A series of professional development workshops for the faculty of personnel certification programs was prepared at the request of the Massachusetts Department of Education. The new equity standards in teacher and administrator certification in Massachusetts call for instruction in gay and lesbian issues. This resource manual presents materials to…

A study of gay men and their experiences of "coming out" to their parents found that both the mother's and father's reported level of education and religious orthodoxy significantly predicted the relationship change between the mother or the father and the self-disclosing son. This study sought to broaden the available database by sampling both…

Homophobia is a term used to describe irrational fears about, prejudice, and discrimination against homosexuals. Past research has shown that religious people were more homophobic than nonreligious ones and that these same individuals were more likely to have a high level of sex anxiety. In recent research, it has been found that with the onset of…

Gay and lesbian adolescents are marginalized at many levels. Their needs and interests are slighted in the balance of advocacy work that purports a concern for the welfare of minority children. Their presence is overlooked in studies of youth and the mass media. Their existence is excluded from American popular culture. The symbolic annihilation…

This document presents the third of five newsletters on sex education for parents. The newsletters were designed to help parents increase their ability to communicate with their adolescents about sexual issues. They explore the origins of the parents' feelings about sex; teach the importance of a healthy self-concept and how to build it in the…

This module presents six comprehensive, contemporary lessons for high school classes on the elements and complexities of human relationships. Designed to give students a realistic perspective on what it takes to develop, maintain, and--when necessary--break off relationships, this module offers teachers a refreshing, straightforward approach to…

Teachers of writing are well trained to take the lead in inspiring a change in communication and behavior within the classroom to create more positive schooling experiences for gay and lesbian students. Many gay teenagers become aware of their sexuality at an early age; however, by the time most of them reach college composition, they have still…

This paper focuses on the emergence of a sense of sexual difference during childhood and the attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality internalized by children. Data on a variety of issues associated with growing up gay or lesbian were gathered from young adult homosexuals (N=13) in South Carolina, school guidance counselors (N=142), preservice…

This paper explores some themes which emerge frequently in lesbian relationships as both members of the couple strive to realize their unique potential. Some of the areas discussed are: (1) roles and the decision making process; (2) emotional expectations; (3) time alone and time together; (4) issues that arise when both persons value their work;…

A social worker's discomfort in dealing with the homosexuality of patients may be related to limited experience in homosexual behavior of one's own, labeling, perceptions of separateness, and ideas about "sickness." Discusses several learning experiences which author has used to help social work students cope with these sources of discomfort.…

To ascertain the audience's perception of the homosexual stereotyped character in reference to the social contact variable, two groups were shown a television situational comedy that depicted two homosexual characters. The two groups, one composed of 45 homosexual and the other of 95 heterosexual college students, were then asked to evaluate the…

A review of the literature on role modeling leads to the conclusions that children internalize particular traits from a variety of role models and that gays are more likely to serve as nontraditional sex-role models than as determiners of same-sex sexual preference. (Author/WI)

In this study, men were perceived to be less masculine and less preferred as fellow participants if they were labeled homosexual. The man responsible for the primary labeling of the homosexual was perceived as more masculine and more sociable when he labeled the homosexual than when he did not. (Author/WI)

Using a modified version of Smith's "homophobic scale," this study examines attitudinal differences between 60 homosexual and 60 heterosexual Caucasian, middle-class males. Although homosexual subjects evidenced a consistent liberal attitude toward sexual behavior in general, many heterosexuals indicated a strong margin of attitudinal…

This paper is an analysis of a recent attempt of the Gay Student Union of Western University to challenge the presence of the ROTC on campus. (Author)