“LGBT in SHS: Struggles and Perceptions in a Heteronormative Environment”

By ROCHELLE LORENZO MAÑOSCA

Background of the Study

“Race, gender, religion, sexuality, we are all people and that’s it. We’re all people. We’re

all equal.” That is according to Conor Franta. Whatever your gender, race, religion, and sexuality

is, you’re still the person which you are now. Your sexual preference doesn’t define you, it is your

personality that aspire you to be who you are in the society where you belong. But there are still

people who do not yet accept the third sex in the community.

Attitude is determined as “a predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or

negatively to a certain idea, object, person, or situation”. A person have two angles in viewing a

certain person or peers that is involve in a society, its either positive or negative. On the other

hand, an attitude is “a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral

tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols”. We all know that we

live in a society with a group of different people that has different perceptions. Like, the negative

stereotypical thoughts arise from proximity and social knowledge of out groups; and in the case of

heterosexual-homosexual dynamics, they may also serve as a safety mechanism used to enforce

group superiority and normalcy. That means that society still exhibit ambivalence of the inclusive

acceptance of homosexuality today.

The widespread of LGBT community has awakening the social perspectives of the society

towards them. This study could not only benefits to the researchers but also for the whole

community. It may change their views, perceptions, and beliefs in the LGBT community.
Nowadays the researchers have seen a lot of changes towards the LGBT community. On how they

interact, and build their self in the society just for them to be accepted.

While the past decade has seen an improvement in attitudes toward homosexuality,

negative attitudes are still prevalent in many parts of the world. In general, increased levels of

education tend to be predictive of relatively positive attitudes toward homosexuality. However,

many studies reveal prevalent negative attitudes and prejudices toward homosexuality.

According to Scudera (2014) that hundreds or thousands of people in the LGBT community

are bullied, humiliated, and belittled on a daily basis because of their sexual orientation. There are

gay teens committing suicide because they could not bear those glares any more.

This prompted this proponent to conduct a study that will attempt to shed light in the

struggles and perception towards LGBT’s in a heteronormative environment.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the struggles and perceptions towards LGBTs in Senior High

School in a heteronormative environment.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the general profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Sexual Orientation;

1.2 Year Level?

2. What are the types of struggles and perceptions that LGBT senior high school students

face?
 3. What are the effects of struggles and perceptions to LGBT senior high school students?

4. What is the LGBT senior high school students’ way in overcoming the struggles and

perceptions towards them?

5. Is there a significant relationship in the LGBT senior high school students’ struggles and

perceptions in a heteronormative environment and the ways they overcome the struggles

and perceptions towards them?

Scope and Delimitation

This study will focus on Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender (LGBT) senior high

school students in a private senior high school in Manila. This study will be conducted to determine

the struggles and perceptions of LGBT senior high school students and the ways they overcome

it. The study will use members of LGBT in a specific senior high school using purposive sampling.

Significance of the Study

LGBT students. This study deals mainly with them and their experiences, this will help

them to express their different perspectives and will also benefit the LGBT students by helping

them to perceive the different ways of overcoming negative emotions whenever they undergo to

discrimination brought by other people.

Non-LGBT students. This paper aims to give all the non-LGBT students awareness and

better understanding about the effects of discrimination to LGBT students.

Parents of LGBT students. The family or parents of an LGBT students that is going

through discrimination will highly benefit in this study by giving them the chance to know the
insights and point of views of their children so they could help them to overcome and take actions

within this kinds of situations.

Faculty Members. Since, this study focuses on the struggle and perceptions of a

member of LGBT, the study will also reflect on how the school responds within circumstances.

Future researchers. This paper will be beneficial for future researchers to serve as their

basis if they are planning to conduct a research related to this study. They can use this information

to give them more ideas about the research they are about to conduct.

