Each individual or group (no more
than 2 people) will pick a relevant topic related to the LGBTQPIA community of
your own choosing. You should discuss both the commonalities and the diversity
of the community’s experience. It can be one of topics that we will discuss in
class or another one of your interest. The project will consist of one 10-page
formal research paper. The paper should focus on applying the themes and
concepts discussed in class to the real world. You will be assessed on how
you’ve summarized, synthesized and situated, analyzed and critiqued the issue
being discussed, and described a policy or programmatic response to the issue.
Remember that LGBTQ studies is an interdisciplinary field – you are encouraged
to incorporate issues, theories, etc. (if appropriate) from your major to the
project. Your project should include at least 8 citations (minimum of 4-5
academic references). A maximum of 2 academic references from the in-class
material can count towards these numbers, but you can still use more than 2 if
necessary. You can
count 1 cover page and 1 page from your references/bibliography/work cited
towards your 10-page requirement.
Questions to consider: Why is this topic significant to the course? What
framework or theoretical framework are you viewing the topic through? How does
it impact the community? What social, economic, and/or political factors are
involved in the topic? Are there other relevant or overlapping identities
related to or exacerbated by this topic, such as race/ethnicity,
class/socioeconomic status, religion, (dis)ability, immigrant status, body
type, etc.? What are some of the problems addressed/caused by this topic? What
are some of the opinions of this topic within the LGBTQPIA, gender-oppressed,
and/or sexuality-oppressed community?
MY TOPIC TO WRITE ON:
I will go into detail on mental health difficulties
that the LGBTQIA+ community is suffering from. I will give special attention to
the role of stigma and discrimination in this discussion. This issue is directly
relevant to this course since it merges with a number of the themes we
discussed, such as identity excluded by society and the societal structures
that govern individual experiences. Substantial research studies have shown
that the LGBTQIA+ population faces significantly higher levels of mental health
disorders relative to members of the heterosexual community. This is majorly
due to societal attitudes and systemic discrimination (Eberman et al., 2023). This paper will directly
present studies that target mental health conditions experienced by LGBTQIA+
individuals and analyze the justifying social and psychological reasons. Social
discrimination is understood to be the main driver of the negative impact on
mental health, and therefore, how these societal effects are addressed by
policymaking or what community responses or support systems are effective will
be examined.
In addition to this, this
research will constantly involve the uniqueness of experiences that exist
within the LGBTQIA+ world by looking at a number of factors such as age, race,
and socio-economic status and their relations to mental health status. If you
want to know, it is inevitable that the common factor with diverse groups of
people when the effect of stigma is looked at, but the severity among the
communities differs. Combining the perspectives and techniques from psychology
and sociology, this paper will give a balanced discussion on mental health
issues that LGBTQIA+ people are both influenced by and, in turn, influence
societal attitudes towards this category of people. Backed up with academic
writings on identity development and stigma, as well as research that has found
the efficacy of different treatment methods directed at mental health
improvement of the LGBTQIA+ community, this analysis will be aided (Winkelmann et al., 2022). Such
studies will enrich the existing knowledge in the respective field and
regarding the well-being of the LGBTQIA+ community and could provide actionable
insights on how policy and community initiatives can be shaped to promote the
mental health of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
ACADEMIC SOURCES LISTED BELOW: