Assessing Your Personal Beliefs

People aren't born prejudiced, so where do these sentiments come from?  From the moment we are born, we are inundated with messages, spoken and unspoken, about different types of people.  Often we learn stereotypes and prejudices without even realizing it.  Some of these messages may have been about ourselves and what we are or are not "supposed to" be.

All of us, LGBT and non-LGBT, have learned messages about LGBT people.  What were the earliest messages you received about LGBT people and where did they come from?  Were they positive, negative or neutral?  Understanding the messages we receive can help us identify our own beliefs and biases that we can then challenge, helping to make us stronger allies.  Use the "Check Yourself" exercise below to explore your own biases.

CHECK YOURSELF: UNDERSTANDING YOUR OWN BELIEFS

Anti-LGBT bias is all around us.  Yet we tend to overlook the subtle biases - the anti-LGBT jokes, the exclusion of LGBT related-themes in curricula, even anti-LGBT name calling.  Subtle or not, bias has the power to hurt and isolate people.  Your work as an ally includes recognizing and challenging your own anti-LGBT bias.  Answer each question honestly, and consider how these will affect your work as an ally to LGBT students.

1.      If someone were to come to you as LGBT, what would your first thought be?
 
2.      How would you feel if your child came out to you as LGBT? How would you feel if your mother, father or sibling came out to you as LGBT?
 
3.      Would you go to a physician whom you thought was LGBT if they were of a different gender than you?  What if they were the same gender as you?
 
4.      Have you ever been to an LGBT social event, march or worship service?  Why or why not?
 
5.      Can you think of three historical figures that were lesbian, gay or bisexual?
 
6.      Can you think of three historical figures who were transgender?
 
7.      Have you ever laughed at or made a joke at the expense of LGBT people?
 
8.      Have you ever stood up for and LGBT person being harassed?  Why or why not?
 
9.      If you do not identify as LGBT, how would you feel if people thought you were LGBT?

Recognizing your own biases is an important first step in becoming an ally.  Based on your responses to these questions, do you think you have internalized some of the anti-LGBT messages pervasive in our world?  How might your beliefs influence your actions as an educator of LGBT students?  The more aware we are of our own biases and their impact on our behavior, the easier it is to ensure that our personal beliefs don't undermine our efforts to support LGBT students.