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 Centre for Addictionand Mental Health |
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ARQ2: Question B1 - Discrimination: homophobia, biphobia, transphobia
Can you tell me about any particular problems you have faced because of discrimination based on your sexual orientation/gender identity?
Relevance/intentIf clients have had personal experiences of discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, these experiences may be related to substance use behaviour and/or mental health concerns. It is difficult for LGBTTTIQ people not to be aware of and affected by negative social images of themselves. Examples of discrimination include:
Sexual orientation and gender identity are interconnected with many other identities, such as race, ethnicity, culture, religion, immigration status and language. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be separated from other forms of societal oppression, such as racism, sexism, classism and ableism. Clients need to know that you recognize the context of societal oppression faced by LGBTTTIQ people. Clients may worry that service providers will not respect or understand their circumstances, will be ignorant about LGBTTTIQ issues or will pathologize their identity. Clients may also worry that counsellors will make stereotypical assumptions about the relationship between their sexual orientation or gender identity and their substance use or mental health problems. Transsexual and transgendered clients who have difficulty “passing” as their identified gender are at much higher risk for discrimination. Passing helps trans clients get and keep jobs and housing, and avoid being the target of violence. Barriers, such as cost, to gender transition procedures (e.g., hormone therapy, electrolysis, surgery) can make it difficult to pass. Other people who do not conform to this society’s gender norms, such as feminine men, masculine women and androgynous people, also face higher levels of discrimination compared to those who do conform to societal gender norms. Additional probesWhat has it been like for you to be LGBTTTIQ? Have you had any problems because of people’s dislike of LGBTTTIQ people? Have you had to deal with specific challenges in your life because of homophobia, biphobia and/or transphobia? Have you had any problems because of discrimination at work, at school, in health care services, in social services? Client perceptions“I was out to my friends and family but not at work. There were just so many homophobic jokes that went on at work. Plus, I would hear things at work that were offensive and I couldn’t say anything. Then when I finished work after a long day, I would just treat the pain with some drugs. So, absolutely for me, homophobia was a big part of the drug issue. Not an excuse, but a factor.” “If you’re alone with your drug, you don’t experience the homophobia.” “I think that homophobia and biphobia are definitely relevant for people coming in for treatment for mental illness. Where it’s really, really, really relevant is people staying well once you’re well and sustaining a state of wellness, because homophobia is one of those things that will start you going downhill.” “It’s okay to be gay. It’s okay to be a lesbian. It’s okay to be a drag queen. But if you’re transgendered, you’re the scum of the earth. It’s a very, very, very rotten life. People that seem to be normal go berserk when they meet me. I am the ultimate challenge to everything. I am the ultimate challenge to religion. I am the ultimate challenge to the male/female role definition. I am the ultimate challenge to what society says I should be.” Therapist/counsellor perceptions“The LGBTTTIQ community is already marginalized. The mental health community is already marginalized. When you belong to two marginalized groups, you become that much further marginalized.” “My gay clients talk about how it’s in your file now that you’re different or you’re gay. And then everyone is, like, ‘Are you okay with that? With being gay?’ My sense is that it’s not so much being gay that’s the problem in the first place, but what is the problem is homophobia or that clients are treated differently.” “It’s a central issue. How can it not be? They are traumatized by discrimination, often on a daily, weekly, monthly, constant basis. That kind of repetitive trauma has probably been happening for a very long time.” Passing refers to appearing and being accepted in the world as one’s identified gender. Passing can also refer to hiding one’s sexual orientation, as in “passing for straight.” Heterosexism is the assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual and that identifying as heterosexual and having sexual or romantic attractions only to members of the opposite sex is good and acceptable. If these assumptions are made unconsciously, they are called default assumptions. An example is asking a woman if she has a husband, which reinforces the invisibility that lesbian, gay and bisexual people experience. Like other forms of discrimination, heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are often invisible and unnoticed to those who are not their targets. Hate crimes are offences that are motivated by hatred against victims based on their actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexual orientation.
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Last updated: Mar 14, 2007 9:50 AM Published: Oct 06, 2008 1:55 PM ID#P19819 |