Social Change

The differences between states and within states are profound, and while that has long been true, it is much more consequential to LGBT individuals since the legalization of same-sex marriage. Social change relating to LGBT issues were originally addressed in a 1997 article written by Thomas Stoddard titled “Bleeding Heart: Reflections on Using the Law to Make Social Change.” This chapter uses his framework and examines legislative responses to the legalization of same-sex marriage focusing on place.

ИСКУСТВА ЛГБТ ОСОБА У МЕЂУЉУДСКИМ ОДНОСИМА И СФЕРИ РАДА У СРБИЈИ

Personal experience of LGBT individuals in interpersonal relations and in the professional sphere has been defined based on the results of research obtained by focus-group interviews. The research has been conducted on the sample of 6 participants, i.e., 3 male and 3 female members of LGBT population. The paper focuses on the experience of LGTB individuals in interpersonal relations and in the professional sphere and confirms the results of extensive research which indicate that there is a much higher level of tolerance to female homosexuality than tolerance to male homosexuality. Research results emphasize that gay men are faced with more serious concerns, both in interpersonal relations and in the professional sphere than lesbians. As a rule, all research participants have experienced disapproval and condemnation from their parents after revealing their sexual orientation. Even though family members of LGBT individuals have accepted their sexuality over time, their mutual relations have inevitably changed. Participants’ contacts with family members have been significantly reduced, as they do not share their feelings or confide in the members of their families as they used to. Additionally, after coming out about their sexuality, gay men have suffered insults and aversion from their friends or faced numerous difficulties when trying to make new friends. On the other hand, lesbian participants in the research have not seen their sexual orientation as an obstacle to making new friends or interacting with their old friends and acquaintances.

Privacy, Porn, and Gay Sex Parties: The Carceral Governance of Homosexuality in Indonesia

This article examines how the recent Indonesian Pornography Law renders homosexuality and/or homosexual acts intelligible to the Indonesia state and society by institutionalising them as criminal offences. By drawing on insights from queer studies and exploring the cases of gay arrests in the country, I demonstrate that certain same-sex sexual acts are more susceptible to criminalisation, especially when those acts blur the distinction between public and private. The deployment of the Pornography Law against gay people, together with the anti-LGBT media environment in the country, has carried consequences for LGBT individuals, particularly gay people, by making them visible, legible, and thus subject to state surveillance and control.

Constructing Chinese Lesbian Online Community through Social Media: an Actor-Network Theory-Based Discussion

Nowadays, social media plays an essential role in people’s life. Compared with heterosexual individuals, social media is more important for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals due to its advantages of anonymity and convenience. Among LGBT individuals, Chinese Lesbians are under greater social pressure due to the influence of traditional Chinese socio-cultural value systems. Building online lesbian communities through social media is one of solutions for helping Chinese lesbians to reduce their stress and protect their rights. However, lesbian social apps have developed notably slowly in a global context. There have been few studies on lesbian apps in the past. The value and utility of lesbian social apps in building an online lesbian community have not been fully explored. This article used "the L-app" (a Chinese lesbian application) as an example and utilized Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to study the values and challenges of the lesbian social app in the establishment of an online community. According to the four foundational stages (problematization, interessement, enrolment, and mobilization) of network construction in ANT, this study discussed the feasibility, values, and challenges of lesbian social apps in building an online lesbian community. Furthermore, this article proposed corresponding potential solutions to these challenges based on ANT. This paper provided support for Chinese Lesbian community constructions in the future.

Attitudes towards LGBT individuals after Bostock v. Clayton County: Evidence from a quasi-experiment

Do United States Supreme Court decisions on LGBT rights shape attitudes towards LGBT individuals among the mass public? In this paper, I conduct an empirical test of the effect of quasi-random exposure to the announcment of \textit{Bostock v. Clayton County} - a landmark case which held that that an employer who fires their employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity violates Section VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act - on favorability towards LGBT individuals. Relying on data from Phase 2 of the Democracy Fund/UCLA Nationscape survey, I find that quasi-random exposure to the announcement of \textit{Bostock} engendered increases in favorability towards LGBT individuals among the wider American public. Subgroup analyses also indicate that the largest increases in favorability were among Democratic partisans and the religiously unaffiliated, while minimal changes in favorability were detected among those who are among the most likely to oppose LGBT rights, including Republicans and Evangelical Protestants. The findings speak to the validity of the legitimacy model and highlight the limitations of the backlash model in the post-\textit{Obergefell} era of public opinion towards LGBT rights.

