Gay bashing

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Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers violence against and bullying of people who are LGBT, as well as non-LGBT people whom the attacker perceives to be LGBT.

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Physical gay bashings sometimes involve extreme violence or murder motivated by the victim's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

LGBT youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBT youth, particularly in schools. Victims of LGBT bullying may feel unsafe, resulting in depression and anxiety, including increased rates of suicide and attempted suicide. LGBT students may try to pass as heterosexual to escape the bullying, leading to further stress and isolation from available supports. Support organizations exist in many countries to prevent LGBT bullying and support victims. Some jurisdictions have passed legislation against LGBT bullying and harassment.

Violence

LGBT people frequently experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. [1] This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws prescribing punishment for homosexual acts, or by individuals. It may be motivated by biphobia, gayphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia. Influencing factors may be cultural, religious, or political mores and biases. [2]

Bullying

Bullying of LGBT people, particularly LGBT youth, involves intentional actions toward the victim, repeated negative actions by one or more people against another person, and an imbalance of physical or psychological power. [3]

LGBT youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBT youth. [4] In one study, boys who were bullied with taunts of being gay suffered more bullying and more negative effects compared with boys who were bullied with other categories of taunting. [5] Some researchers suggest including youth questioning their sexuality in any research on LGBT bullying because they may be as susceptible to its effects as LGBT students. [6] [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Queer</i> Umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or not cisgender

Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Originally meaning 'strange' or 'peculiar', queer came to be used pejoratively against LGBT people in the late 19th century. Beginning in the late 1980s, queer activists, such as the members of Queer Nation, began to reclaim the word as a deliberately provocative and politically radical alternative to the more assimilationist branches of the LGBT community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transphobia</span> Anti-transgender prejudice

Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender roles. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism, sexism, or ableism, and it is closely associated with homophobia. Transgender people of color can experience many different forms of discrimination simultaneously.

Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal sexual orientation. It assumes the gender binary and that sexual and marital relations are most fitting between people of opposite sex.

Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the demeaning and the pejorative to expressions of hostility towards homosexuality which are based on religious, medical, or moral grounds. It is a form of hate speech, which is illegal in countries such as the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of heterosexuality and heterosexual relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that heterosexual relationships are the only norm and therefore superior.

A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. Primarily used to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or non-heterosexual individuals, it can also refer to transgender, non-binary or intersex individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT stereotypes</span> Stereotypes around LGBTQ people and communities

LGBT stereotypes are stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, peers and mass media, or, more generally, through a lack of firsthand familiarity, resulting in an increased reliance on generalizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homophobia</span> Negative attitudes and discrimination toward homosexuality and LGBT people

Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may sometimes be related to religious beliefs.

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality</span> Sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender

Homosexuality is a sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exclusively to people of the same sex or gender. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

Research has found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are significantly higher than among the general population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education and the LGBT community</span>

Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBT individuals come from lack of education around the LGBT community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discrimination against gay men</span> Prejudice, hatred, or bias toward gay men, male homosexuality, or men perceived to be gay

Discrimination against gay men, sometimes called gayphobia, is a form of homophobic prejudice, hatred, or bias specifically directed toward gay men, male homosexuality, or men who are perceived to be gay. This discrimination is closely related to femmephobia, which is the dislike of, or hostility toward, individuals who present as feminine, including gay and effeminate men. Discrimination against gay men can result from religion, prejudicial reactions to one's feminine mannerisms, styles of clothing, and even vocal register. Within the LGBT-community, internalized issues around meeting social expectations of masculinity have been found among gay, bisexual, and transgender men. Gayphobia is misandry that intersects with homophobia. It is analogous to lesbophobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of LGBT topics</span> Overview of and topical guide to LGBT topics

The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics.

Homophobia in ethnic minority communities is any negative prejudice or form of discrimination in ethnic minority communities worldwide towards people who identify as–or are perceived as being–lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), known as homophobia. This may be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, irrational fear, and is sometimes related to religious beliefs. A 2006 study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK found that while religion can have a positive function in many LGB Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, it can also play a role in supporting homophobia.

Homosocialization or LGBT socialization is the process by which LGBT people meet, relate and become integrated in the LGBT community, especially with people of the same sexual orientation and gender identity, helping to build their own identity as well.

LGBT psychology is a field of psychology of surrounding the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, in the particular the diverse range of psychological perspectives and experiences of these individuals. It covers different aspects such as identity development including the coming out process, parenting and family practices and support for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as issues of prejudice and discrimination involving the LGBT community.

LGBT erasure refers to the tendency to intentionally or unintentionally remove LGBT groups or people from record, or downplay their significance, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and those who identify as queer. This erasure can be found in a number of written and oral texts, including popular and scholarly texts.

"Suicidal ideation" or suicidal thoughts are the precursors of suicide, which is the leading cause of death among youth. Ideation or suicidal thoughts are categorized as: considering, seriously considering, planning, or attempting suicide and youth is typically categorized as individuals below the age of 25. Various research studies show an increased likelihood of suicide ideation in youth in the LGBT community.

Bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people, particularly LGBT youth, involves intentional actions toward the victim, repeated negative actions by one or more people against another person, and an imbalance of physical or psychological power.

References

  1. Meyer, Doug (December 2012). "An Intersectional Analysis of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People's Evaluations of Anti-Queer Violence". Gender & Society. 26 (6): 849–873. doi:10.1177/0891243212461299. S2CID   145812781.
  2. Meyer, Doug (2015). Violence against Queer People. Rutgers University Press. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. "Bullying Myths and Facts". US Dept of Education. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  4. Berlan, ED; Corliss, HL; Field, AE; et al. (April 2010). "Sexual Orientation and Bullying Among Adolescents in the Growing Up Today Study". Journal of Adolescent Health. 46 (4): 366–71. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.10.015. PMC   2844864 . PMID   20307826.
  5. Swearer, SM; Turner, RT; Givens, JE (2008). ""You're so gay!": Do different forms of bullying matter for adolescent males?". School Psychology Review. 37 (2): 160–173. doi:10.1080/02796015.2008.12087891. S2CID   6456413.
  6. Swearer, S. M.; Turner, R. K.; Givens, J. E.; Pollack, W. S. (2008). "You're So Gay!": Do Different Forms of Bullying Matter for Adolescent Males?". School Psychology Review. 37 (2): 160–173. doi:10.1080/02796015.2008.12087891. S2CID   6456413.
  7. Russell, S. T.; Joyner, K. (2001). "Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Evidence From a National Study". American Journal of Public Health. 91 (8): 1276–1281. doi:10.2105/ajph.91.8.1276. PMC   1446760 . PMID   11499118.
  8. Williams, T.; Connolly, J.; Pepler, D.; Craig, W. (2005). "Peer Victimization, Social Support, and Psychosocial Adjustment of Sexual Minority Adolescents" (PDF). Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 34 (5): 471–482. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.459.218 . doi:10.1007/s10964-005-7264-x. S2CID   56253666. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 8, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.

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