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study will utilize the descriptive method of research. Descriptive research describes a

certain condition. This will be used since the aim of this study is to determine the relationship of

the struggles and perceptions of a LGBT senior high school student in a heteronormative

environment and the ways on how the student overcome these struggles and perceptions. It aims

to examine the underlying meaning of the respondents’ experiences. Specifically, it tackles about

the experiences and insights of LGBT senior high school students.

Context and Participants

The respondents of this study will be either lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender senior

high school student of Emilio Aguinaldo College – Senior High School, a private run school

located in Manila City.

Instrumentation

The researcher adapted the idea of Sherry Waterman Chatman (2015) on constructing
questions for the interview, the questions were directed to LGBT youth. The proponent localized

the material since it was crafted abroad and made it simple in order to become more understandable

to the respondents. The questions were used to gather the insights of LGBT students about their

struggles and perceptions in a heteronormative environment and their ways of dealing with it. This

present study aims to unleash the current struggles and perceptions from the sample group and to

enable to use the data to broaden the view about a bigger population of similar students in the

campus. This study is best described as cross-sectional study design because it was used to capture

struggles and perceptions one point at a time. The study used a non-probability sampling because

the researcher need to gather data from the specific respondents. The questionnaire consisted

mostly of closed-ended question whereas close-ended questions had options which were

determined by the researcher. Students were approached who are willingly and potentially had the

information that they could share and so purposive sampling was used. Finally the data was

collected using self-administered questionnaires. Close-ended questions were included because

they are easier to administer and to analyze. They are more efficient in the sense that a respondent

is able to complete more close-ended items than open-ended items in a given period of time. This

present study use a mixed methods and at the same time using correlational design.

Data Collection Procedure

Population

The target population for this research study were the senior high school students that

belongs to the group of LGBT or the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender at Emilio Aguinaldo

College – Senior High School

Sample

The judgmental-purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents of

this study. The researchers actively selected the most productive sample to be interviewed. The

study focused on the selected LGBT students from grade 11th to 12th high school.

Data Analysis

In this study it will include opinions and elicit data from the respondents through interviews

and focus group discussions. It is a closed-ended question. Interviews will be personally conducted

by the researcher to the selected senior high school students from grade 11 to grade 12. The data

will be collected over a period of 5 days. The researcher will roam from room to room in order to

interview the chosen respondents. The responses are separated by gender. When a interview is

used as a data gathering instrument, it is necessary to determine whether questions and directions

are clear to subjects and whether they understand what is required from them.

Theoretical Framework

In the present study, the proponent used the functionalist theory of Daniel Katz. Daniel Katz

proposed the theory of attitudes. He takes the view that attitudes are determined by the functions

they serve for us. People hold given attitudes because these attitudes help them achieve their basic

goals. There are 3 components of attitudes according to Daniel Katz. Cognitive - our thoughts,

beliefs, and ideas about something. When a human being is the object of an attitude, the cognitive

component is frequently a stereotype, e.g. “welfare recipients are lazy”. Affective - feelings or

emotions that something evokes. e.g. fear, sympathy, hate. May dislike welfare

recipients. Conative, or behavioral - tendency or disposition to act in certain ways toward

something. Might want to keep welfare recipients out of our neighborhood. Emphasis is on the

tendency to act, not the actual acting; what we intend and what we do may be quite different.
 A favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone, exhibited in

ones beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior. It is a social orientation - an underlying inclination to

respond to something either favorably or unfavorably. Katz distinguishes four types of

psychological functions that attitudes meet. Instrumental - we develop favorable attitudes towards

things that aid or reward us. We want to maximize rewards and minimize penalties. If an individual

was being perceptive like, he/she have observe that most of the people in the society don’t like

folks in the LGBT community, then, he/she are more favor to go against the LGBT community.

Knowledge - attitudes provide meaningful, structured environment. In life we seek some degree

of order, clarity, and stability in our personal frame of reference. Attitudes help supply us with

standards of evaluation. Via such attitudes as stereotypes, we can bring order and clarity to the

complexities of human life. Such as gender stereotypes in the society. Value-expressive - Express

basic values, reinforce self-image. If you view yourself as a homophobic, you can reinforce that

image by going against the LGBT community. Ego-defensive - Some attitudes serve to protect us

from acknowledging basic truths about ourselves or the harsh realities of life. They serve as

defense mechanisms. Katz says we develop attitudes that help us meet this goal.

