5.1.3
Hi Josh,
I'm happy people are discussing John's sexuality as a pertinent social factor. However, I have some important
points to clarify with regards to your post. In your post you identify the prejudice and stigma that's held against
same-sex partners. This is likely only a fragment of what John experiences as a result of his sexuality.
Research shows that there is such a thing as biphobia and monosexism and that both of these forces may
impact mental health. Although this sounds like it's splitting hairs, it's actually not as biphobia is actually often
levied at bisexual individuals from not just heterosexual people (Eliason, 2001) but also commonly from those
who identify as gay or lesbian as well (Mohr & Rochlen, 1999; Rust, 1993). Furthermore, attitudes towards
bisexual individuals have been demonstrated to be more prejudicial than those held toward other members of
the queer community (Herek, 2002), a variety of cultural and religious groups, and only happened to be
perceived as being slightly more positively than injection drug users.
I noticed that neither the academic community nor our textbooks write much on this subject. How do you think
this impacts our ability to counsel these individuals effectively?
Wordcount: 200