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Nexus - Frequently Asked Questions |
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Q. What is sexual orientation? Q. What is multiple discrimination? How many lesbian, gay and bisexual people are there? The Government is using the figure of 5-7% of the population which Stonewall feels is a reasonable estimate. However, there is no hard data on the number of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in the UK as no national census Source: Stonewall Everyone has a sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is a combination of emotional, romantic, sexual or affectionate attraction to another person. In other words, it's about who you are attracted to, fall in love with and want to live your life with. The majority of women and men are heterosexual and they experience attraction and seek partners of the opposite sex. The words 'heterosexual' and 'heterosexuality' come from the Greek word heteros, meaning 'different' or 'opposite'. Some women and men experience erotic and romantic feelings exclusively towards members of their own sex, and such people are homosexual. The terms 'homosexual' and 'homosexuality' come form the Greek word homos, meaning 'the same'. Other women and men can experience erotic and romantic feelings for both their own and the opposite sex and such people are bisexual. The term 'homosexual' was coined by a Hungarian doctor Karoly Maria Benkert in 1869 and introduced into English by sexologist Havelock Ellis in the 1890s. Originally the term 'homosexual' was used by scientists and doctors to describe same-sex attraction and behaviour as a sign of mental disorder and moral deficiency. To obtain distance from such medical labels, the terms gay and lesbian are used today to describe women and men who seek same-sex partners. Although the term 'gay' is used to describe both women and men, it is mainly associated with men. Women are mainly referred to as lesbians. Although the origin of the term 'gay' being associated with men and women is not clear, Gertrude Stein used it in her work "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene" to refer to two women. There is also a suggestion that it comes from 19th Century French slang for men - 'gaie'. The term 'lesbian' is associated exclusively with women and comes from the name of the Greek island Lesbos. The prominent Greek poetess Sappho lived there in the 7th Century BC and was famous for her passionate poems dedicated to other women. The term 'lesbian' has been used in English since the 19th Century. For more information on sexual orientation visit website of the American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.htm
Homophobia is the irrational hatred, intolerance, and fear of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. These prejudicial feelings fuel the myths, stereotypes, discrimination and violence against people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. Lesbians, gay and bisexual people who are socialised in a homophobic society often internalise these negative stereotypes and can develop some degree of low self esteem and self hatred. This can be described as internalised homophobia. The word homophobia was constructed by the heterosexual psychologist George Weinberg in the late 1960s. Weinberg used homophobia to label heterosexuals' dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals as well as homosexuals' internalised oppression. The word first appeared in print in 1969. Source: Stonewall Heterosexism is a term used to describe a bias exhibited by a society or community that is often subtle but nonetheless pervasive, whereby cultural institutions and individuals are conditioned to expect others to live and behave as if everyone were heterosexual. Heterosexism, like sexism, is firmly entrenched in the prevailing customs, tradition and institutions of UK society. It serves to silence and erase the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual people, creating a dearth of positive cultural images. Similarly to homophobia, the term heterosexism began to be used in late 1960s. It highlighted the parallels between prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, and other forms of prejudice - against women (sexism), people of different ethnic origin (racism), and against Jewish people (anti-Semitism). Dr Gregory Herek, an internationally recognised authority on sexual prejudice (or homophobia), describes heterosexism as an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatises any non-heterosexual form of behaviour, identity, relationship, or community. Source: Stonewall What is multiple discrimination? Most of us don't belong to one community but several. We have multi-faceted
identities - being Black and gay, or disabled and transgender and
a woman. This is known as multiple discrimination. Source: Stonewall
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