LGBTQ psychology is a field of psychology surrounding the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, in particular the diverse range of psychological perspectives and experiences of these individuals. It covers different aspects such as identity development including the coming out process, parenting and family practices and support for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as issues of prejudice and discrimination involving the LGBTQ community.Balsam, K. F., Beauchaine, T. P., Mickey, R. M., & Rothblum, E. D. (2005). Mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual siblings: Effects of gender, sexual orientation, and family. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114(3), 471–476.Biblarz, T. J., & Savci, E. (2010). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 480–497Clarke, V., Ellis, S. J., Peel, E., & Riggs, D. W. (2010). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer psychology: An introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Definition LGBTQ psychology stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer psychology. This list is not inclusive to all people within the community and the plus represents other identities not covered within the acronym. In the past this field was known as lesbian and gay psychology.Clarke, V., & Peel, E. (Eds.). (2007). Out in psychology: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer perspectives. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Now it also includes bisexual and transgender identities and behaviors. In addition, the "Q" stands for queer which includes sexual identities and behaviors that go beyond traditional sex and gender labels, roles, and expectations.Peel, E. (2014). "LGBTQ+ psychology". In T. Thomas (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. .
The word "queer" was historically a slur used towards people within the community. Those who identify as queer today have reclaimed this label as self-identification. However, due to the traditional use of the word, many people in the LGBTQ community continue to reject this label. Some of the identities that fall under the term queer include aromantic, demisexual, asexual, non-binary, agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, pansexual, and intersex.
The names for this field are different in different parts of the world. In the United Kingdom and the United States, the acronym LGBTQ+ is widely used. The terms 'lesbian', 'gay', 'bisexual', 'trans' and 'queer' are not used all around the world and definitions vary.
Apart from the terms above, there are other words and phrases that are used to define sexuality and gender identity. These words and phrases typically come from western cultures. In contrast, in non-western cultures, the range of sexual and gender identities and practices are labelled and categorized using different languages, which naturally also involve different concepts compared to Western ones.
It is concerned with the study of LGBTQ individuals' sexuality – sexual identities and behaviors – thereby validating their unique identities and experiences. This research focus is affirmative for LGBTQ individuals, as it challenges prejudiced beliefs, attitudes, and discriminatory policies and practices towards the LGBTQ community.Herek, G. M. (2004). Beyond "homophobia": Thinking about sexual stigma and prejudice in the twenty-first century. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 1(2), 6–24.Herek, G. M. (2009). Hate crimes and stigma-related experiences among sexual minority adults in the United States: Prevalence estimates from a national probability sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 54–74.
It also includes the study of heterosexuality – other-sex romantic attraction, preferences and behaviors, as well as heteronormativity – the traditional view of heterosexuality being the universal norm.Meyer, D. (2017). "The disregarding of heteronormativity: Emphasizing a happy queer adulthood and localizing anti-queer violence to adolescent schools". Sexual Resilience and Social Policy, 14(3), 331–344. . This line of research aims to understand heterosexuality from a psychological perspective, with the additional goal of challenging heterosexuality as the norm in the field of psychology and in society as a whole.
The overall goal of LGBTQ psychology is to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues in scholarly work and psychological research. In raising this awareness, LGBT+ psychology aims to be one of the fields in which inclusive, non-heterosexist, non-genderist approaches are applied in psychological research and practice. These approaches reject the notion that heterosexuality is the 'default' and acknowledge a spectrum of genders outside of the traditional binary, allowing for more inclusive and accurate research. In line with LGBTQ psychology being an inclusive field of study and practice, it welcomes scholars or professionals from any branch of psychology with an interest in LGBTQ research.
Umbrella terms The 'Q' in LGBTQ is an umbrella term for identities or sexualities that do not fall within lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identities. For example, the term non-binary is used to house many identities within the LGBTQ community. Non-binary is a term that is used to define identities that do not fall within the traditional gender binary. This means that any identities that do not classify as male or female would technically fall within the non-binary umbrella term. Identities that are usually associated with the non-binary umbrella term are genderqueer, agender, intersex, etc. Transgender is also an umbrella term for any identities that do not identify as the genders that they were assigned at birth. Non-binary can also be used within the transgender umbrella term.
