My Role Model Post

Here is part of my role model post for my health and wellness class discussion I mentioned. I found the American Psychological Association web-site to be very informative and positive when discussing sexual orientation and homosexuality.

• "The American Psychological Association (2004) reports that research show that individuals with positive attitudes toward gays, lesbians, and bisexuals (GLB) know one or more GLB as a co-worker or friend. Sharing one’s sexual orientation, known as “coming out”, is beneficial for one’s mental health and helps to higher self-esteem. Additionally, educating individuals within a community will likely diminish anti-gay prejudice. One may ask what the effects of anti-gay prejudice are. In a lifetime victimization study Balsam et al. (2005) they did a comparison study of LGB and heterosexuals in a primarily European American sample. They found that LGB individuals reported more occurrences of physical and psychological abuse by parents, more partner abuse in adulthood, more childhood sexual abuse, and more sexual assault in adulthood than heterosexual individuals.
  
  In the past few years it has been more challenging to get out into the community to promote health and wellness with being a new parent to two young ones, however I have found a way to get to the community from within the compounds of my home. This is through the wonderful world of blogging. In Saipan there is a social network of bloggers. In my blog, www.gayinsaipan.blogspot.com, I have addressed such issues as suicide for GLBT teens, “coming-out”, local events for GLBT support, GLBT health issues such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, disabilities and sexuality, GLBT equal rights issues, and more. In Saipan the GLBT community is mostly underground as 80-90% of the community is Catholic and the social atmosphere is similar to the militaries “don’t ask, don’t tell”. It is through my blog that I hope to share and bring awareness to the community about GLBT issues and promoting health and wellness. As our children get older, as a family unit and individually, I will become involved again in promoting health and wellness within our community from outside of our home."

Island Dyke

Reference:

Balsam, KF, Rothblum, ED & Beauchaine, TP. (2005). Victimization over the life span: a comparison of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual siblings. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 477-87. Retrieved on February 28, 2008, from PubMed.

No author listed. (2004). Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality. American Psychological Association. Retrieved on February 28, 2008, from http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=31.