Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
By Tarynn Witten, PhD, LCSW (Member, APA Division 44*) & Brian Carpenter, PhD (Member, APA Committee on Aging) The award-winning Amazon Studios series, Transparent, highlights one of the most invisible of invisible groups – transgender older adults. The lead character, Maura Pfefferman (born Mort Pfefferman), has lived most of her life as a man and […]
By Gregory M. Herek, PhD (Professor of Psychology, UC Davis) Not so long ago, homosexuality was triply stigmatized. In addition to being condemned as a sin and prosecuted as a crime, it was assumed to be an illness by the mental health professions throughout much of the 20th century. Although that assumption was never based […]
By Bob McLaughlin, PhD, Becca Keo-Meier, Colt Keo-Meier, PhD, and Robbie Sharp, PhD (APA Members and Founders of Gender Infinity) Joaquin may only be 8 but he had a death grip on the microphone, a message, and a mission. He told Houston’s Mayor and the packed city council chambers that he cared about his sister so […]
By Sabrina Cox, MA, LMSW Zahara Green is a 25-year-old transgender woman who was placed in an all-male prison in May 2012. According to Green, she was targeted by another inmate, Darryl Ricard, immediately upon entering general population at Rogers State Prison in Georgia. Ricard was serving a life sentence for aggravated child molestation, rape, […]
By Efua Andoh (PI Communications Staff) and Ron Schlittler, MIPP (Program Coordinator, APA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office) Forty five years ago on June 28, 1969, the gay community in Greenwich Village in New York City spontaneously protested against routine police harassment and intimidation in what became known as the Stonewall Uprising. Their […]
By Leo Rennie (Senior Legislative & Federal Affairs Officer, APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) On June 16, the White House announced that President Barack Obama intends to sign an executive order banning employment discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Center for American Progress offers a comprehensive […]
By Caroline Fitz, MPhil (Graduate Student Intern, APA Public Interest Government Relations Office) In what percentage of states do you think it’s legal to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the workforce: 20%, 40%, 60%? If you guessed 60%, you’re right. In 29 and 33 states, respectively, employers can fire you for […]
By Kevin L. Nadal, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice – City University of New York) When I was a little kid, I used to hear my brothers, cousins, and friends say things like “That’s so gay!” on a pretty regular basis. I would usually laugh along, hoping with all my might […]
By J. Judd Harbin, PhD (Arkansas) and Melissa J. Grey, PhD (Michigan), APA Division 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues) Public Policy Committee Members Working matters. In his classic 1974 work titled Working, Studs Terkel observed that, despite the stresses of one’s job duties, working provides a person […]
By Lacey Rosenbaum, M.Ed. (Director, APA’s Safe and Supportive Schools Project, Office of LGBT Concerns) You cannot escape the headlines: “Bullying may have motivated Nevada school shooter” or “Funeral held for Illinois teen who committed suicide after bullying” or “Two girls arrested on bullying charges after suicide.” What is going on? Do we have a bullying […]
Psychology Benefits Society 