LGBT Discrimination Literature Review

Introduction

Content/Analysis

Literature Review The modern society expresses more accepting attitudes toward the LGBT community, compared to past years. However, LGBT discrimination (e.g., employment discrimination) is still an ongoing social issue. Various literatures exist to support the argument that sexual minorities are disadvantaged and subject to employment discrimination. This arises from the negative stereotypes and heterosexual dominance, which is linked to poor psychological well-being. According to Mize (2016), the vulnerable group experiences different forms of workplace discrimination such as, job rejection and termination. Other studies have reiterated this finding and expanded the list to include: verbal harassments (e.g.,

Historically, homosexuality was labeled as a mental disorder that required treatment. Although, this classification has been debunked, some individuals may still think true of sexual minorities. Also, the LGBT community is considered evil, incompetent, and a potential carrier of HIV or AIDS (especially if the individual is a homosexual man). It is believed that they lack certain abilities that heterosexual individuals possess, which makes them a weak applicant. For instance, Tilscik (2011) proposes the idea that homosexual men do not have the ‘qualified’ heterosexual and masculine traits such as, strength, independence, confidence, and assertiveness, which would make for an ideal candidate for the ‘masculine’ job position. In general, this group is viewed as unskilled compared to heterosexuals, even when educational levels have been accounted for. Furthermore, LGBT discrimination may be constructed as a normative concept since non-heterosexual orientations are seen deviant from societal norms. In earlier years, society was situated as a binary system and only acknowledged 2 sexual orientations: heterosexual men and heterosexual women. It was not recognized on a continuum, and so any sexualities in between were, and may still be, viewed as abnormal. This social issue may be further normalized as some marginalized individuals tend to accept, rather than

This theory may argue that LGBT discrimination is a way to maintain a functional society. As mentioned previously, heterosexuality is a societal norm and so, non-binary sexualities are labeled as deviant and disruptive to society. Also, because they are taking on different roles other than a straight man and woman, they are unable to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of ‘male’ (e.g., construction workers and military officers) and ‘female’ (e.g., social workers and registered nurses) occupations respectively. Generally, non-heterosexuality is seen as problematic and discriminatory action is argued as a method to