ERIC Number: ED351618
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1992-Aug-16
Pages: 10
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Homophobia in Psychology Programs: A Survey of Graduate Students.
Cantor, James; Pilkington, Neil
Students experience homophobia in both covert and overt forms. Covert homophobia exists through the neglect of gay, lesbian, and bisexual topics in graduate psychology programs. Overt homophobia exists through the misinformation and perpetuation of stereotypes by faculty, textbooks, and program administrators. Unfortunately little data exist regarding the prevalence of overt homophobia in psychology programs. In this study psychology graduate students (N=79) were surveyed about experiences of homophobic bias they encountered in their programs. The survey asked students questions about their exposure to anti-gay, -lesbian, and -bisexual content in textbook passages, instructor comments, and other facets of graduate training. All but two of the respondents identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. These were the implications of the results: (1) psychology programs not only fail to make appropriate mention of gay topics, they also at an alarming rate, misinform, miseducate, and mislead people who will educate others regarding sexuality issues; (2) in nearly all cases course instructors fail to refute the misstatements of textbooks; (3) students' attempts to expand curricula, to further research, and to fill the existing void of information are thwarted not only by instructors, but also by practicum advisors, administrators, and thesis advisors; and (4) the burden of educating other students currently lies with gay, lesbian, and bisexual students, with the student, rather than the instructor or program becoming the vehicle for advancement of the field. (ABL)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A