Reflective Essay On Personal Identity

The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to

Growing up Asian in an area largely dominated by white Australians, has affected my personality and view on the world around me. I discovered what race was when I was in grade 1 and from that day on, I have always felt a sense of alienation and difference. As a child all I wanted was to blend into the norm, to fit in, to be white. My voice began to mimic the other kids voices, my lunches strictly did not contain any “weird” food and anything “strange” or “abnormal” things I did at home must be kept a secret. This act soon dissolved into my identity, I stared to see myself like one of them, Australian. However, as I began to become more “Australian”, my own sense of culture hindered. I soon found myself torn between two cultures, and in some ways robbed of my culture, due to social assimilation. This feeling of

“You're Mexican?” Is the question that has been etched in my brain from a young age. As a person of Mexican descent and little resemblance to stereotypical appearances of brown eyes, short, and black hair, this is the hurtful response to my answer for the question,”,What ethnicity are you?” Unfortunately, the assertion that I am Mexican is something that I have had to defend throughout my entire life. In defense of this part of my identity, I write this essay.

It has been made aware that a lot of individuals are struggling to come out to their families, or with struggling with gender issues that often lead to them killing themselves for not being accepted. This community often works with individuals within a group setting, to recognize the issues that they are experiencing to get advice on how to handle their issues or the emotions they are dealing with. Engaging with individuals of the LGBT community generally display a point of group facilitators with established values (Corey et al., 2010). Taking on this population will call for working with adults and children who are dealing judgments on being who they really are. It is important as a counselor to be prepared to protect the client in any way possible to lay those criticisms to rest and help clients of this group to be more comfortable in their own

“Coming out” is a means of identifying one’s sexual orientation as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. At its most basic, “coming out of the closet,” means being honest with those around you—friends, family, colleagues, and so forth—about your sexual orientation, about whom you are. It also means acknowledging one’s sexual orientation to self. Such disclosure is an ongoing, lifelong process rather than a one-time event. New personal, social, and professional situations require gay men and lesbians to make decisions about the degree to which they can be open about their sexual orientation (Morrow, 1996).

I am a very proud member of the LGBTQI+ community. I identify as queer. Being gay, specifically being a black queer man living in the deep south, has greatly impacted me and shaped me into the individual I am today. Being queer is a major part of my multi-dimensional person. I was made aware of my queer identity at a very young age. Since becoming aware of how I differed from most people, I have experienced life in a very unique and challenging way. Despite the subtle and sometimes blatant queerphobia I experience, I have still managed to not only survive but thrive in a world that says I shouldn't. I am quite certain that much of my strength, personality, character, and good nature stems from me being constantly marginalized. Despite the

I grew up in the suburban town of Brunswick, Ohio. Brunswick being a not-so diverse area with most of its citizens being Caucasian and have what some would consider having “old fashioned” values. I went to public school throughout my entire education. I had a typical family, consisting of a mother, a father and two sisters. Many would say nothing about my upbringing was “unique” or “diverse.” However, as surrounded by “typical” as I was, there is something different about the way I grew up. I had to adapt as a gay man in this, very conventional community. Throughout my life I was surrounded by the familiar man meets woman, they have children and start a family. Nobody in my family has ever been associated with the LGBT community and I do

My sexual orientation is not taken serious because it is deemed as me being confused. This was shown when I first came out, it was dismissed as me trying to fit in or confused. These accusations made me feel powerless as a bisexual person. My identity is invisible so I can hide it although I do not think it will be healthy to deny such an important part of me. To truly accept myself, I need to recognize my sexuality. However, this has proven to be difficult because of negative experiences. When I was in high school, a gay student said that being bisexual is impossible because a person cannot like both genders. This statement showed that in my own community, I was unwelcome. This feeling occurs in any LGBTQ event or space and non-LGBTQ spaces are not any better. The dominant group decides how much the LGBTQ community deserves and creates laws that affect us. They decide if we deserve to get married, be a part of a religion or can buy a simple cake. The mistreatment of my community is unnecessary. In order for there to be some change, the idea that being LGBTQ is a choice needs to be eliminated. To do this will be difficult, but normalizing gay couples on media is a start. There needs to be more LGBTQ characters on

