Willoughby

Stacie Willoughby

General Psychology

Professor Folley

November 19, 2020

Social Diversity Interview

The social group I chose to research is the LGBTQ community. This is for lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, and pansexual. The

evolution of this community has grown a lot over the past few years. Although it is not accepted

by all, a lot of people support and respect this group of individuals. A lesbian is a female who

experiences love or sexual attraction to another female. Gay is a term that is describing a

homosexual person or shows traits that are homosexual. Gay is also the word that refers to a

male showing affection or sexual attraction to another male. Bisexuality is when an individual

has a romantic attraction to both males and females. This is when a person shows interest in both

genres. This is often known as pansexual. Transgender is the term for people who chose to

switch their identity. This is when a person feels wrong in the wrong body at birth. A transsexual

is one who experiences a gender identity that is not culturally associated with the sex that they

were born with. Two-spirit is when a person is seen to have both male and female spirits within

them. Queer is the meaning of a person that is neither heterosexual nor cisgender. This term was

used against those who liked the same-sex but has been reclaimed in the late 1980’s. Questioning

is when an individual doesn’t know their sexual orientation or identity. These are people who are
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unsure and still exploring and questioning their social label. Intersex is the mixture of sex

characteristics including areas of their body that does not allow them to identify as either gender.

Asexual is the lack of sexual attraction to either gender. A person is not interested in either males

or females. Ally is someone who would consider themselves to be a friend to the community as a

whole. Agender is a person who does not identify as a specific gender. Gender Queer is when a

person does not have masculine or feminine gender identities. Bigender is when a person moves

back and forth between having feminine and masculine gender identities. Gender Variant is

when a person’s behaviors do not match masculine or feminine gender norms. Pangender is

people identify as all genders.

The LGBTQ community in the US is looked at in all different kinds of ways. Depending

on your religious, political, and cultural beliefs. It is becoming more acceptable to people.

Society is very harsh and has one way of looking at everything. With that, it is hard for these

people to be accepted by society. In the US, half of Americans think that federal law band

discrimination against people’s sexual orientation. The House of Representatives passed the

equality act. It prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination in all. They are focusing on the

discriminations in workplaces and in the public. The supreme court has ruled sex stereotyping

illegal. Trans protections are already existing in the law. LGBTQ rights have expanded over

time. It has become hard for advocates to make their case to the people. Federal contractors are

allowed to make hiring and firing decisions based on one’s religious practices and beliefs. People

of the US want the trans protection law to be written in correspondence to the equality act. In

Title VII, sexual orientation and gender identity exist. Making kids in the US feel comfortable in

the classroom is something that has been made a priority. “All students are important
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contributors, no matter who they are, where they come from, or how they identify

themselves”(Lilienthal,Cepero,messinger,Mims)(1). Teachers need to be inviting to all students

that walk into their classroom. The way a teacher is trained makes a difference in the

comfortableness of their classroom. Diversity in schools is becoming a very big thing. Ethnicity,

religious beliefs, sexual orientation, political views, and more. In the past, teachers were not

supposed to ask a child’s sexual orientation. Now teachers are supposed to ask how their students

want to be identified to eliminate embarrassment and wrong ideas.

The LGBTQ community in Rural Spain is showing how human interactions are carried

out within different societies and academics. The Urban-rural binaries have widely shown the

studies in the LGBTQ identities. Big cities in Western metropolises have been believed to be the

center of innovation. Globalization and transnational cuties have shaped the tendencies in the

social aspects of the community. “Spanish and Catalan media products seem to be following a

similar pattern to tendencies of the West in relation to LGBTq portrayals”(Lopez)(14). Spain is

the most accepting country to the LGBTQ community. From the time of 1939 to 1975,

homosexuals were treated horribly. Over the past 75 years, the nation has changed drastically.

