Homosexual Stigma and Sex Education Term Paper

Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo has been a professor of Psychology at Stanford University since 1968 and is one of this nation's most famous psychological researchers. In 1970, his Stanford Prison Experiment dramatically illustrated the capacity of ordinary individuals to develop abusive and even sadistic impulses in a classic experiment that has been widely taught to undergraduate Psychology students for nearly four decades. More recently, Dr. Zimbardo was enlisted by the U.S. government in connection with understanding the abuses that transpired at the now infamous Abu Ghraib prison facility.

Discussion of Findings:

Even in contemporary U.S. society, a homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender identity is not well received and exposes the individual to intense social ostracism (Herek, 1998 p21-22). Even worse, outright violence against homosexuals is extremely common, partly because homophobia is largely condoned and even encouraged in many ways, notwithstanding public proclamations of the importance of social tolerance (Herek, 1998 p89-91).

While the Herek book provided a comprehensive explanation of the problem of homophobia and anti-gay/lesbian prejudice and violence, its value may be partially limited by its publication date, at least with respect to any changes in American society since its writing. In that regard, the primary research of interviewing Ms. Jones was especially helpful. Unfortunately, instead of revealing that the situation had changed appreciably in the last decade, the information provided by the interview strongly suggested that little if anything has changed.

The fact that stigmatization is still such a powerful obstacle to publicly acknowledging non-traditional sexual orientation or gender identity (Henslin, 2002 p130; Macionis, 2003 p198; Major & O'Brien, 2005 p396) means that the prospect of implementing sex education programs in the public school system is unlikely to be successful for lack of participation.That conclusion is further bolstered by the tremendous personal challenges faced by adolescents in particular, in connection with "coming out" at the most vulnerable stage of their emotional development (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2007 p381).

Social stigma in general remains as powerful an influence in modern society as ever. Homosexuality and non-traditional gender identity are associated with tremendous social stigmatization, prejudice, discrimination, and even anti-gay violence motivated by homophobia. The adolescent years are usually the most difficult stage of human psychological and emotional development; they also represent the period where negative social stigmatization is likely to have the most serious consequences to the individual.

Therefore, until society changes with respect to its values and norms that are responsible for anti-gay prejudices, the prospect of success of any sexual education program in public schools modelled after those traditional sexual education classes offered in school is very low. On the other hand, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students would likely benefit tremendously from adult guidance with regard to their sexual orientation and gender identity, if it could be provided privately instead of publicly. Instead of any overly ambitious or overly optimistic programs modelled after the traditional sexual education courses, such guidance should be readily available but in a completely private manner that does not expose the student to any possible negative stigmatization.

References

Gerrig, R., and Zimbardo, P. Psychology and Life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn & Bacon, 2007.

Henslin, J. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002.

Herek, G.M. Stigma and Sexual Orientation: Understanding Prejudice against

Lesbians, Gay Men and Bisexuals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998.

Jones, C. Wingspan, 2009.

Macionis, J. Sociology 9th Ed New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Major, B.,.....