Providing leisure services for gays and lesbians.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. A.H. Grossman is a professor of education in the Program in Recreation and Leisure Studies, Department of Health Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003.

Research studies on gays and lesbians in leisure studies, which can guide professionals in providing meaningful leisure services to this population, are virtually nonexistent. The purpose of this research update is to highlight research from other disciplines, especially in relation to gay and lesbian youth, from which practical implications for leisure service delivery can be derived.

Homophobia Bias in Initial Gay and Lesbian Research

Homophobia means an irrational dislike for those who are sexually attracted to people of their own sex (Rosan, 1978). It represents the affective or emotional feelings of anxiety, disgust, aversion, anger, discomfort and fear that heterosexuals may experience in dealing with homosexuals (Hudson and Ricketts, 1980). Homophobia is pervasive in American society and is taught implicitly and explicitly by parents, family members, teachers, coaches, professors, clergy, friends and even leisure service professionals. It leads to discrimination and oppression of gay men and lesbians in employment, housing, military service, public accommodations and recreation.

Research has also been affected by these biases. There are very few serious studies of homosexuality, as researchers have pursued more "socially acceptable" areas of study and strong prejudice has made it nearly impossible to locate truly representative subjects. When studies were undertaken, they "began with the assumption that heterosexuality was the expected development always, and attempted to show |what went wrong' to cause homosexuality.... The initial search for an understanding [was turned] into a search for a cause. It was felt that knowing the cause would lead to a ,cure," (Biery, 1990). The questions leading to hypoetheses for research were: "What goes wrong to cause homosexuality?" or "What could be done to prevent homosexuality?" or "What process could be used to |cure' homosexuality?"

In addition to the difficulties in determining cause and effect among independent variables, the research conducted was contaminated by social attitudes about gender, the studying of behavior (whereas sexual orientation consists of feelings), the lack of reliability afforded by large samples and the lack of "control groups." The single most serious problem, however, was the use of nonrepresentative samples. Most of the earlier research was conducted using patients in psychotherapy who were selected whether or not their problems related to their possible homosexuality. These earlier studies served to propagate the prejudice on which they were built. They became self-fulfilling prophecies and remained such until Kinsey's work in 1948.

Core Findings of Early Research

The studies of Kinsey and his colleagues (1948, 1953) legitimatized homosexuality as an area of research by showing the frequency of homosexual contact in the general American population. From the Kinsey studies, it was learned that 28 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls had one or more homosexual experiences. A 1985 nationwide poll by the Los Angeles Times appeared to confirm Kinsey's original data that ten percent of the respondents identified themselves as being gay or lesbian. "From these findings, sociologists have generally accepted a figure of ten percent, or 24 million Americans, as the incidence of homosexuality in the general population--which is more than the number of Americans who golf or bowl or hunt with any regularity" (Biery, 1990).

This growing body of literature challenged the psychopathological view of homosexuality. Gay men, lesbians and their supports pressured the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to remove homosexuality per se (Bayer, 1981) and ego-dystonic homosexuality (Biery, 1990) from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders as forms of mental illness. The declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness by the APA, along with supportive resolutions from the American Psychological Association, the American Anthropological Association, The American Sociological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers, among others, gave a new direction to the research on gay and lesbian issues. Rather than research based on a sickness model, current empirical and theoretical inquiries address problems faced by individuals as a consequence of their homosexual orientation.

Recent Research on Gay and Lesbian Issues

Of particular interest to this author is research related to gay and lesbian youth. There are not studies in the leisure literature related to this population; and there is only one study concerning the leisure experience of gay men (Grossman and Wughalter, 1985), which found a diversity of experiences among this population focusing on recreation and cultural activities, and reading. Other studies have focused on factors which may influence leisure participation. For example, Berger (1992) found that gay men have large and diverse social networks and that full awareness of a gay man's homosexuality is a prerequisite to providing him with social support which he will perceive as satisfying. These and other studies can guide professionals in providing meaningful leisure services to gay and lesbian youth until research related to leisure and this population is conducted.

Many gay men and lesbians sense something "different" about themselves as early as age four or five. The age at which most acknowledge their homosexuality is between 14 and 16 years for males and between 16 and 19 years for females (Saghir, Robins and Walbian, 1973).

The major developmental tasks of gay and lesbian youth are learning to hide (Martin, 1982) and adjusting to a socially stigmatized role (Hetrick and Martin, 1987). Fears of being discovered and discredited lead to severe stress among gay and lesbian youth. Stress factors among gay males, ages 15 to 19, are manifested by school problems related to sexuality, substance abuse, emotional difficulties warranting mental health interventions, a history of sexually transmitted diseases, running away from home and conflicts with the law (Remafedi, 1987a).

The most common effect of the stigmatization, however, is isolation. Eighty percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth seen by the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City report severe isolation problems. They experience social isolation (having no one to talk to), emotional isolation (feeling distanced from family and peers because of their sexual identity), and cognitive isolation (lack of access to good information about sexual orientation and homosexuality) (Hetrick and Martin, 1987). In many cases this isolation leads to substance abuse and suicide attempts. Gibson (1989) reports that gay youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts and speculates that gay and lesbian adolescents may account for 30 percent of adolescent suicides.