History Sexology Sexology is a part of the historical foundation upon which LGBTQ psychology was built. The work of early sexologists, in particular those who contributed to the establishment of sexology as a scientific field of sexuality and gender ambiguity, is highly relevant and seminal to the field of LGBTQ psychology.
As previously mentioned, sexology is a scientific field of study focusing on sexuality and gender identity. In the field of sexology, a broad classification spectrum known as inversion, is used to define homosexuality. On this spectrum, early sexologists included both 'same-sex sexuality' and 'cross-gender identification' as belonging to this all-inclusive category. More contemporary sexology researchers conceptualize and categorize sexuality and gender diversity separately. In terms of LGB sexualities, this would fall under sexual diversity. As for transsexuality, this would be placed under gender diversity. Important figures in this field include Magnus Hirschfeld and Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs.
The historical emergence of 'gay affirmative' psychology Gay affirmative psychology was first established in the 1970s. It was founded with the mission of 1) challenging the idea and view of homosexuality as a mental illness and 2) affirming the normal and healthy psychological functioning of homosexual individuals by dispelling beliefs and attitudes of homosexuality being associated with mental illness.Brown, L. S. (1989). New voices, new visions: Toward a lesbian/gay paradigm for psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 13(4), 445–458. Homosexuality was originally labeled as a sociopathic personality disturbance in the DSM and was not removed as a mental illness until 1974. There has been a lot of stigma surrounding the LGBTQ community which may result in feelings of self-hate. Gay affirmative therapy has been implemented with the purpose of combatting the influence that LGBTQ oppression may have had on the individuals in the community.
Following this field's mission, most of the research conducted in this area has naturally looked at the pathologization of homosexuality. In relation to this, much attention has also been placed on heterosexual and cis-gender (i.e. non-trans) individuals' lived experiences.
In the 1980s, the name gay affirmative psychology changed to lesbian and gay psychology to denote that this branch of psychology spanned both the lives and experiences of gay men and lesbian women.Clarke, V., & Peel, E. (2007). From lesbian and gay psychology to LGBTQ+ psychologies: A journey into the unknown (or unknownable)? In V. Clarke and E. Peel (Eds.), Out in Psychology: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Perspectives. Chichester, UK: Wiley. Later on, additional terms were included in the name of this field. Variations of LGB, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+ or LGBTQIA+ are used to refer to the field of LGBTQ psychology.
Due to the variation in the terminology to define this field, it has led to significant discussion and debate regarding which term is the most inclusive of all individuals. Though there continues to be ongoing debate surrounding the terminology used to define the field of LGBTQ psychology, this in fact highlights the field's concern over the diversity in human sexuality and gender orientation. Further, the various letters within the LGBTQ acronym indicates the diversity and variation in the scope of research that is conducted within the field – namely the types of research questions and the types of methodological approaches used to address these questions.
Traditionally, LGBTQ psychology has largely focused on researching the experiences of gay men and lesbian women meeting the following criteria:Riggs, D. W. (2007). Recognizing race in LGBTQ+ psychology: Power, privilege and complicity. In V. Clarke and E. Peel (Eds.), Out in Psychology: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Perspectives. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
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Individuals may benefit from gay affirmative therapy if their therapist shares the same experience as them, but there may be a bias alongside having a therapist that is a part of the LGBTQ community. Heterosexual therapists may also hold stigma or not have the knowledge to be able to properly handle a client that belongs to the LGBTQ community. Such beliefs and behaviors amongst mental health professionals can lead to an eroded relationship between LGBTQ patients and their health providers.
The scope of research within the field of LGBTQ psychology has been somewhat lacking in breadth and diversity due to most of the observations regarding LGBTQ psychology to be based in behavioral research. In the past, a majority of the research done on LGBTQ psychology used physical observations and has since expanded to include psychological research. Recently, sociocultural psychologists such as Chana Etengoff, Eric M. Rodriguez and Tyler G. Lefevor have begun to explore how sexual and gender identities intersect with other minoritized identities such as religious identities (e.g., LDS, Muslim, Christian). Mitchell L. Walker, Don Kilhefner and Douglas Sadownick seem to do it too.
Overall, LGBTQ psychology is a sub-discipline of psychology that incorporates multiple perspectives and approaches regarding the populations of study, topics of research, and the theories and methodologies that inform the ways in which this research is carried out.
Mental health