Picture this. You are speaking with a well respected colleague or friend and through the course of the conversation you discover that they are LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, bisexual or transgender). How does your opinion of them change? Do you become awkward? Uncertain how to act? Uncomfortable? Do you, on a conscious or unconscious level, begin to regard them as a “freak” or even as having a lowered mental capacity than yourself? Sadly, this was the case in North America up until 1973; homosexuality was listed as a sociopath personality disorder. People showing signs of not being heterosexual were considered mentally incapable and ill. In the 1950s Dr. Evelyn Hooker, a clinical psychologist with a particular interest in fighting against discrimination brought on by her life with a Jewish family during WW II, conducted a series of psychological tests (such as ink blots) on a group of sixty men. Thirty of these men were heterosexual, the other thirty homosexual. When all the testing was completed, she was able to prove that the results for both groups showed the same level of mental adequacy. This set off an interest in pursuing the idea which she had put forth - that homosexuality was not an illness - and other psychologists began conducting research into the theory.
During these years the general population seemed to classify men into categories: heterosexual and homosexual. In 1948 Alfred Kinsey developed a six degree scale to measure one's sexual preferences.
This scale brought to the forefront the idea of bisexuality - the idea that an individual, either male or female, could have an equal sexual and romantic desire for both genders. At first this was believed strongly by the general populous and psychologists not directly involved with the research as a deciding stage before an individual came to terms with his or her sexual preferences (heterosexual or homosexual). As more research was brought forth on the topic (I.E Paula Rust's publications) more and more professionals were convinced to begin considering bisexuality as a separate sexual identity. Psychologists were encouraged to become knowledgeable on the added concerns and difficulties that patients who were bisexual may have. These included: isolation from both the gay and lesbian community, as well as the straight community, pressure to choose and stick with one preference, and the idea that bisexuals are incapable of being in a monogamous relationship.
While it is important for psychologists to be aware of the concerns addressed in the previous paragraph, it is also, of course, necessary that they be willing and able to provide assistance to a gay or lesbian individual if the problems they are having involve their sexuality. Often the individual may be estranged from his or her biological family, and have built up a support network of friends whom they consider to be more of a family to them than their legal one. It is also important that the psychologist not automatically assume the sexual identity or preference of their patient - many bisexual people are in monogamous relationships with a person of one gender but this doesn't mean that they are strictly homosexual or heterosexual. At the same time it is often the case that homosexual people will be in a committed relationship (up to and including being married) to someone of the opposite gender to maintain the appearance of being straight. This decreases the fear of being found out by family, friends, coworkers or employers. It is far too often that family or friends will reject someone due to their sexual preference (often for religious reasons) or that a company soon after learning of an employee's preferences will fire them with flimsy excuses. Some individuals find that they have a higher self-security if only a select few people know their preferences.
Among the fear of being found out is the fear of authority figures such as the local police forces showing discrimination towards an LGBT person in legal matters (especially false and unfounded accusations of prostitution and abuse of their powers to gain sexual favours from the individual). Such cases show up far too often in the United States. Amnesty International has gathered many stories from anonymous and named sources of police misconduct and abuse toward LGBT people, including everything from unnecessary touching in searches, derogatory name calling, beatings, rape and humiliation. Especially likely to gain such unwanted attention are transgender individuals with police often with holding medication, accessories to maintain gender identity, placement in the wrong holding areas due to gender, humiliation, and the destruction of ID if it has not been changed to match the person's gender identity.
Such conduct by the people who are supposed to be there to protect and serve has created a fear in the LGBT community, especially in those individuals who are of another minority group (race minority, disability or class). It has been reported that in reports of domestic violence between lesbian or gay couples, police responses have been slow or non-existent and if they do come there are many occasions where the wrong person has been accused. This again, occurs with more frequency if, for example, the aggressor is white and the victim is black. Police are more likely to arrest the black person or both people instead of getting the full story. While a great deal of this stems from outdated sexist homophobic bigotry, there is also a portion of it that comes from a simple lack of preparation and training on how to deal with such cases.
In the US there are a great many police departments that have no training at all based around the different situations that may be presented by cases involving LGBT people. Sometimes it is hard to tell which person is the aggressor and in a lot of cases involving lesbian females, the officers do no more than try to get the women to calm down and talk about it or they arrest both of them because they can't be sure who plays which role in the situation.
In the nineteen-eighties, the fear of AIDS and HIV were brought to the forefront of everyone's minds. It was rare that they were not brought up in connection to an LGBT individual - though homosexual males were the most often targeted. This fostered even more homophobia amongst the general populous. It has now been shown that the disease is passed on through any sexual contact, no matter the gender of the individuals involved.
Over the last decade, acceptance and understanding of LGBT people has grown by leaps and bounds. Steps have been taken to insure safety and support for such individuals, and their rights have become a popular goal for many human rights organization. Sadly, equality has not yet been reached in a world of religions and governments that are still stuck in the Stone Age, however it is much better than it was thirty years ago.