker.
Consider      how you might apply the findings from both the research article and the      Learning Resources to social work practice.  

By Day 01/01/2021
Submit a 3- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

A      summary of your findings regarding gender identity or sexual orientation      and its impact on life span development. This should include information      from the Learning Resources and from the journal article(s) you selected      during your research.
An      explanation of how you might apply your findings to social work practice.

Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.
peer-reviewed research article: Gender identity and sexual orientation development among young adult transgender men sexually active with cisgender men: ˜I had completely ignored my sexuality ¦ thats for a different time to figure out
link
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
· Chapter 13, “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” (pp. 604639)
Chapter Summary The following summarizes this chapters content as it relates to the learning objectives presented at the beginning of the chapter. Chapter content will help prepare students to:
LO 1 Explain sexual orientation (including concepts such as homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgen-der people). Sexual orientation is ones erotic, romantic, and affectional attraction to the same gender, to the op-posite gender, or to both (Greenberg et al., 2014, p. 370). Gender identity is a persons internal psy-chological self-concept of being either a male or a female, or possibly some combination of both. A homosexual person is someone who is attracted
primarily to people of the same gender to satisfy sex-ual and emotional needs. A bisexual is a person who is sexually involved with or attracted to members of either gender. Transgender people are those whose gender identity is the opposite of their biological gender. Its difficult to determine exactly how many LGBT people there are. Gender identity and sexual orientation are two very different concepts. Sexual orientation appears to emerge early in life.
LO 2 Review stereotypes about lesbian and gay people. Many people harbor untrue stereotypes about les-bian and gay people, including the queen and the butch, playing male and female roles, and the myth of child molesting.
LO 3 Discuss conceptual frameworks concerning sexual orientation.
Various theories, including biological (genetic, brain, and hormonal) and psychosocial, attempt to explain why people become lesbian, gay, or bisexual. How-ever, no definite causes have been established. Most experts agree that homosexuality probably results from some interactionist mixture of biological and psychosocial variables.
LO 4 Address discrimination and the impacts of homophobia. Homophobia is the extreme and irrational fear and hatred of gay and lesbian people. It can assume many forms and can have serious negative effects on its victims. Suggestions for how social workers can address homophobia are provided.
LO 5 Describe lesbian and gay lifestyles (includ-ing lesbian and gay relationships, sexual interac-tion, gay pride, and empowerment and a sense of community). There is no one type of lifestyle adopted by all les-bian and gay people, just as there is no single lifestyle for all heterosexuals. Lesbian and gay relationships vary, as do heterosexual relationships. Many lesbian and gay people seek monogamous relationships. The physiological responses of lesbian and gay people are exactly the same as those of heterosexual people.
LO 6 Explore significant issues and life events for lesbian and gay people (including legal em-powerment, violence against them, coming out, ethnicity, adolescence, parenting, aging, and HIV/AIDS). Gay and lesbian people are impacted by social, po-litical, and economic forces in many areas. These include employment, historically and informally in the military, personal relationships (including mar-riage and finances), and child custody and visitation rights. Violence against LGBT people is common and
assumes many forms. Suggestions for confronting it include passing equal rights legislation on the part of LGBT people, passing laws specifically forbid-ding LGBT victimization, educating professionals in the criminal justice system about LGBT issues, and establishing crisis centers for victims. Coming out usually involves (1) coming out to
oneself, (2) getting to know other people within the gay and lesbian community, (3) sharing with family and friends that one is lesbian or gay, and (4) coming out publicly.
It is important for social workers to focus on the
issues involved in racial and ethnic diversity when working with lesbian and gay people. Various times of life can result in special concerns for lesbian and gay people. Adolescence can be an
Copyright 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial especially difficult time for LGBT people. Many les-bian and gay people are parents and must address coming out to their children. Lesbian and gay people face many of the same issues as heterosexuals dur-ing the aging process. Additionally, they face institu-tional, legal, and emotional concerns. Although the gay and lesbian communities have made tremendous strides in curbing the spread of AIDS, the emotional and economic impacts on many gay people have been devastating. To work with LGBT people, social workers need
to confront their own homophobia, familiarize them-selves with the LGBT communities, and advocate for policies and programs benefiting LGBT people.
LO 7 Recognize gay and lesbian pride, empower-ment, and a sense of community. Gay men and lesbians can be empowered by de-veloping gay and lesbian pride and a sense of community. In this homophobic world, there are a multitude LGBT activities and organizations.
COMPETENCY NOTES The following identifies where Educational Policy (EP) competencies and practice behaviors are dis-cussed in the chapter.
EP 2a. Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels;
EP 2b. Present themselves as learners and engage clients and constituencies as experts of their own experiences;
EP 2c. Apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal
biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies;
EP 3a. Apply their understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice to advocate for human rights at the individual and system levels;
EP 3b. Engage in practices that advance social, economic, and environmental justice.
EP 6a. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies;
EP 7b. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the analysis of assessment data from clients and constancies;
EP 8b. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with
clients and constituencies. (All of this chapter.) The content of this chapter focuses on sexual orien-tation and gender identity. Material is covered on the above behaviors throughout this chapter.
EP 1 Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior (pp. 605, 607, 610, 612, 616, 618, 620, 624, 626, 629) Ethical questions are posed.
WEB RESOURCES
See this texts companion website www.cengagebrain.com for learning tools such as chapter quizzes, videos, and more.
Copyright
Fabbre, V. D. (2017). Agency and social forces in the life course: The case of gender transitions in later life. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 72(3), 479487. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw109
Ferguson, A. D., & Miville, M. L. (2017). Its complicated: Navigating multiple identities in small town America. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(8), 975984. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22507
Greene, D. C., Britton, P. J., & Shepherd, J. B. (2016). LGBTQ aging: Mental health at midlife and older adulthood. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling,10(4), 180196. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2016.1233839
Hereth, J., Pardee, D. J., & Reisner, S. L. (2020). Gender identity and sexual orientation development among young adult transgender men sexually active with cisgender men: ˜I had completely ignored my sexuality ¦ thats for a different time to figure out. Culture, Health, & Sexuality, 22, 3147. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2019.1636290
Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.). Glossary of terms. https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms
Walden University Library. (n.d.). Subject research: Social work. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/subject/socialwork
Follow Rubric
Submit a 2- to 4-page paper that includes the following:A summary of your findings regarding gender identity or sexual orientation and its impact on life span development. This should include information from the Learning Resources and from the journal article(s) you selected during your research.
28.35 (40.5%) – 31.5 (45%)
Response meets expectations and exceeds by expanding upon the summary through findings from an additional journal article. Response provides insightful comparisons among the selected articles and the Learning Resources.
An explanation of how you might apply your findings to social work practice.
25.2 (36%) – 28 (40%)
Response meets expectations and exceeds by expanding upon the explanation through insightful application of research findings to practice. Specific examples are included to illustrate application.
Writing
9.45 (13.5%) – 10.5 (15%)