Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cultural Immersion
Jordan Abernathy-Cornelius
Georgia State University
in terms of the messages that we convey through our words and how they truly can affect
someone. This experience reinforced my previous viewpoint that despite the gains that the
homosexual community has made, they still face prejudice, discrimination, and oppression.
Forms of discrimination that Matty talked about was when he was told by another male that he
doesnt count as a guy, because hes gay. Furthermore, Matty felt oppressed when his parents
accidently found out he was gay. They were not accepting at all and as pastors they had a big
conversation with Matty and prayed the gay away. He realized that his parents would never
truly accept the fact that he was gay, and went back into the closet. (Matty attends SCAD now
and feels much more accepted and supported). Stereotypes of homosexual men range from their
personality (they all love fashion) to outrageous claims that gay men arent able to raise happy,
well-adjusted children (Lipp, 2013). Matty told me that he learned in 6th grade that the word gay
meant that homosexual men would always try to hit on straight people and tries to seduce them.
Because of this stereotype he feels as if he as to be hyper vigilant when he is around other men,
and not to try to come across as if hes flirting with them. This experience may not affect my
future career objectives as a social worker because my goal is to be a medical social worker in a
hospital. However, knowing what I know after this experience, I feel more confident in terms of
addressing the issues that the clients I work with may face.
Continued Cultural Work
To improve my cultural competency and recognize previous misconception about this
group, volunteering at LGBT organizations or shelters would allow me to learn more about these
unique experiences. Also, attending a Pride event would give me another opportunity to learn
about this group in a more confidential manner.