Our Stories Will Be Told: Deconstructing the Heterosexist Discourse in the Counseling Professions

“Could We Hold Hands?” Older Lesbian and Gay Couples’ Perceptions of Long-Term Care Homes and Home Care

“…Despite being protected by Canadian legislation which also legalizes same-sex marriage (Elliot, 2005), couples expected covert discrimination which was of particular concern for couples living in smaller cities. Previous work has drawn attention to the role of “silence or not taking an affirmative stance” in covert discrimination (Croteau et al, 2004, p. 147). An example of covert homophobia is failure to recognize gay and lesbian employees in the workforce (Tully, 2000, p. 87).…”

“…In addition to discrimination that is enacted or public, such as the denial of marriage rights and refusal of services, covert discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation can be subtle or hidden. Croteau, Lark, Lidderdale, and Chung (2004) reported that “covert” or “elusive” heterosexism can happen through silence or by not affirming, acknowledging, or recognizing same-sex relationships, or assuming someone is straight without asking. Nadal (2013) recently proposed the “sexual orientation microaggressions” concept that includes covert discrimination.…”

Queer Blindfolding: A Case Study on Difference “Blindness” Toward Persons Who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

“…These poststructuralist assumptions (Derrida, 1997(Derrida, [1967; Foucault, 1978;Parker, 1992) have been captured by studies that have found that heterosexual and cisgender identifying persons who express positive dispositions toward LGB and transgender persons often also display implicit prejudice and hold covert, yet discriminatory attitudes (Croteau, Lark, & Lance, 2005;Barrett & McWhirter, 2002;Kimber & Delgado-Romero, 2011;Nadal, Rivera, & Corpus, 2010;Pearson, 2003;Smith, 2009). Moreover, while there have been numerous studies within the last decade that examine overt heterosexism and negative value formation among heterosexuals (Dworkin, 2002;Herek, 2000;Korfhage, 2006;Stotzer, 2009), there is much less research examining the implicit biases of heterosexual/cisgender persons who identify as egalitarian and positively disposed toward LGB and transgender individuals.…”

The Effects of Simultaneous Developmental Processes: Factors Relating to the Career Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth

“…Recently, there has been a call from counseling professionals to shift lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues away from the margins in an effort to counteract the dominant heterosexist discourse in the field (Croteau, Lark, Lidderdale, & Chung, 2005), which extends to career research, theory, and counseling. Although the development of LGB individuals has received increased attention from researchers and theorists in recent years (Chung, 2003;Phillips, Ingram, Grant Smith, & Mindes, 2003), this area of research is still considered to be in its infancy (Croteau, Anderson, Distefano, & Kampa-Kokesch, 2000;Croteau, Lark, & Lance, 2005) and even fewer studies have focused on LGB career development (Pope, 1995). Much of what has been published in the career literature focuses on the possibility that the developmental trajectory of LGB individuals is different from that of their heterosexual peers as a result of the stigmatization and social marginalization experienced by this group (Morrow, 1997).…”