ABSTRACT
This is first and foremost a chapter about people—their yearnings, fears, loves, hopes, disappointments, losses, and all else that encompasses their life journeys. Those trained as counselors have an ethical obligation to understand the complexity of oppressions, both internalized and external, that queer folk face. Like the word fag, the word queer is often used as an abusive and scornful epithet by those who hate or fear anyone outside the heterosexual experience. But words once used as slurs are being taken back by queer-identified people as a sign of pride and affirmation for the right to be different (Feinberg, 1996; Spargo, 1999). Sex matters, yet the sex act is only a small portion of what makes a person identify him- or herself as a sexual minority. Queer folk are those who identify as BGLT (bisexual, gay, lesbian, or transgender), that is, a person of a sexual minority within a predominately heterosexual society. We, the authors, begin this chapter by asking you to ponder some challenging questions:
In what ways do you regard yourself as unique?
What roles do biology, parenting, social convention, social control, politics, religion, and popular culture play in determining acceptable norms and mores for human relationships?
What shapes your desires? How do you know that they are "normal" ?
What makes one erotic activity good and another bad?
