My culture of interest is the LGBT
community. I became interested in the community when I started to get really
close to a few friends of mine that were gay. My main reason for researching
this subject was to better understand what they went through growing up and identifying
with the LGBT community. I also wanted to better understand the differences
between a straight person’s experiences and a Lesbian, Gay, Bi, or Transgender
person’s to see if anything connected. Although I have no problem with people
who aren’t straight, I also wanted to make myself more familiar with the community.
There are several factors that go into the development of a human being. Cross
culture communication and identity development are big factors in whether a
person can become comfortable identifying with the LGBT community.
The
concept I focused on was identity development. I approached this subject by
focusing on the several aspects that make up one’s identity. These aspects
included individualized, familial, spiritual, gender, sexual orientation, age,
and racial identity. Each aspect shed a new light on the individual impact on
the identity as a whole. It was especially important for me to focus on
researching each component since so many people who identify as lesbian, gay,
transgender, or bi can have issues with identity development through positive
and negative influences. Some things that help with coming out were family and
social support, acceptance in school, and a liberal relationship with others.
Some things that led to people feeling as if they couldn’t be themselves were
no social support, religion, and being bullied in high school. These influences
both positive and negative eventually lead to an individual either becoming
comfortable in the LGBT community or not addressing the person they really are.
The
first theme I noticed throughout my research was that bullying through
adolescence is eminent. Each person I interviewed had internal struggles with
the effects of bullying which often led to drastic changes in their identities.
Bullying can be a struggle for any kid but it is especially difficult for
individuals that are trying to find their place in the LGBT community. John
Rector states “After I came
out I got bullied more. Before that, people just kind of suspected it so the
people that would have bullied me before, but weren’t sure, had a reason now.”
(Rector, 2013) These individuals are
already struggling with identity development and then have the added pressure
from their peers that are tearing them down. Bullying can lead to the
individual hiding the fact that they are gay or far worse consequences. According
to bullyingstatistics.org, “Gay and lesbian teens are two to three times as
more likely to commit teen suicide than other youths.” This proves that during
the high school years it is especially hard for teens to deal with identifying
with the LGBT community and admitting to others that they are gay. 
The
next thing I noticed was that religion had a considerable effect on whether the
person decided not to tell others they were lesbian, gay, transgender, or bi. I
also noticed that religion had an effect on how long it took for the person to
except that they were indeed lesbian, transgender, or, bi. Ana-leigh Avery
stated that she was forced to go to church growing up, but when she came out to
her family they did not support her because it was against their religion (Avery,
2013). Sydnie Murphy chose to stay with her church and not be open about being
a lesbian in the church setting she stated, “I think there would be so many
more gay Christians if the church was more accepting. They [gay people] won’t be
open to the idea of religion even if they wanted to…And it’s shameful of
Christians to make people feel that way.” (Murphy, 2013) Sydnie is currently
battling whether it would be better to keep quiet about her true identity or
come out as being a lesbian and face the “consequences.”
The
final theme I noticed was the effect of family and social support. When
individuals had strong family support they were able to be more comfortable
with themselves and more public about being lesbian or gay. Dustin Hayes
stated, “My siblings were accepting off the bat but my mother and father were
the last to come around. My grandparents even came around before they did.”(Hayes,
2013). Social support from others outside the family is also an important
factor. Without the support of friends individuals have a hard time being
openly gay and tend to hide their true selves from others. Ana-leigh expressed
her internal struggle with coming out to her friends by saying, “Friendships
became a little uncomfortable; especially with girls. You don’t want them to
think that you will disrespect their friendship” (Avery, 2013). Working on
rebuilding friendships is an unfortunate consequence of admitting to one’s true
identity. Sydney struggled with the fact that she has lost friends from coming
out as a lesbian, “I feel like I have the people I need, but I wish I had
everyone. I live a life where I lose half the people I love over the way I want
to live.” (Murphy, 2013)
Through
researching this community I found that people in the LGBT community experience
a lot of internal struggles. These struggles occur mostly through the teen
years and usually don’t get solved until the early 20’s. In order to resolve this
conflict one must come to terms with themselves as well as others without
compromising their identity. I found that religion can make one deny that they
are gay or hide who they really are in order to make others happy. This can
lead to bigger problems later such as
low self-confidence and low social interaction. Social support is very
important. The people who received little or no social support took longer to
be comfortable with themselves and identify with the LGBT community. These
interviews and research have opened my eyes to the daily struggles of these individuals
and I can’t imagine the strength it takes to stand up for who you are when the
world is trying to push you down.
References
Bullying statistics. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/gay-bullying- statistics.html
Hayes, D. (2013, October 30).
Interview by M Waltemath []. Lgbt community.
Murphy, S. (2013, October 27).
Interview by M Waltemath []. Lgbt community.
Rector, J. (2013, October 30).
Interview by M Waltemath []. Lgbt community.
Avery, A. (2013, October 28).
Interview by M Waltemath []. Lgbt community.
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