“The source of initial animosity towards homosexuality in Spain is one that appears again and

again in the fight for equality of the Spanish LGBT community”(Pyrce)(1). Spain’s government

has taken huge steps in the protection against homophobia. The legislation was a huge part of the

development of equality among the community as a whole. The majority of the Spanish

population accepts homosexuality. There are still hate crimes that happen daily to those who

think homosexuality is wrong. People who believe that it is not a problem area on the side of not

accepting the community. Spain legalized gay marriage far before anyone else. They did it nine
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years before the UK and ten years before the United States. Adopting kids of the same sex have

been looked against for many years. In Spain, it has been accepted for many years. Children who

are born by Vitro fertilization are recognized as the child of the biological mother’s partner.

In the interview that I conducted, I spoke with a friend who is part of the LGBTQ

community. She shared with me that she has struggled a lot with being a part of this community.

coming out to her family was difficult for her. Not knowing what they would have to say

frightened her. She didn’t know what the outcome would be for her. She was scared based on

their religious viewpoints and beliefs. Her family was very accepting of her and supported her no

matter what. With her being a teenage girl when she came out, she faced a lot of uncertainties.

Coming out to her friends was very hard. She didn’t know how they were going to react. Not

knowing how her friends were going to feel. She didn’t know if she was going to be judged,

unfriended, laughed at, or ignored. This has kept her from making new friends based on how

they feel about the community. They have not accepted it and would not form a friendship with

her because she was part of the community. Coming from a very privileged town, going back to

school and facing what people had to say was difficult. Having people constantly make jokes

about their sexual orientation makes it hard for people to come out who haven’t. She told me that

being a part of this group has made her realize that there is discrimination in all different kinds of

things. She has seen the community evolve as a whole over the past couple of years. She made a

group that helps and supports people going through hard times with coming out to their loved

ones. She shares personal stories to show people that they are not alone. For someone to be stuck

holding in this kind of secret can take a toll on not only your mental but physical health too. She

told me that being a part of this community has helped her grow in ways that she never expected.
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It had changed her whole mindset on people. She now understands that no matter what front

anyone gives off they can be holding in things that nobody could ever imagine. In this interview,

she told me what it’s like to go out into the public as a couple of the same sex. She receives

stares from people, comments, and dirty looks. She has been laughed at by teenage boys and

younger adults. The names that she has been called are completely unacceptable. She has

experienced an older lady telling her that being bisexual is wrong and a sin. In today’s world

with the rallies, riots, and marches, people from this community have been treated horribly by

others.

Not being a part of this community, I have accepted it and will show respect to these

people. I believe that everyone has the right to what they want to believe in. I think that love is

love and you should be able to love whoever you want. Happiness is one of the most important

things in life and I don’t think you should limit your love based on gender. This also goes along

with not feeling right in the body that you were born in. I think that people who are transgender

should be supported in the decision they make to live a happy life. I don’t think that we should

discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. If it’s not pertaining to you then I

believe that you shouldn’t have any negative or say that makes someone feel less about

themselves. Everyone is human and we deserve to be treated equally no matter what ethnicity,

gender, religious beliefs, political beliefs, etc. I do have my own religious beliefs and I think that

is very important for people to follow but that doesn’t make an excuse for people to hate one

another for what they chose to identify as. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to be

themselves and not to be judged. As a society, I think we all need to be more loving towards one
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another and lifting each other up. Hating on someone due to their sexual orientation is only

creating more hate in the world. Everyone deserves to be happy no matter what it looks like.
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Works Cited

Lilienthal, L. K., Matyo-Cepero, J. A., Messinger, L., & Mims, M. J. (2018). Creating an

Inviting Classroom for All Students: Inviting Teachers to Learn About LGBTQ

Diversity. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 85(1), 13–19.

Pryce. (2017, March 30). Public Attitudes to Homosexuality in Spain.

Https://Glst490.Atavist.Com. https://glst490.atavist.com/homosexualitys-history-and-

cultural-impact-in-spain-clone-3zvtf

Green. (2019, August 17). America Moved On From Its Gay-Rights Moment—And Left a Legal

Mess Behind. Https://Www.Theatlantic.Com.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/lgbtq-rights-america-arent-

resolved/596287/

Sanz López, J. M. (2018). Shaping LGBTQ Identities: Western Media Representations and

LGBTQ People’s Perceptions in Rural Spain. Journal of Homosexuality, 65(13), 1817–

1837. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1390812