How Heterosexism Plagues Practitioners in Services for Lesbians and Their Families

An Exploratory Study

Bibliographic Data

ID12398481
AuthorsSandra C Anderson (Portland State University, corresponding author), Mindy Holliday (Portland State University)
Year2007
Volume19
Issue2
Pages81-100
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1053-8720 • E-ISSN: 1540-4056
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10538720802131782
OpenAlexW29505233
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited29

Barriers to services for lesbians and their families have been well documented in the literature (DeCrescenzo, 1984; Harris, Schatz, & O'Hanlan, 1994; Nightengale, & Owen, 1995; Mallon, 1998), especially among medical professionals and social service providers. This study seeks to explore the prevalence of heterosexism and homophobia among mental health practitioners who identify as qualified providers for lesbians and the recipients' perspectives regarding the services they have received. Of the twenty-five practitioners who responded, 48% of them “knew personally of incidences of professional bias against lesbian clients.” Interestingly, only 26% of the 98 families reported heterosexual bias from their providers. Key Words: Lesbianheterosexismhomophobia

Business · Health care · Health professionals · Heterosexism · Lesbian · Mental health · Political science · Psychiatry · Service (business · Service provider · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

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