What Do "Gold Star Gay" Mean? | The Daily Dish

Contents:

• WHAT IS THIS "GOLD STAR GAY" STAT THAT ANDY COHEN REFERRED TO?
• MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH
• WHAT DO "GAY" MEAN?
• WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE GAY? DEFN AND MEANG OF GAY

WHAT IS THIS "GOLD STAR GAY" STAT THAT ANDY COHEN REFERRED TO?

Sce 1975, APA has lled on psychologists to take the lead removg the stigma of mental illns that has long been associated wh lbian, gay, and bisexual orientatns. The prejudice and discrimatn that people who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual regularly experience have been shown to have negative psychologil effects. This page provis accurate rmatn for those who want to better unrstand sexual orientatn and the impact of prejudice and discrimatn on those who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual.

MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH

In the Uned Stat the most equent labels are lbians (women attracted to women), gay men (men attracted to men), and bisexual people (men or women attracted to both sex). Some people know that they are lbian, gay, or bisexual for a long time before they actually pursue relatnships wh other people. Prejudice and discrimatn make difficult for many people to e to terms wh their sexual orientatn inti, so claimg a lbian, gay, or bisexual inty may be a slow procs.

There is no nsens among scientists about the exact reasons that an dividual velops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lbian orientatn.

Lbian, gay, and bisexual people the Uned Stat enunter extensive prejudice, discrimatn, and vlence bee of their sexual orientatn.

WHAT DO "GAY" MEAN?

Public opn studi over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routely showed that, among large segments of the public, lbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attus. More recently, public opn has creasgly opposed sexual orientatn discrimatn, but exprsns of hostily toward lbians and gay men rema mon ntemporary Amerin society.

Severe antigay prejudice is reflected the high rate of harassment and vlence directed toward lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals Amerin society. Numero surveys dite that verbal harassment and abe are nearly universal experienc among lbian, gay, and bisexual people. The HIV/AIDS panmic is another area which prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people have had negative effects.

Early the panmic, the assumptn that HIV/AIDS was a “gay disease” ntributed to the lay addrsg the massive social upheaval that AIDS would generate. The associatn of HIV/AIDS wh gay and bisexual men and the accurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were fected served to further stigmatize lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE GAY? DEFN AND MEANG OF GAY

On the social level, prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected the everyday stereotyp of members of the groups. The stereotyp persist even though they are not supported by evince, and they are often ed to exce unequal treatment of lbian, gay, and bisexual people. For example, limatns on job opportuni, parentg, and relatnship regnn are often jtified by stereotypic assumptns about lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

On an dividual level, such prejudice and discrimatn may also have negative nsequenc, pecially if lbian, gay, and bisexual people attempt to nceal or ny their sexual orientatn. Although many lbians and gay men learn to pe wh the social stigma agast homosexualy, this pattern of prejudice n have ser negative effects on health and well-beg.

The wispread prejudice, discrimatn, and vlence to which lbians and gay men are often subjected are signifint mental health ncerns. Sexual prejudice, sexual orientatn discrimatn, and antigay vlence are major sourc of strs for lbian, gay, and bisexual people. Although social support is ccial pg wh strs, antigay attus and discrimatn may make difficult for lbian, gay, and bisexual people to fd such support.