Sex and relationships education has been a controversial area of the curriculum in England for many years. Despite changes to the content and the approach to this material, many teachers and parents remained unhappy about issues such as: the right of schools to teach material that some think should be done in a family situation only; the problem…

This paper discusses the importance and dangers of causal theories of sexual orientation, noting that, in recent years, the illness model of homosexuality has been thoroughly discredited and replaced with a variety of gay and lesbian affirmative constructs which explore the effects of a disparaging and hostile society on the development and…

Homosexual cognitive victimization is a term which emphasizes social evaluation of sexual behaviors judged in terms of sexual preference. Individual differences in cognitive victimization of homosexuals were examined in two studies. In the first study, undergraduate students (N=78) completed Likert-type rating scales measuring homosexual cognitive…

Few therapists are trained to provide affirmative, effective therapy for clients who are sexually nontraditional and from various multicultural backgrounds. The author explores several models that can be used to increase students' understanding of such clients. Pederson's Triad model uses the theory of three conversations at work in the counseling…

Stereotyped impressions of male homosexuals and the underlying importance of sexuality in social attraction and perceptions were investigated. Male (N=80) and female (N=80) college students responded to either an attractive or an unattractive photo of a male stimulus person, who was identified to half of the subjects as a homosexual. Compared to…

This study attempted to develop psychometric properties of the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS), an instrument used to assess the awareness, skills, and knowledge of counselors working with the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population. A sample of 287 undergraduates, master-level and doctoral-level students, and counseling…

Using ethnographic research methods, semistructured interviews were conducted with three women involved with a gay/lesbian/bisexual student organization. All three individuals were sophomores at an urban university in a large metropolitan area. The students discussed the fluid nature of the definitions of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, noting that…

This study used data from a national survey to examine the relationship of openness regarding sexual orientation to job satisfaction, job stress, and identity for self-identified homosexual and bisexual public school teachers. A survey was sent to participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of the 1,350 surveys…

This study used data from a national survey of homosexual and bisexual public school teachers to explore differences among participants in rural, suburban, and urban schools. A survey was sent to 1,350 participants through national, state, and urban based gay teacher organizations. Of those sampled, 904 responded. Findings included the following:…