LGBT* Community Connection NAMETAGS: Preferred Name Pronouns (Ex. – She/Her/Hers, They/Them/Theirs, Ze/Zir/Zirs) If you do not want your picture taken, make sure you have a pink dot! Pictures taken may be made public PRE-SURVEY Anonymous Please complete and give to volunteers

LGBT* community connection Presenter: Vivian Carney She/Her/Hers Social Work Major Keynote Speaker: Elijah Johnson They/Them/Theirs BGSU Social Work Graduate Former President of VISION

This is a safe space What is a safe space? Acceptance, tolerance, nonjudgmental How do you want to make today’s space a safe space?

Identifying LGBT* LGBT*, LGBT+, LGBTQ*, LGBTQ+ all mean… LGBTQQ2SIPAA… Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Questioning Two-Spirit Intersex Pansexual Asexual Ally… What about the term trans* then? (“Why We Used Trans* and Why We Don’t Anymore,” n.d.) Why? Who Says? Why the constant change? Will it ever settle into one acronym? Did I miss any questions?

Keynote speaker: Elijah johnson

Defining Community How do you define “community”? What is one community that you feel you connect with? Did you choose to connect with this community or was it “automatic”? What makes you feel connected with that community? Was there a certain event that made you feel as if you belonged to that community?

Developing a connection to the lgbt* community Community Interaction (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 63) Community Involvement (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 37; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 61-62) Community Connectedness (Baumeister and Leary, 1995, p. 499; Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 36) Coincides with coming out (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 38)

Interacting with the LGBT* Community Introduction to the LGBT* Community How introduced? Friends, bars/clubs, LGBT* organizations or groups, LGBT* events, and the internet Introductory Experience - Mostly positive (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 63) Decision to further connect made

Becoming actively involved Variations in “community” “Automatic” Involvement – Assumed involvement, not actual involvement Lack of research Recreational/Informal Involvement (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 37; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 61-62) Professional/Formal Involvement (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 37; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 61-62) Media/Internet Involvement (Cheng, 2011, p. 2) Or a mix (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 62) Are these experiences positive?

Understanding LGBT* Community Connectedness As a concept… Application of the need to belong Positive relationship with the community – mutually beneficial Shared mutual emotional connection constructed (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 36) By this, “Automatic” Involvement or Connection cannot exist (as it is not necessarily mutually positive or beneficial)

Activity: Feeling Connected Visit either “Home” or “Extracurricular” to earn dots Dots symbolize a positive “interaction” with the LGBT* community that may provide you with the opportunity to become “involved” With two (2) or more dots that are yellow or orange, you have the choice to visit the LGBT* “Community Involvement” You do not have to visit community involvement, and can go back to “Home” or “Extracurricular” at any time

Discussion Reflect on the activity, how do you feel? What do you think about the scenarios? Were there common themes that you noticed in the scenarios? Did you start to feel the sense of community connectedness by the end of the activity? Using the need to belong as a method of developing a mutually positive relationship with the LGBT* community What made it challenging, if anything, to feel connected to the LGBT* community?

Mental health benefits of community connectedness Group coping skill (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 38) Ameliorative Role (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 38) Social well-being (Kertzner, Meyer, & Frost, 2009, p. 500) Psychological well-being (Kertzner et al., 2009, p. 505)

Other positive impacts of community connectedness Social life (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 63-64) Identity development (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 64) Advocacy and activism (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 64) Resource Access (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 64)

internal negative impacts of community connectedness Racism (Kertzner et al., 2009, p. 501; Cheng, 2009, p. 2; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 65) Sexism (Kertzner et al., 2009, p. 501) Ageism (Dentato, Orwat, Spira, & Walker, 2014; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 65) Classism (Frost and Meyer, 2012, p. 37; LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 65) Ostracism within community (LeBeau and Jellison, 2009, p. 65; Kertzner et al., 2009, p. 501) Biphobia, transphobia, ostracism of lesser-known sexualities

external negative impacts of community connectedness Many of the same problems as within the LGBT* community Exposure to prejudice and discrimination

Worth the connection? Up to the Individual!

Bgsu lgbt* resources LGBT* Resource Center VISION Gamma Rho Lambda

References Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529. doi:10.1037/0033- 2909.117.3.497 Cheng, P. S. (2016, June). “I Am Yellow and Beautiful”: Reflections on Queer Asian Spirituality and Gay Male Cyberculture. Journal of Technology, Theology, and Religion, 2(3), 1-21. Dentato, M. P., Orwat, J., Spira, M., & Walker, B. (2014). Examining Cohort Differences and Resilience among the Aging LGBT Community: Implications for Education and Practice among an Expansively Diverse Population. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 24(3), 316-328. doi:10.1080/10911359.2013.831009 Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2012). Measuring Community Connectedness among Diverse Sexual Minority Populations. Journal of Sex Research, 49(1), 36- 49. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.565427 Kertzner, R. M., Meyer, I. H., Frost, D. M., & Stirratt, M. J. (2009). Social and psychological well- being in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals: The effects of race, gender, age, and sexual identity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79(4), 500-510. doi:10.1037/a0016848 LeBeau, R. T., & Jellison, W. A. (2009). Why Get Involved? Exploring Gay and Bisexual Men's Experience of the Gay Community. Journal of Homosexuality, 56(1), 56-76. doi:10.1080/00918360802551522 Why We Used Trans* and Why We Don’t Anymore. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://www.transstudent.org/asterisk

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