LGBTQ 101 a primer for supporting LGBTQ students Wendy Schindler, Gateway Community & Technical College Introduction and Welcome Disclaimers -I only speak for myself -This is not meant to be political or religious -Very basic information

First of all . . . My most heartfelt thanks to Amy Brock of Young Harris College for presenting this at #NACADA17 while I was dealing with a family emergency. I made the right choice to be with my family, but I was still devastated to miss annual. Thank you, Amy, for giving me some peace of mind, knowing my session was covered and for being a true friend!

The Why… 36% of LGBTQ students report experiencing harassment and 79% of those harassed identified other students as the source (Rankin, 2005). “Verbal harassment, name-calling, ridicule and rejection are significant stressors that can increase risk for depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicide” in LGBTQ students (Zubernis & Snyder, 2007). LGBTQ students “more often seriously considered leaving their institution, avoided LGBTQ areas of campus, feared for their physical safety due to sexual identity, and avoided disclosure of sexual identity due to intimidation and fear of negative consequences.” (Rankin et al., 2010). Why is it important to support LGBTQ students? Resources: Rankin, S. R. (2005). Campus climates for sexual minorities. New Directions For Student Services, 2005(111), 17-23.   Rankin, S., Weber, G., Blumenfield, W., & Frazer, S. (2010). 2010 State of Higher Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender People. Retrieved from Campus Pride website: https://www.campuspride.org/wp-content/uploads/campuspride2010lgbtreportssummary.pdf Zubernis, L., & Snyder, M. (2007). Considerations of Additional Stressors and Developmental Issues for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender College Students. Journal Of College Student Psychotherapy, 22(1), 75.

LGBTQQIAAOP Alphabet soup: You may know what a few of the letters stand for, but it can quickly get confusing if you’re unfamiliar. We’re going to start with the basics and then tackle some terminology. Finally, we’ll look at some scenarios for some practical ideas. (Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thrivingveg/8485913543/)

SEX GENDER ATTRACTION EXPRESSION The foundation for building an understanding of Gender and Sexual Identities can be summed up in four words: Sex, Gender, Attraction, and Expression. We’ll explore the meaning of each and when we’re finished, you’ll be able to generalize the differences among these four distinct concepts. EXPRESSION

SEX Sex refers to your biological makeup generally referred to in the terms male and female. These biological traits that you are born with and develop are referred to as sex characteristics. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/2511551597/ (CC-Attribution)

Sex characteristics can include genitalia, body shape, voice pitch, body hair, hormones, and chromosomes. Although we typically think of all humans as being male OR female, it's important to learn that some people are not strictly one or the other. Image Credits: David: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fontplaydotcom/6122821136/ Drawing Mannequin: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hey__paul/8403221395/ Singer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saumag/8007446056/in/photostream/ Facial Hair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/attercop311/3320693253/ Brain: Author’s Personal Image Chromosome: https://www.flickr.com/photos/102642344@N02/10136583214/ sex

GENDER Gender is a person's self-conviction of being a man or a woman or another gender. Gender is an internal concept and is not dictated by one's sex. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilconway/3792906411/ (CC-Attribution)

Who am I? Gender is how we, in our head, define ourselves based on how much we align (or don’t align) with what we understand to be the options for gender. That can be a bit confusing. More simply, it's our internal identity. Similarly to sex, it's important to know that not everyone identifies their gender as strictly man or woman. Image Credit: Thinker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/christopherbrown/15002659050/ gender

ATTRACTION Attraction, in its simplest terms, is being drawn to someone. Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/blavoulondon/25397269264/

Although we often think of it in terms of sexual orientation, attraction can take many forms. For example, romantic attraction makes people desire an intimate emotional connection and platonic attraction is what draws you to your friends. Attraction can vary greatly from person to person. attraction

EXPRESSION Expression is our outward presentation of gender.

Expression encompasses the ways we present our gender, through our actions, dress, and demeanor, and how those presentations are interpreted based on societal gender norms. Be careful not to make assumptions, though, as gender expression may or may not match biological sex or gender identity. For example, a female who identifies as a woman may choose to wear masculine clothing. Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrcolantuono1/14375646748/ (https://www.flickr.com/photos/naveenkadamphotography/9407578228/) expression

To tie this all together, let's take a look at the Genderbread Person created by Sam Killerman at ItsPronouncedMetrosexual.com. Our Genderbread Person has some handy symbols to help us remember the basics. Up in the brain, we see Gender Identity; attraction lies in the heart; our biology determines our sex; and the overall presentation of our gender is expression. On the right, each symbol has a set of continuums. Remember, Sex, Gender, Expression, and Attraction are not binary, that is, either/or. People have the capacity to fall anywhere on either continuum. You'll notice that attraction is broken out into sexual and romantic attraction. This is a more accurate way of describing some of the ways we do or don't experience attraction versus only focusing on sexual orientation. Although the Genderbread Person isn't perfect, we can use it as a basic illustration of our four key concepts. Image Credit: http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2015/03/the-genderbread-person-v3/

LGBTQQIAAOP Getting back to our alphabet. Let’s see how each letter fits in with our four key concepts. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thrivingveg/8485913543/

sexual orientation Remember sexual orientation relates to attraction. Let’s take a look at our first terms.

