Towards an understanding of the cultural roots of homophobia in order to provide a better midwifery service for lesbian clients

An essay about health professionals’ attitudes to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents seeking healthcare for their children

“…Others, however, found no association between attitude changes and the amount of targeted educational intervention received by individuals surrounding LGBT people (23). If LGBT issues are not discussed in education then there is little opportunity to reflect on those beliefs or challenge them (57) and equip professionals to reject homophobia in practice. Camilleri and Ryan (12) found that although participants had positive attitudes towards homosexuals and generally good knowledge of LGBT parenting, the curriculum did not provide students with the educational foundations on which these attitudes could be developed.…”

An expression of love – midwives’ experiences in the encounter with lesbian women and their partners

“…Studies show that lesbian women are generally satisfied with the care they receive, but they comment on the need for improved knowledge (Stewart 1999, Buchholz 2000, Wilton & Kaufmann 2001, Renaud 2007, Spidsberg 2007, Larsson & Dykes 2009). They refer to poor quality care, homophobia and discrimination (Kenney & Tash 1993, Wilton 1999), over‐focusing on sexuality (Wilton & Kaufmann 2001, Lee 2004, Spidsberg 2007, Röndahl et al. 2009), under‐focusing on sexuality (Spidsberg 2007) and assumptions about sexuality (Lee 2004).…”

Understanding Lesbian Experience

“…The only visual representation is heterosexual: a man and a woman. Being excluded from the heterosexual norm, lesbians and their partners fear ostracism, abuse, mistreatment and exclusion when entering the health care system (Platzer & James, 2000;Stevens, 1995;Wilton, 1999;Zeidenstein, 1990). Lesbians who self-disclosed, or "came out," have reported experiencing the following when interacting with their health care providers (Hitchcock & Wilson, 1992;Stevens, 1994):…”

“…It represents a fear of lesbians and gay men. It's a learned and internalized behavior and can manifest itself as hatred, fear, ignorance and exclusion (Platzer & James, 2000;Wilton, 1999). Homophobia places a huge cost on society and has been linked to increased rates in smoking, alcohol use, depression, HIV/AIDS, physical violence and attempted suicide rates among members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer (LGBTQ) community (Banks, 2001(Banks, , 2003.…”