Internalized Heterosexism, Internalized Homophobia

1. Clinical Implication of
Internalized Heterosexism
and
Internalized Homophobia
as Related to the Process of Coming Out in LGBTQ Young Adult
Fulviu Fodoreanu
Sohei Fujita
Abby Utal

2. Coming Out
Coming out is a process involving elements such as:
 Acknowledgement of one’s same-sex sexual
orientation
 Disclosure of one’s sexual orientation to other
individuals
 Identification with other LGBTQ individuals or the
LGBTQ community
 Shaped by age, gender, sex, race, ethnicity,
culture, SES and many more

3. Coming out (continued)
 Process is noted in social contexts where
heterosexuality is assumed
 Heterosexuals do not “come out”, as what is
assumed of them is accurate
 Heterosexism implies a privileged system of biases
and discrimination based on sexual orientation,
where opposite-sex relationships are favored

4. Heterosexism
 Includes presumptions of heterosexuality as normative and
superior
 Maintained by social structures that advantage
heterosexuals and disadvantage individuals identifying as
LGBTQ
 Examples of maintainers include rituals, policies, hetero-normative
beliefs
 Includes biases, prejudice, discrimination, etc.
(Szymansk & Ikizler, 2013; Woodford, 2014)

5. Internalized Heterosexism
 Adopting negative heterosexist views and attitudes of
society as being superior to sexual minorities
 Sometimes referred to as internalized homonegativity
 LGBTQ Individuals with internalized heterosexism can
experience mental health issues as well as behavioral
difficulty that can create clinically significant distress
(Johnson et al., 2008; Meyer, 2003)

6. Internalized Heterosexism
 Detrimental to mental health
 Affects level of self-disclosure
 Interferes with the process of coming out
 Contributes to a higher rate of psychological issues and
distress
 Less internalized heterosexism, better indicator of
coming out and health
(Rotosky & Riggle, 2002)

7. Psychological Distress
 LGBTQ individuals who throughout their life are the
subjects of harassment, discrimination, prejudice, and
other adverse events that are rooted in heterosexism
can experience multiple psychological and health
issues that can include a variety of depressive
disorders and anxiety disorders.
(Herek, 1999; Sandil et al., 2014)

8. Coming-out Process
Most important ROADBLOCK to the adjustment to a
positive homosexual identity
INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA (IH)
(Cass, 1979; Troiden, 1989; Martin, 1982)

9. IH: definition
 Martin (1982)
 Dissonance between an internal negative view of
homosexuality & an emerging homosexual identity tends
to create tremendous conflicts  instead of accepting his
homosexuality, most homosexuals will delay the process
and many attempt to deny the emerging homosexual
reality in favor of passing as heterosexual
 Meyer & Dean (1998)
 “the gay person’s direction of negative social attitudes
toward the self, leading to a devaluation of the self and
resultant internal conflicts and poor self-regard”

10. IH: definition
 Locke (1998)
 ‘the self-hatred that occurs as a result of being a socially
stigmatized person’
 Plumer (1996)
 ‘the awareness of stigma that surrounds homosexuality
leads the experience to become an extremely negative
one; shame and secrecy, silence and self-awareness, a
strong sense of differentness – and of peculiarity –
pervades the consciousness’

11. Constructs of IH
 IH is not simply the experience of negative attitude
towards one’s own sexual orientation
 Negative global attitudes towards homosexuality
 Discomfort with disclosure of sexual orientation to
others
 Disconnectedness from other LGB individuals
 Discomfort with same-sex sexual activity
(Newcomb & Mustanski, 2010)

12. Concepts of Internal Homophobia
 Maylon (1982) – Object Relations approach (common
view)
 the process of introjection causes noxious homophobic
views to be taken in and incorporated into the self-representation
 Shelby (1994) – Self Psychology approach
 it is seen to cause disturbances in the cohesion &
coherence of the self

13. Allport’s theory of
“traits due to victimization”
 Allport (1954) – described stigma as leading to “traits
due to victimization” or defensive reactions that can be
either “extroverted” or “introverted”
 Extroverted reactions: obsessive concern with the
stigmatizing characteristic and rebellion against stigma
 Introverted reactions: self-denigration and identification
with the aggressor
Internalized homophobia: stigmatized LGB individual
identities with the belief of the heterosexual majority
(Newcomb & Mustanski, 2010)

14. Research
 Research suggests: most gay men and lesbians adopt
negative attitudes toward their homosexuality early in
their developmental histories
 A normative or inevitable consequence because all
children are exposed to heterosexist norms

15. What are the factors?
 Heterosexism: perpetuating the belief of the superiority
of heterosexuality
 Heteronormative beliefs
 Cultural and religious contexts
 Unlike racial & ethnic minorities, LGBTQ youths are not
raised by parents who are like them or rarely have idea
what it is like to be LGBTQ

16. Clinical Implications
Internalized Homophobia & Internalized Heterosexism during
the process of coming out

17. Self of the Therapist
● A counselor also must overcome heterosexism through self-examination
and self-education where biases and prejudices are
identified and dispelled (Matthews, 2007).
● Affirmative counselors to develop the knowledge and skills
necessary for working with LGBT clients
● Continuing education opportunities such as conference
workshops and graduate classes that focus on LGBT issues are
excellent ways to enhance a counselor’s multicultural
competency to work with LGBT clients
● Familiarizing oneself with the LGBT community (local and
national) by attending LGBT venues (i.e., parades, community
centers, LGBT bookstores), and learning key LGBT figures who
contributed to LGBT rights through movies and literature are all
important steps in becoming an affirmative counselor.

18. Self of the Therapist
● Avoiding heterosexism in clinical practice
● Examples include (i.e., review clinical paperwork
for heterosexist language; decorate office to be
inclusive of diverse sexual identities; advocate for a
non-discrimination policy that is inclusive of sexual
and gender identity)

19. “Personal contact is the most
consistently influential factor in
reducing prejudice” (Hunter, 2007, p. 168)

20. Internalized Homophobia
LGBT individuals often experience a series of stages that include but are
not limited to an initial awareness of being different, grieving, feelings
of inner conflict, and an established sexual minority identity with long-term
relationships. This is a developmental process that involves a
person’s awareness and acknowledgement of same-gender oriented
thoughts and feelings while accepting being LGBT as a positive stage
of being (Browning, Reynolds, & Dworkin, 1991; Kus, 1990; McGregor
et al., 2001; Ridge, Plummer, & Peasley, 2006). The process of
forming an LGBT identity or “coming out” is a challenging process
as it involves adopting a non-traditional sexual identity,
restructuring one’s self-concept, and changing one’s
relationship with society (Reynolds & Hanjorgiris, 2000; Ridge,
Plummer, & Peasley, 2006).

21. Internalized Homophobia
The rates of depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and
suicide (McAndrew & Warne, 2004; McBee & Rogers,
1997) in this population are higher than the national average.
A variety of studies have linked these negative outcomes to
factors such as internalized homophobia

22. Internalized Homophobia
Positive mental health and wellness require that the gay male overcome this self-devaluation
and reevaluate the meaning of identity in order to achieve a positive sense
of self (Jellison & McConnell, 2003). In order to accomplish this task, he must
develop means for managing both societal stigma and the internal devaluation this
stigma begets, a process requiring effective stigma management
STIGMA MANAGEMENT: specific strategies utilized by an individual
when choosing to conceal or reveal one’s stigmatized condition. This
decision to conceal or reveal one’s stigmatized condition is especially
relevant to individuals with a same-gender sexual orientation. In order to
cope with real or potential negative reactions associated with coming out,
the gay male evolves a variety of techniques for managing his
stigmatized condition, one of which is self-disclosure (Luhtanen, 2003).
As the gay male gains an enhanced acceptance of his sexuality, the
decision to inform others of his sexual orientation becomes increasingly
important.

23. Direct Clinical Implications
● Recognize the diversity within this population rather than ascribe to existing
societal stereotypes of gay males as a homogenous group.
● It is also important that counselors share this knowledge with their clients.
● Through acknowledging demographic differences among gay males, counselors
can begin to help their clients cope more effectively with social and
psychological barriers associated with stigma and internalized homophobia.
● Working with gay males is the significance of internalized homophobia as an
obstacle to overall wellness.
● Counselors need to understand the process of internalizing societal messages
related to same-gender sexual orientation.
● Be aware of how internalized homophobia is exemplified in their client’s lives.
o Once this recognition is achieved, counselors may develop strategies for
assisting their clients in overcoming the internalization of these negative
stereotypes.

24. Internalized Heterosexism
Micro Level:
● Counseling be aimed at deconstructing heterosexism and
liberating clients from internalized oppression.
● Work should include an identification and examination of the
sociopolitical sources of one’s problems and a facilitation of client
social change initiatives to shift the focus from the individual to
the oppressive forces
● Facilitate awareness of IH
● Attend to the sociocultural context and exploring the negative
impact of heterosexism on the lives and presenting problems of
LGBT clients
● Challenging IH
● Teaching clients skills for confronting oppression
● Exploring the multiple identities of LGBT clients.

25. Internalized Heterosexism
To facilitate clients’ awareness of IH:
● counseling psychologists might ask questions about
clients’ coming-out stories
● their thoughts and feelings about homosexuality;
experiences with heterosexism in school
● family, work, and religious institutions
● level of interaction with other LGB persons
● availability of support and resources; and self-disclosure
of their sexual identity to others

26. Internalized Hetersexism
Meso level:
● Therapists can encourage clients to join campus, organization, or
local community LGBT political groups.
● In addition to providing social support for clients and reducing their
individual levels of IH (micro-level benefits), membership in such
organizations can help to change the level of bias (both subtle and
overt) demonstrated by the campus, organization, or local
community.
● Similarly, encouraging clients to engage in activity that challenges
biased policies of the university, organization, or community is
another example of meso-level work that therapists can promote.
● Clients can also be encouraged to support LGBT friendly businesses
and organizations, both providing a means of giving back to the LGB
community and providing further opportunities for work on reducing
IH.

27. Internalized Heterosexism
Macro Level:
● Ultimately should affect the well-being of individual clients via a
reduction in societal oppression, leading to a decrease in the
occurrence of IH.
● Such work includes fighting to change laws and institutions that
discriminate against LGBT individuals and promoting positive views
of LGBT people and the many ways that they contribute to society.
● For example, counseling psychologists can work to educate the
public and policy makers about the deleterious effects on LGBT
couples and families of the prohibition against marriage for same-sex
couples.

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