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SOCIAL WORK IN CANADA
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An Introduction
Third Edition
Chapter 14: Social Work and Sexual and Gender Diversity
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
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Historical Context
The Rise of Community Activism
Theoretical Perspectives
Social Work Counselling
Counselling Issues
Implications for LGBTTQ-Positive Practice
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Historical Context
There are two major developments that have
shaped our thinking about gender and sexuality:
 Sexology – the field of study that invented the identities of
heterosexual and homosexual
 Community activism – a movement that subsequently
evolved to signify a shared history of oppression and
marginalization
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Historical Context
Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840–1902)
 Pioneer in creating categories of normal and abnormal
 Heterosexual begins to represent normality
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825–1895)
 Fought to decriminalize sodomy
 Homosexuality is inborn and natural
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Historical Context
Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935)
 Founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee
 Fought against paragraph 175 of the German criminal
code that made male homosexuality a crime
 First person to systematically describe and work with
transsexuals
 Challenged notion of sexual polarity in favour of sexual
pluralism
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Historical Context
Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956)
 Kinsey Report, 1948, Sexual Behavior in the Human
Male, surveyed a variety of people about their sexual
habits
 Showed that people’s sexual behaviours combined socalled perverse behaviours with those considered
normal
 Type of research was groundbreaking in that it
suggested everyday sexual behaviour often
transgressed laws, public opinion, and social norms
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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The Rise of Community Activism
The Stonewall Rebellion
On June 27 and 28, 1969, a series of riots erupted in
response to a police raid on a New York City gay bar,
the Stonewall Inn.
It represented a significant collective uprising by the gay
and lesbian community against state oppression.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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The Rise of Community Activism
Bill C-150
The legal terms used to describe gay sex were
decriminalized if committed in private between two
consenting adults over the age of 21. (1969)
“There is no place for the State in the bedrooms of the
nation.”
Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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The Rise of Community Activism
Queer Activism
Efforts and actions towards social change by LGBTTQ
communities; more confrontational than gay and lesbian
rights movements.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Theoretical Perspectives
Biological Determinism
Theory that an individual’s personality, behaviour, and
attitude is determined by genes, minimizing the role of
the environment.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Theoretical Perspectives
Social Constructionism
Theory that sexualities are constructed by our social
and cultural context and experience.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Theoretical Perspectives
Queer Theory
Maintains that sexual behaviours, identities, and
categories are social constructs.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Social Work Counselling
There are two extremes in social work counselling with
lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered or transsexual persons,
and gay men:
1.
2.
Social workers exaggerate the difficulties of living in a heterosexist
society
Workers assume that sexual orientation and gender identity make
no difference to a person’s experience
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Social Work Counselling
Coming Out of the Closet
Refers to the act of publicly revealing your sexual identity.
Those who keep their LGBTTQ identity secret are referred
to as living “inside the closet.”
Therefore, when one reveals one’s identity, it is said that
he or she is “coming out of the closet.”
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Counselling Issues
For social workers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgendered, or transsexual there are issues to
consider:
 Can be a role model
 Might experience challenges dealing with people who are hostile
to LGBTTQ communities
 Pressure may be added if not working in a queer-positive practice
 Be careful of your own stereotypes and beliefs
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Counselling Issues
There are some counselling issues that may arise that
are specific to members of transgendered and
transsexual communities.
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Counseling Issues
The following are useful points to consider:
 People do not always see themselves as fitting within a gender
norm
 Be supportive of how people understand their gender
 There are no “cures” for transsexualism
 Gender transitioning, hormonal therapy, or sex reassignment
surgery are some of the options
 Gender transitions can cause anxiety and uncertainty
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Counselling Issues
Social Work with Persons who are Homophobic
Generally, individual feelings of homophobia are rooted
in three different areas:
 Religion
 Insecurity in gender roles
 Negative past experience with someone who identified as
lesbian, gay, or bisexual
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Implications for LGBTTQ-Positive Practice
 Don’t make assumptions
 Remain supportive and open-minded
 People cannot change their sexual orientation, and it is
unethical to work with someone to do so
 Members of the LGBTTQ community may prefer to
work with a counsellor who is also a member of the
community
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Websites
 Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE)
www.egale.ca
 Gender Education and Advocacy
www.gender.org
 PFLAG
www.pflag.ca
 International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
www.iglhrc.org
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Questions for Discussion
In what ways do you see a recognition of
gender diversity in your social work program?
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Questions for Discussion
What are some tangible ways that you could
support people belonging to LGBTTQ groups in
your school? Field placement? Community?
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
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Questions for Discussion
What specific challenges does homophobia
pose for two-spirited persons?
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Questions for Discussion
Why do you think Nunavut, Canada’s newest
territory, is the first to extend human rights
protection to transgendered persons?
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
----------------------------------------------------
Questions for Discussion
Why are some LGBTTQ youth at risk for forced
participation in the sex trade? What are some
implications of globalization for the sex trade?
Chapter 14:
Social Work & Sexual & Gender Diversity
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.