Substance Use Disorders in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients by Sandra Anderson

Author:Sandra Anderson [Anderson, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work
ISBN: 9780231512695
Google: uT1LAAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2009-07-29T03:30:29+00:00

Racial/Ethnic Minority Clients

According to Elze (2006), “Marginalization also occurs within oppressed groups, rendering women, people of color, and bisexual and transgender people invisible and universalizing the experience of white gay males” (p. 49). Unfortunately, the same prejudices exist in the LGBT community as in the larger society. Thus, these communities also exhibit racism, Eurocentrism, classism, ageism, and homo/bi/transphobia (Bohan 1996). For example, the gay and lesbian communities marginalize transgender people and often devalue and discriminate against bisexual people. In addition to the prejudices within the LGBT communities, people of color must contend with the homo/ bi/transphobia in their own racial and ethnic groups.

There are very few studies exploring the experiences of LGBT adults of color, much less those who have substance use disorders. The African American community is dominated by a conservative religious tradition and is less accepting of diversity in sexual orientation and gender expression than the white community (Icard 1996). There may also be resistance to substance abuse treatment due to the stigma attached to being a patient and not being able to solve one’s own problems (Jones and Hill 1996). *

* Brianna is a sixteen-year-old African American lesbian who has lived with various members of her extended family since age fourteen, when her single mother was institutionalized. Many of these relatives were involved in illegal money-making activities, and alcohol was always abundant in their homes and used to excess. She initially thought that her lesbianism was a nonissue, but later learned that one relative was concerned that she “might turn another young girl into a dyke,” and she was asked to leave. By this time, Brianna was dependent on alcohol, was binge drinking, and believed that her “queer self was being dissed.” She has yet to become engaged in any of the substance abuse programs for sexual minority homeless youth.

Asian Americans often equate being LGBT with shaming one’s family and rejecting Asian culture, which values traditional sex roles and carrying forward the family line (Chan 1995). Coming out to family members is usually quite difficult, and there is also stigma attached to substance abuse treatment. Latino communities tend to value procreation-based heterosexuality and highly defined gender roles, and are typically not accepting of diversity in sexual orientation and gender expression.

Latino MSM are less likely to identify as gay or bisexual than white MSM are. Díaz (1998) explains that Latino gay men have been raised in a culture in which masculinity is expressed through risk taking and sexual prowess with multiple partners. Sexual intercourse is either active (masculine) or passive (feminine), and gay men are perceived as not being “real men.” Because homosexuality is shameful, Latino gay men generally separate their sexual/ social and family lives. Díaz, Ayala, Bein, Heine, and Marin (2001) found that many Latino gay men report high levels of psychological distress related to racism, homophobia, and poverty. Many use alcohol and other substances to cope with feelings resulting from discrimination (Díaz and Ayala 2001). Since a higher degree of acculturation is associated with more

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