Place Matters: Contextualizing the Roles of Religion & Race for Understanding Americans' Attitudes About Homosexuality

As laws and policies related to homosexuality have evolved, Americans' attitudes have also changed. Race and religion have been established as important indicators of feelings about homosexuality. However, researchers have given almost no attention to how county characteristics shape Americans' attitudes. 

Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling techniques, we examine how personal characteristics and the religious and racial context of a county shape feelings about homosexuality drawing on data from the American National Election Survey and information about where respondents reside. 

We find that African Americans initially appear less tolerant than other racial groups, until we account for the geographical distribution of attitudes across the nation. 

Additionally, once we consider religious involvement, strength of belief, and religious affiliation African Americans appear to have warmer feelings about homosexuality than whites. Drawing on the moral communities' hypothesis, we also find that the strength of religiosity amongst county residents heightens the influence of personal religious beliefs on disapproving attitudes. 

There is also a direct effect of the proportion conservative Protestant, whereby people of all faiths have cooler attitudes towards homosexual individuals when they reside in a county with a higher proportion of conservative Protestants. 

Finally, we do not find any evidence for an African American cultural influence on attitudes.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/dKyMoj

By:  Adamczyk A1, Boyd KA2, Hayes BE3.

• 1John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA. Electronic address: AAdamczyk@jjay.cuny.edu.
• 2Department of Sociology, Philosophy, and Anthropology, The University of Exeter, UK.
• 3Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, USA. 
• Soc Sci Res. 2016 May;57:1-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.02.001. Epub 2016 Feb 8.

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Reductions in Access to HIV Prevention & Care Services Are Associated with Arrest & Convictions in a Global Survey of Men Who Have Sex with Men

OBJECTIVES:

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Criminalisation of homosexuality may impede access to HIV services. We evaluated the effect of the enforcement of laws criminalising homosexuality on access to services.

METHODS:

Using data from a 2012 global online survey that was published in a prior paper, we conducted a secondary analysis evaluating differences in perceived accessibility to health services (ie, 'how accessible are ____' services) between MSM who responded 'yes'/'no' to: 'have you ever been arrested or convicted for being gay/MSM?'

RESULTS:

Of the 4020 participants who completed the study and were included in the analysis, 8% reported ever being arrested or convicted under laws relevant to being MSM. Arrests and convictions were most common in sub-Saharan Africa (23.6%), Eastern Europe/Central Asia (18.1%), the Caribbean (15%), Middle East/North Africa (13.2%) and Latin America (9.7%). Those arrested or convicted had significantly lower access to sexually transmitted infection treatment, condoms and medical care, compared with other MSM, while accounting for clustering by country and adjusting for age, HIV status, education and country-level income.

CONCLUSIONS:

Arrests and convictions under laws relevant to being MSM have a strong negative association with access to HIV prevention and care services. Creating an enabling legal and policy environment, and increasing efforts to mitigate anti-homosexuality stigma to ensure equitable access to HIV services are needed, along with decriminalisation of homosexuality, to effectively address the public health needs of this population.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/A5bhln

By:  Santos GM1, Makofane K2, Arreola S2, Do T3, Ayala G2.

• 1San Francisco Department of Public Health, Center for Public Health Research, San Francisco, California, USA Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
• 2The Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF), Oakland, California, USA.
• 3Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA. 

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How Uganda's Anti-Gay Leaders Teach Intolerance to Young People - Video

Via:  http://goo.gl/B3P48k

Who Intervenes Against Homophobic Behavior? Attributes that Distinguish Active Bystanders

Research on homophobic behavior has focused on students engaging in this behavior or students toward whom this behavior is directed. There has been little attention to the large segment of students who observe this behavior, including active bystanders who defend or support students when homophobic behavior occurs. 

Among 722 high school students (55% female, 87% white, 86% heterosexual), 66.8% had observed at least one instance of homophobic behavior in the past 30 days. Gender (in this case, girls more so than boys), leadership, courage, altruism, justice sensitivity, and number of LGBT friends were associated with engagement in more active bystander behavior in response to observing homophobic behavior. 

Further, gender, courage, altruism, and number of LGBT friends each made unique contributions in accounting for variability in students' defending behavior in a comprehensive regression model. 

Findings highlight qualities that interventionists should cultivate in students that could lead to more active bystander engagement against homophobic behavior.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/bIML1V

By:  Poteat VP1, Vecho O2.

• 1Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA. Electronic address: PoteatP@bc.edu.
• 2Université Paris Ouest-Nanterre la Défense, Nanterre, France. Electronic address: ovecho@u-paris10.fr. 
• J Sch Psychol. 2016 Feb;54:17-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2015.10.002. Epub 2015 Nov 7.

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More about photo: http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/spain-lgbt-discrimination-video#.yy0G5EM4

Access to Health Services by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Persons: Systematic Literature Review

Background

The relationship between users and health services is considered essential to strengthen the quality of care. However, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender population suffer from prejudice and discrimination in access and use of these services. This study aimed to identify the difficulties associated with homosexuality in access and utilization of health services.

Method

A systematic review conducted using PubMed, Cochrane, SciELO, and LILACS, considering the period from 2004 to 2014. The studies were evaluated according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criterias. Were included manuscripts written in English or Portuguese, articles examining the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender population’s access to health services and original articles with full text available online.

Results

The electronic databases search resulted in 667 studies, of which 14 met all inclusion criteria. Quantitative articles were predominant, showing the country of United States of America to be the largest producer of research on the topic. The studies reveal that the homosexual population have difficulties of access to health services as a result of heteronormative attitudes imposed by health professionals. The discriminatory attendance implies in human rights violations in access to health services.