Experience of LGBT+ Employees at the Workplace in India: Diversity and Inclusion

Introduction: Not many individuals belonging to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) community are open about their identity in society or at their workplace. There is scarcity of data on LGBT+ employees at workplace in India with very few employers encouraging active hiring of the community or considering having policies in place for these individuals.Objective: The objective of this study is to understand the current situation of LGBT+ employees in India and find out about their experiences related to their sexuality.Methods: A survey of 10 questions was conducted and answered by LGBT+ individuals who are employees and currently work in India. The employees of any type of organization were allowed to take the survey. The questionnaire probed into various aspects of their experience at the workplace.Results: 103 individuals answered the survey. Only 17 (16.50%) responders are completely open about their orientation whereas 6 are partially open. 8 survey takers reported to have faced negativity after opening about their sexuality at the workplace whereas 16 out of 23 have faced some form of discrimination. Only 18 survey takers said that they wish to come out to their colleagues in near future.Conclusion: Very few LGBT+ employees are open about their sexuality at the workplace. Discrimination and harassment are likely to happen to these individuals. Hence, there is a need for protective laws for LGBT employees.

Sexuality and the city: The geography of LGBT participation in the United States

The literature on LGBT participation is growing, but there is still little empirical analysis on the importance of urbanicity in shaping Queer activism. In this paper, we address this critical gap by examining how patterns of participation among LGBT Americans vary by geographic context. Using data from the 2020 Cooperative Election Study (CES) to explore how patterns of LGBT participation differ across the urban-rural interface, we find that individuals identifying as LGBT living in urban areas exhibit higher rates of participation than those living in rural areas, and that these results hold across multiple urban-rural classification schemes. Estimating a multilevel model that leverages local-level data on the density of the LGBT population, we also provide strong empirical validation of the theoretical effects of intragroup contact and mobilization on LGBT participation in large metro areas. When we limit our sample to respondents living in the 55 largest metro areas in the US but vary the metro-level percentage of LGBT individuals, we find that LGBT individuals living in metro areas with a higher percentage of LGBT individuals exhibit higher rates of participation relative to metro areas with a lower percentage of LGBT individuals. The results indicate that urban contexts foster Queer participation by engendering intragroup contact and mobilization among LGBT populations.

Sexuality and the city: The geography of LGBT political participation in the United States

The literature on LGBT participation is growing, but there is still little empirical analysis on the importance of urbanicity in shaping Queer activism. In this paper, we address this critical gap by examining how patterns of participation among LGBT Americans vary by geographic context. Using data from the 2020 Cooperative Election Study (CES) to explore how patterns of LGBT participation differ across the urban-rural interface, we find that individuals identifying as LGBT living in urban areas exhibit higher rates of participation than those living in rural areas, and that these results hold across multiple urban-rural classification schemes. Estimating a multilevel model that leverages local-level data on the density of the LGBT population, we also provide strong empirical validation of the theoretical effects of intragroup contact and mobilization on LGBT participation in large metro areas. When we limit our sample to respondents living in the 55 largest metro areas in the US but vary the metro-level percentage of LGBT individuals, we find that LGBT individuals living in metro areas with a higher percentage of LGBT individuals exhibit higher rates of participation relative to metro areas with a lower percentage of LGBT individuals. The results indicate that urban contexts foster Queer participation by engendering intragroup contact and mobilization among LGBT populations.

Sexual Minorities and Spirituality

For some lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, organized religion can sometimes be a major source of stress and difficulty in identity formation and acceptance whereas others may find solace in it. Belonging to a religion and following it are different aspects of an individual, and often an important part of the culture they have been brought up in. One of the micro-identities for the individual is religion and associated rites, rituals, and taboos. Multiple micro-identities can play a major role in the smooth functioning of an individual. ‘Coming out’ is a process of self-validation and religious views of the individual and those around them can sometimes create major difficulties. Clinicians need to be cognizant of social and religious attitudes of their patients to their own sexuality and also to specific stages of coming out. It is likely that religion and spirituality can be both obstructive or facilitatory for LGBT individuals depending upon a number of factors including homophobia or transphobia related to strong religious views. Various tenets of religions are described briefly in this chapter and their attitudes to alternate sexuality or sexual variations referred to. An attempt is made to advise clinicians and other mental health professionals on how to engage with LGBT individuals. Spirituality can play a major role in some people’s lives even when they do not follow specific organized religions.