G-Gay L -Lesbian G and L are the letters that tend to be the most recognized. Gay refers to men who are attracted to men (and is also sometimes used as a general term for anyone attracted to the same gender). Lesbian refers to women who are attracted to women. Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aliciajrose/13453437414/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/blavoulondon/25400450373/

O-Omnisexual P-Pansexual B-Bisexual B, P, and O are all related. Bisexual previously was often described as someone who is attracted to both men and women. However, some people feel that falls into the trap of treating gender as strictly a binary. I find it more accurate to define bisexual as a person who attracted to people who are like themselves and people who are not like themself. Pansexual and Omnisexual refers to people who are not generally attracted to any one gender over another. The difference between the two is simply regional. Some parts of the country prefer pan and others prefer omni.

A-Asexual Asexual refers to people who experience little or no sexual attraction to others and/or a lack of interest in sexual relationships/behavior.  Asexuality exists on a continuum from people who experience no sexual attraction or have any desire for sex, to those who experience low levels, or sexual attraction only under specific conditions, and many of these different places on the continuum have their own identity labels. Also, a lack of interest in sexual behavior does not necessarily mean a people in not interested in romantic relationships.

biological sex Remember sex terms refer to biology. We’re going to cover one biological sex term today.

Intersex refers to people who have a combination of chromosomes, hormones, internal sex organs, and genitals that differs from the two expected patterns of male or female. In the past you may have heard the term hermaphrodite, but this term is now outdated and derogatory. I-Intersex

gender Remember, gender is our internal conviction of self. Who do I know myself to be?

T-Trans Umbrella Transgender Transsexual Gender Queer Two-Spirit Gender Fluid Agender Etc... Trans is an umbrella term covering a range of identities other than socially defined gender norms. The most common term you will most likely hear is Transgender. A transman is generally a biological female whose gender identity is that of a man and a transwoman is generally a biological male whose gender identity is that of a woman. Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/photo-knight/7897786544/ T-Trans Umbrella

multi-purpose Finally there are some multi-purpose terms that don’t fall into one of the other categories. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/free-stock/7304232902/

Queer is another umbrella term to describe individuals who don’t identify as straight. The term “queer” can often be use interchangeably with LGBTQ (e.g., “queer folks” instead of “LGBTQ folks”). Due to its historical use as a derogatory term, it is not embraced or used by all members of the LGBTQ community. A good rule to follow is only use the word queer if a person has specifically told you that’s how they identify. Q-Queer

Questioning refers to a person who is unsure about or exploring their own sexual orientation or gender identity. Q-Questioning

progress not perfection We’ve covered a lot so far. Keep in mind you should strive for progress. No one is perfect. I slip up from time to time. You will slip up from time to time. The important thing is to always be educating yourself. If you make a mistake, apologize. Don’t dwell on it and move forward. The next three slides have scenarios to help you practice what you might say or do. Think about resources available on your campus.

SCENARIOS During an advising appointment, Casey seems nervous. He eventually tells you that he is gay. Casey says he wishes to be out to other students, but doesn’t know where to start. He’s worried about rejection and is looking for support.

SCENARIOS Chris confides in you that her classmate, John, has made her uncomfortable. Before class, Chris heard John say “that’s so gay” and called his friend a “queer” because of a TV show the friend enjoyed. Chris doesn’t know what to do and is anxious about going back to class.

SCENARIOS Don tells you that he is transgender and wants to begin transitioning from a man to a woman. Don asks you to please call her Grace and start using feminine pronouns. Grace wants to know how she can find support on campus.

SEX GENDER ATTRACTION EXPRESSION Differentiating between sex, gender, attraction, and expression is an excellent first step to understanding gender and sexual identities. Sex is our biological makeup; Gender is our internal self-conviction of identity; Attraction is being drawn to others; And Expression is our external presentation. Now that you have a firm foundation, I encourage you to continue learning. EXPRESSION

Commission for LGBTQA Advising and Advocacy Our commission is a great resource for all advisors who work with LGBTQ students! Commission for LGBTQA Advising and Advocacy NACADA – The Global Community for Advising Our commission is a great resource for all advisors who work with LGBTQ students!

Gateway Community & Technical College Thank you! Wendy Schindler Gateway Community & Technical College wendy.schindler@kctcs.edu