Conclusions

The non-heterosexual orientation was a determinant factor in the difficulties of accessing health care. A lot must still be achieved to ensure access to health services for sexual minorities, through the adoption of holistic and welcoming attitudes. The results of this study highlight the need for larger discussions about the theme, through new research and debates, with the aim of enhancing professionals and services for the health care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/xh1n2A

By:  Grayce Alencar Albuquerque, Cintia de Lima Garcia, Glauberto da Silva Quirino, Maria Juscinaide Henrique Alves,Jameson Moreira Belém, Francisco Winter dos Santos Figueiredo, Laércio da Silva Paiva, Vânia Barbosa do Nascimento, Érika da Silva Maciel, Vitor Engrácia Valenti, Luiz Carlos de Abreu, and Fernando Adami

Faculty of Medicine of ABC, Príncipe de Gales Avenue, 821, ZIP Code: 09060-650 Santo André, SP Brazil

Regional University of Cariri, Luiz Antônio Street, 1.161, ZIP Code: 63100-00 Crato, CE Brazil

Faculty of Juazeiro, São Miguel Street, 1.224, ZIP Code: 63010-210 Juazeiro do Norte, CE Brazil

Lutheran University Center of Palmas, Teotônio Segurado Avenue, 1501, ZIP Code: 77019-900 Palmas, TO Brazil

Grayce Alencar Albuquerque, Email: rb.moc.io@ycyeg.

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The Sexual Activity and Behavior of Americans

Via:   http://goo.gl/zGZAmm  By:  https://twitter.com/fedira

Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” from the second edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This resulted after comparing competing theories, those that pathologized homosexuality and those that viewed it as normal. In an effort to explain how that decision came about, this paper reviews some historical scientific theories and arguments that first led to the placement of homosexuality in DSM-I and DSM-II as well as alternative theories that eventually led to its removal from DSM III and subsequent editions of the manual. The paper concludes with a discussion of the sociocultural aftermath of that 1973 decision...

APA’s 1973 diagnostic revision was the beginning of the end of organized medicine’s official participation in the social stigmatization of homosexuality. Similar shifts gradually took place in the international mental health community as well. In 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality per se from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) [64]. As a consequence, debates about homosexuality gradually shifted away from medicine and psychiatry and into the moral and political realms as religious, governmental, military, media, and educational institutions were deprived of medical or scientific rationalization for discrimination.

As a result, cultural attitudes about homosexuality changed in the US and other countries as those who accepted scientific authority on such matters gradually came to accept the normalizing view. For if homosexuality was no longer considered an illness, and if one did not literally accept biblical prohibitions against it, and if gay people are able and prepared to function as productive citizens, then what is wrong with being gay? Additionally, if there is nothing wrong with being gay, what moral and legal principles should the larger society endorse in helping gay people openly live their lives?

The result, in many countries, eventually led, among other things, to (1) the repeal of sodomy laws that criminalized homosexuality; (2) the enactment of laws protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in society and the workplace; (3) the ability of LGBT personnel to serve openly in the military; (4) marriage equality and civil unions in an ever growing number of countries; (5) the facilitation of gay parents’ adoption rights; (6) the easing of gay spouses’ rights of inheritance; and (7) an ever increasing number of religious denominations that would allow openly gay people to serve as clergy.

Most importantly, in medicine, psychiatry, and other mental health professions, removing the diagnosis from the DSM led to an important shift from asking questions about “what causes homosexuality?” and “how can we treat it?” to focusing instead on the health and mental health needs of LGBT patient populations [65]...

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/FdUZKh

By:   Jack Drescher ^1,2,3,4

¹440 West 24 Street, #1A, New York, NY 10011, USA; Tel.: +1-212-645-2232

²Department of Psychiatry, New York Medical College, 20 Hospital Rd, Valhalla, New York, NY 10595, USA

³Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, New York University, 547 La Guardia Place, New York, NY 10012, USA

⁴William A. White Institute, 20 West 74th Street, New York, NY 10023, USA

Academic Editors: Carol North and Alina Suris

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How Data Helped Win The Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage

Via:  http://goo.gl/0h9mIk

Ask a Homo: What’s the deal with tops and bottoms? (mildly NSFW)

Via:  http://goo.gl/hD88rW  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: What do lesbians think of LUGs—lesbians until graduation?

Via:  http://goo.gl/EomzkY  By: https://twitter.com/junethomas

Ask a Homo: What's the deal with the gay lisp?

Via:  http://goo.gl/GrkqL2  By: https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Why Do Gay Men Like Musical Theater?

Via:  http://goo.gl/cmiWK5  By: https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Why Do Some Gays Not Believe in Bisexuality?

Via:  http://goo.gl/A6N3VH  By: https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Is My Lesbian Co-Worker Transitioning?

Via:  http://goo.gl/JmsWPm  By:  https://twitter.com/junethomas

Ask a Homo: Are Gay People Capable of Platonic Friendship?

Via:  http://goo.gl/so8Xag  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Do Gay Men Enjoy Being Catcalled?

Via:  http://goo.gl/5y5Yv3  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Is My Daughter’s Boyfriend Gay?

Via:  http://goo.gl/IZJz4Y  By:  https://twitter.com/junethomas

Ask a Homo: Do Gay Men Prefer Shorter or Longer Names?

Via:  http://goo.gl/IYDmDh  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Are Gay Men More Sexist Than Straight Men?

Via:  http://goo.gl/yMMhTK  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder

Ask a Homo: Why Are Gays So Critical of HRC, GLAAD, and Other Advocacy Groups?

Via:  http://goo.gl/VoDbvE  By:  https://twitter.com/jbryanlowder