Family and school problems are other effects of stigmatization on gay and lesbian youth. For example, 28 percent of these youths are forced to drop out of school because of harassment resulting from their sexual orientation (Remafedi, 1987b; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 1984).

In many cases gay and lesbian youth experience a drastic loss of self-esteem when they realize that a basic part of their personality, i.e., their sexuality, is devalued and rejected by society generally, and more personally by parents, peers and teachers (Gonsiorek and Rudolph, 1991). However, this does not necessarily have to be the case. Savin-Williams (1990) found that for both gay male and lesbian youth, high self-esteem correlated with high educational status; acceptance from mother, male and female friends, and academic advisors; having a high number of heterosexual friends; and current or past involvement in a relationship. For males, political liberalism and participation in gay rights and activities also correlated with high self-esteem. For females, an early recognition of same-sex attractions correlated with high self-esteem. Savin-Williams (1990) also discussed research that shows a positive association between coming out and self-esteem, and in his own study he found positive correlations between self-esteem and general openness about one's homosexuality. He found positive correlations between those being most "out" and participation in gay activities and/or receiving support from family and friends.

Practical Implications

Underlying themes in all recent research related to gay and lesbian issues are that homosexuality is deeply stigmatized in American society and that this stigmatization, rather than sexual orientation per se, is the cause of severe stress factors for gays and lesbians, especially youth. These recognitions are the first step in improving the delivery of leisure services to individuals who have been denied essential parts of their personalities and their basic human rights as citizens.

The leisure service professional's attitude toward homosexuality is critical to providing meaningful services to gay and lesbian youth. Positive attitudes can assist in the recovery of the damage of negative stigmatization that has and continues to occur (Coleman and Remafedi,1989). Positive attitudes can be expressed by ensuring that "sexual orientation" is added to the agency nondiscrimination, recruitment and program policies; providing opportunities for building professional competencies on issues facing gay and lesbian youth; working to avoid stereotyping of gay and lesbian youth; integrating needs of gay and lesbian youth into the planning and delivery of services; creating a nonthreatening atmosphere in which sexuality, including sexual orientation, can be discussed; encouraging the development of a positive self-identity for youth who identify themselves as gay or lesbian; accessing community resources available to gay and lesbian youth; providing families of gay and lesbian youth with resource materials on sexual orientation; and providing support systems to help gay and lesbian youth develop positive self-esteem.

"Counselors [and leisure service professionals] are in a unique position to address the developmental issues and mental health ... concerns of homosexually oriented youth and their families. Given the current sociocultural climate and the health risks to our youth, this challenge is no longer an option but an imperative for every counselor [and leisure service professional] working with young people" (Coleman and Remafedi, 1989).

REPERENCES

Bayer, R (1981). Homosexuality and American psychiatry: The politics of diagnosis. New York: Basic Books. Berger, RM. (1992). Passing and social support among gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 23 (3), 85-97. Biery, RE. (1990). Understanding homosexuality: The pride and the prejudice. Austin, TX Edward-William Publishing. Coleman, E. & Remafedi, G. (1989). Gay, lesbian and bisexual adolescents A critical challenge to counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 68(1), 36-40. Gibson, P. (1989). Gay male and lesbian suicide. In Report of the Secretary's [Department of Health and Human Services] Task Rorce on Youth Suicide (pp. 3-110 to 3-142). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Gonsiorek, J.C. & Rudolph, J.R (1991). Homosexual identity: coming out and other developmental events In Gonsiorek, J.C. & Weinrich (eds.). Homosexuality: Research implications for public policy (pp. 161176). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Grossman, A.H. & Wughalter, E.H. (1985). Leisure and fitness: beliefs and practices of predominantly gay, male members of a gymnasium. Leisure Information Quarterly, 11(4), 7-12. Hetrick, E.S. & Martin, A.D. (1987). Developmental issues and their resolution for gay and lesbian adolescents. Journal of Homosexuality, 14,(1/2), 25-43. Hudson, W.W. & Ricketts, W.A. (1980).A strategy for the measurement of homophobia. Journal of Homosexuality, 5(4). 317-372. Kinsey, A.C., Pomerov, W.B. & Martin, C.E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. Kinsey, A.C., Pomeroy, W.B., Martin, C.E. & Gebhard, P.H. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. Martin, A.D. (1982). Learning to hide: The socialization of the gay adolescent. Adolescent Psychiatry, 10, 5265. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. (1984). Anti-gay/lesbian victimization. New York: Author. Remafedi, G. (1987a). Adolescent homosexuality: Psychosocial and medical implications. Pediatrics, 79, 331-337. Remafedi, G. (1987b). "Male homosexuality: The adolescent's perspective. Pediatrics, 79, 326-330. Rosan, L.J. (1978). Philosophies of homophobia and homophilia. The gay academic. Palm Springs, CA: ETC Publications. Rosario, M., Hunter, J. & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (1992). Unpublished data. HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute. Saghir, M.T., Robins, E. & Walbian, B. (1973). Male and female homosexuality. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins. Savin-Williams, R.C. (1990). Gay and lesbian youth: Expressions of identity. New York: Hemisphere Publishing.