Various studies recognize a deficit of information related to lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults with even less information related to transgender individuals (Muller & Hartman, 1998; Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2010; Tharinger & Wells, 2000). LGBT individuals seeking social support from others to gain understanding of themselves and their own development may become discouraged in their endeavors. Many family members and medical professionals lack sufficient knowledge in sexual orientation and/or identity development, believing LGBT identification as a result of external influences or just a “phase”

In Human Rights Campaign survey of over ten thousand LGBT youth from age thirteen to seventeen was found that don’t want to say anything because they think they are not going to be accepted besides the lack of acceptance of LGBTQ youth prevents many from coming out. Data from Wilcox (2016) showed family did not accept 30% of youth who came out and 19% were scared of the reaction; but many youth did not come out: 16% had religious reasons, 10% were not ready, and 10% can’t talk to their family. At school 31% were treated differently or were judged, 26% didn’t have the need of coming out, and 7% youth couldn’t because their school was conservative (Wilcox 2016 p. 46). In a study from Sussex, UK found similarities of the experiences of feelings of confusion of being accepted (Sheriff, Hamilton, Wigmore & Giambrone, 2011).

People have different views and thoughts about lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGB). Through out the years the announce of coming out is becoming more and more heard of compared back to the 1900s. However, many do not underestimate the challenge LGB people still go through in many different psychological ways. The article “ New data on lesbian, gay, and bisexual mental health” by Tori DeAngelis (2002) gives a great insight on just what mentally happens to someone who is not what is considered the social norm also known as heterosexual; it also compares what happens mentally to those who are heterosexual and homosexual. Many believe that people who are LGB are born that way, either way LGB mentally can take a toll on mentally and psychologically

The world is forever changing with its tolerance of sexual preference, orientation and gender choice. Even though it is 2017, people are becoming more exceptive of this way of life, and it is still a very sensitive subject. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community is widely affected every day, with the youth being targeted more than ever. Sometimes individuals are scared to “come out” because of all the backlash they will face. Per the Center for disease control and prevention, most individuals know that they are "different" at a young age, about eleven or twelve years old (LGBT Youth, 2014). Many individuals that identify with the LGBT are ostracized; there are a plethora of support groups and understanding people

This research has revealed a concerning number of individuals that have been affected. Kuper and Mustanski (2013) found that about 94% of participants in a study sample experienced name calling, threats, and physical violence due to their sexual identity. Parents of LGBTQIA victims also play a role in these numbers as they have expressed verbal harassment toward their children who they suspect are nonheterosexual before the child’s coming out (D’Augelli, Grossman, & Starks, 2005). Parents have mostly demonstrated these actions in the form of antigay comments, leading the individual to have a negative relationship with his or her family members (D’Augelli, Grossman, & Starks, 2005). For this reason, these researchers found that many LBGTQIA individuals chose to still be in the closet and not state their identity to decrease the probability of discrimination (Kuper & Mustanski, 2013). Overall, experiences of LGBTQIA-specific discrimination can lead to lower self-esteem and depression in this population (Nadal, Davidoff, Davis, Wong, Marshall, & McKenzie,

The sexual orientation identity development is a theoretical model that conceptualized the resolution of internal conflict related to the formation of individual sexual identity. For sexual minority people, it is commonly known as the coming-out process (Bilodeau & Renn 2005). There have been many different models elaborated to explain such process. All of them share similar stages: awareness, crisis, and acceptance (Loiacano 1989). When individuals become aware of their queer feelings and attraction, they try to block these homosexual feelings by constantly denying and minimizing them. This mechanism of defense leaves negative sequelae in their overall psychosocial well-being (Bilodeau & Renn 2005). Individuals tend to pass by a

Who am I? What do I value? Am I simply a submissive puppet that has no voice and must be dictated by society 's demands? Or because I am a woman I destined to be physically, mentally, and emotionally weaker than my opposite sex, which means I can never be called an equal to counterparts? In society, we are faced with different forms of designations and descriptions that lead to the establishment of a person 's identity. These identities include sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, economic background, community, and religion. Identities are used to oppress individuals making it nearly impossible to overcome the obstacles that are insinuated with these traits. Overcoming any of these identities is an epic feat and a person who