Homosexual people inevitably differ in characteristics irrelevant to their category

membership. Heterosexuals with multiple contact experiences have increased opportunities for

observing such variation and consequently, individuating outgrow members. Such individuation

is likely to reduce intergroup prejudice. Close relationship with gay men or lesbians can provide

heterosexuals with intimate, personally relevant information about gay people. They are likely to

foster personalization of gay people, which helps to reduce prejudice. Discussions with a friend or

relative about the latter’s homosexuality can help to motivate the heterosexual person both to

maintain the relationship and to change his/her attitudes towards gay people generally. Through
this theory, the researcher can elaborate more about the attitudes of homosexuality towards

heteronormative environment. The 3 components will be considered as a guide for the researcher

to determine the attitudes of the respondents.

Conceptual Framework

This study focuses on determining the struggles and perceptions of LBGT senior high

school students towards a heteronormative environment by espousing the idea that attitudes may

differ on how they view, treat, and communicate with people within the heteronormative

environment. The proponent based the assumption from the Functionalist theory of Daniel Katz

that attitudes are determined by the functions in which an individual may have. Also people have

attitudes to meet their basic goals in life. In that case people could analyze their own attitudes

based on how they interact, view, and treat homosexuality.

For example, heterosexuality believe that there should be no homosexuality in the society.

They fear for what the homosexuality might bring in the environment. Prejudices of

heterosexuality towards the homosexuality that can result to struggles of a LGBT senior high

school student or somehow it could be change if there is a motivational structure follows. These

relationships will be more elaborated in Figure 1.

 Student – Struggles and
Respondents’ Profile Perceptions of LGBT in
Overcoming
heteronormative
struggles and
environment
negative
 Adaptive perceptions
 Knowledge
 Value – Expressive
 Ego - Defensive

Feedback Loop

There are three components of variables: The independent variable which is known as

manifest variables and can be measured readily. The four factors of struggles and perceptions in

accordance to the theory of Daniel Katz are manifest variables. The arrows shows a relationship

between the respondents’ profile and the struggles and perceptions of LGBT senior high school

students that will approximately result to the ways the respondents overcome these. The dependent

variable which is also known as latent variables that is cannot be measured readily. The attitude is

one of the latent variables. In accordance of the functions, the effect of the latent variables show

the corresponding struggles and perceptions. Positive and negative are considered as latent

variables which incline to the positivity and negativity of struggle and perception that a respondent

may have. Both variables are in relation to each other.

Review of Related Literature and Studies

The following review of related literature and studies were included by the researcher in

this study because it paves the way to facilitate a better understanding of the study.

Related Literature

These were the theories from variety of authors that have different ideas and ideologies

about LGBT struggles and perceptions which could help this study to be understood and explained

further.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation has been assigned any number of definitions. However, the most
common may be that posited by Gonsiorek, Sell, and Weinrich (1995): “Sexual orientation is erotic
and/or affectional disposition to the same and/or opposite sex” (pp. 40-41). Those who fall outside
heterosexual and cisgender (i.e., sex-gender congruent) norms comprise what are known as the
sexual minorities (Moradi et al., 2009). A person's sexual identity, the label one gives oneself, is
categorized by terms such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, straight, asexual,
queer, and questioning.
Struggles and Perceptions of LGBT

Discrimination in opposition to lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender LGBT people is

now on the world stage. Discrimination towards LGBT people is common. Homosexual, lesbian

or bisexual people are 10 times much more likely to experience discrimination based on sexual

orientation compared to heterosexual people. (Friedman, 2014). The LGBT persons or the

lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender are included in heterogeneous group where because of

their sexual orientation and gender identity, they are often stigmatized and experiencing
homophobia, transphobia, discrimination and also the fear of being rejected by their family,

relatives, friends and even society. (Hammarberg, 2011).

