Issues Faced by Young African American and Latino Gays
- Submitted by: aangulo43
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- Date Submitted: 02/18/2013 08:45 AM
- Pages: 11
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Abstract
Youth and young adult Gays face a number of obstacles in their lives, one being the decision of coming out to family members. The decision for African American and Latino is made tougher due to the “machismo” and the emphasis on being a “man” in the culture. Many parents especially fathers have a tough time accepting their child’s sexual orientation when they disclose their homosexuality. In many cases if the adolescent coming out to their parents is not supported by family and is eventually thrown out of the home or shun by family and friends can lead to drug use, prostitution or both. There are agencies that support gay youth but the potential client must feel comfortable that the agency will support them and will offer the services they need with empathy. If therapy is sought then a therapist that is empathetic to the gay community will be best because if the therapist is biased the therapeutic relationship will not work. Therapists working with gay and lesbian clients must have as much information about the client just as they would with any other client to make sure they provide the best service possible.
Issues Faced by Young African American and Latino Gays
Teenagers and young adult African American and Latino’s have many challenges growing up due to their race and culture but when being gay is also a part of who they it adds another level of challenges. Issues with family members not understanding what the child is going through and either not knowing how to support them or not willing to because of the shame they feel this brought the family can lead to depression and/or anxiety in the adolescent coming out. Adolescence and young adulthood is usually the time when sexual minorities come out to their close family members this may be the reason for an increase in depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol use. Those facing these issues tend to report lower levels of family involvement in their lives whether they were kicked out of...
Youth and young adult Gays face a number of obstacles in their lives, one being the decision of coming out to family members. The decision for African American and Latino is made tougher due to the “machismo” and the emphasis on being a “man” in the culture. Many parents especially fathers have a tough time accepting their child’s sexual orientation when they disclose their homosexuality. In many cases if the adolescent coming out to their parents is not supported by family and is eventually thrown out of the home or shun by family and friends can lead to drug use, prostitution or both. There are agencies that support gay youth but the potential client must feel comfortable that the agency will support them and will offer the services they need with empathy. If therapy is sought then a therapist that is empathetic to the gay community will be best because if the therapist is biased the therapeutic relationship will not work. Therapists working with gay and lesbian clients must have as much information about the client just as they would with any other client to make sure they provide the best service possible.
Issues Faced by Young African American and Latino Gays
Teenagers and young adult African American and Latino’s have many challenges growing up due to their race and culture but when being gay is also a part of who they it adds another level of challenges. Issues with family members not understanding what the child is going through and either not knowing how to support them or not willing to because of the shame they feel this brought the family can lead to depression and/or anxiety in the adolescent coming out. Adolescence and young adulthood is usually the time when sexual minorities come out to their close family members this may be the reason for an increase in depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol use. Those facing these issues tend to report lower levels of family involvement in their lives whether they were kicked out of...