Homosexuality And The Healthcare Profession
Stiernborg (1992) suggests, from his own study, that attitudes underpin knowledge and consequently, affect the actions of a healthcare professional. Acknowledging this finding, the writer proposes to define the term's homophobia and attitude. He then aims to differentiate between the terms homosexual and gay or lesbian as terms of reference. Following this the writer then aims to briefly discuss whether possible negative attitudes have any bearing on the care that HIV, (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), positive and AIDS, (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), patients receive. He will then look, in detail, at the available literature to see if there are possible reasons for these attitudes ...
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is defined by Collins (1993) as, "an irrational and morbid condition; an intense and unreasoning fear or dislike." From this, homophobia can be defined as, "a pattern of attitudes - a revulsion towards homosexuals and often the desire to inflict punishment, mental or physical, as retribution" (Weinberg 1972).
According to Collins (1993) an attitude is a, "way of thinking and behaving." Burns (1980), goes further and suggests that an attitude consists of three elements; what we believe about an object, how we feel about it, and what we tend to do about it. Taking this into account, a nurse who may believe and feel that homosexual acts are intrinsically wrong will communicate this to his/her patients, even though he/she may try not to. This is explained further by Foong (1992), who suggests that apart from the more common ways of conveying thoughts and attitudes, such as speech and gestures, there are, "other non-symbolic aspects to communication, such as the quantity of ...
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sexuality because they appear to be identifying a group of people by their sexual experiences rather than by their lifestyle. As Allen (1992) suggests, "Sexual orientation is a matter of lifestyle and tells us something about the group with which the person identifies. It tells us nothing about sexual practice, about what a person actually does." By identifying gay men and lesbians as no more than a collection of sexual acts, the writer feels that this is deprecatory in character and that it is partially homophobic in nature.
Thus, it could be argued that negative attitudes and homophobia has been aggravated by the increased exposure that has arisen as a result of the HIV virus, and ...
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Homosexuality And The Healthcare Profession. (2005, April 12). Retrieved April 26, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Homosexuality-And-The-Healthcare-Profession/25230
"Homosexuality And The Healthcare Profession." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 12 Apr. 2005. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Homosexuality-And-The-Healthcare-Profession/25230>
"Homosexuality And The Healthcare Profession." Essayworld.com. April 12, 2005. Accessed April 26, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Homosexuality-And-The-Healthcare-Profession/25230.
"Homosexuality And The Healthcare Profession." Essayworld.com. April 12, 2005. Accessed April 26, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Homosexuality-And-The-Healthcare-Profession/25230.
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