Therefore the LGBT persons may not be able to share their insights or to open up what

they experienced of being affected by those negative thinking of other people around them to their

family and friends. The 2015 youth risk behavior survey at schools at Texas found out that LGB

students were more likely report that they are being bullied within their school and also at the

social media in 12 months prior to the survey than non- LGBT students.(Mallory, et.al.,2017).

Schools ought to be protected spots for everybody. In the Philippines, college students who are

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) too frequently find that their schooling revel in is

marred with the aid of bullying, discrimination, lack of get right of entry to LGBT-associated

statistics, and in some instances, they get physical or sexual assault. (Lee, 2017).

According to Scudera (2014) that hundreds or thousands of people in the LGBT

community are bullied, humiliated, and belittled on a daily basis because of their sexual

orientation. There are gay teens committing suicide because they could not bear those glares any

more.

Related Studies

Flores, et al. (2018) concluded that most of the LGBT students are affected by

discrimination positively and negatively. Most of LGBT students who participate said that it

affects them personally especially their emotions and also their view to themselves. It also affects

their performance in school. All of them are experiencing direct discrimination. The researchers

stated that direct discrimination is it when a LGBT students were treating less favorably because

of their sexual orientation than someone of a different sexual orientation would be treated in the
same circumstances. Abuse and harassment because of sexual orientation are forms of direct

discrimination.

Flores and her associates concluded that there are negative effects that the LGBT

experienced being discriminated. It negatively affects their personality. They experienced not just

emotional abuse as well as physical abuse because of discrimination. It also affects their study.

Some of them get tired of attending classes because they just see the persons who discriminated

them. But all of them they receive the discrimination positively. They made it motivation to

continue their life.

Kalita (2012) examined the perceptions of youth in Guwahati city towards LGBT

community and their rights. The findings reveal that the youth have a proper understanding of

homosexuality and bisexuality but not of transgenders. The study found, about half of the youth

population does believed that homosexual and bisexuals experience feelings of love like

heterosexuals. The youth are unsure about what is the cause of having a different sexual

orientation. Also the youth can read more about the transgender as our society has more prejudices

against them. Transgender in no way mean being neither male nor a female. It is about sexual

roles.

Synthesis

The proponent is inspired by the related literature and studies presented in this chapter. It

provides the researcher insights about the incoming study.

By and large, these studies on LGBT have presented pertinent discussions as to the

struggles and perceptions of LGBT. This study maybe similar to those studies cited above but vary

on how the research was conducted. While most of the research on LGBT focused on
discrimination and attitudes of LGBT, this study was based on the demographic profile of the

student – respondents according to their age, grade level and sexual orientation.

References

Chatman, Sherry Waterman, Ed.D., Arkansas State University, 2015, The effects of bullying on

the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students who attended high school in

Shelby County, Tennessee 106; 3735824. Retrieved from

https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/pqdtopen/doc/1734895897.html?FMT=ABS

C. Mallory, N.T.Brown, S. Russel. (2011). The Impact of Stigma and Discrimination against

LGBT People in Texas. [Pdf]. Retrieved from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-

content/uploads/Texas-Impact-of-Stigma-and-Discrimination-Report-April-2017.pdf

Daniel Katz. (1960). The Functional Approach to the Study of Attitudes, 24 PUB. OPINION Q.

163, 164. [Pdf]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1086/266945

Hammarberg, T. (2011). Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in

Europe (2nd Edition). [Pdf]. Retrieved from

https://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/source/lgbt/lgbtstudy2011_en.pdf

Scudera, D. (2014). Retrieved from HUFFPOST: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/domenick-

scudera/this-is-what-discrimination-feels-like_b_4858240.html

Friedman, M. (2014, February 11). The Psychological Impact of LGBT Discrimination How the

LGBT community is being harmed each and every day. Psychology today. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brick-

brick/201402/the-psychological-impact-lgbt-discrimination%3famp