1. Creighton Allies Program Training
Welcome
1) Trainer Introduction
Who they are
Why they’re there
Explain GLBT acronym
2) Training is an open environment for discussion
There are no stupid questions, chances are that someone is asking the same question in their head
Feel free to approach the trainers after the session if you do not feel comfortable asking your question aloud
Remember that we may not have answers to each of your questions, but if we don’t, we will let you know, and then answer it to the best of our ability. We reserve the right to not answer questions, especially those of personal nature.

2. What is CAP? History Purpose
SAFE On Campus, Ball State University, 1992
Safe Space, Safe Zone, Safe Place
Why at Creighton?
Purpose
History
The first Safe Space program was SAFE On Campus at Ball State University in 1992
Programs have various titles, like Safe Space, Safe Zone, and Safe Place
Brief CAP history - Student Services-led initiative mandated by Fr. Schlegel and carried out by students
Purpose
These programs exist because research has shown that unfriendly campuses for LGBT students makes learning and personal growth difficult
Having educated community members to speak with can make the LGBT student experience safer, happier & more productive
The Catholic Church also recognizes the need to address the problem of discrimination of GLBT-identified persons and published a document explaining the proper attitude to have when with GLBT-identified persons, Always Our Children

3. Always Our Children
Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities.
It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity“
Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes and behaviors
We call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination
We understand that having a homosexual orientation brings with it enough anxiety, pain and issues related to self-acceptance without society bringing additional prejudicial treatment
Doesn’t break any new ground
Published in 1997 by the National Bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family under Pope John Paul II
As a Catholic Jesuit institution we must adhere to the teachings of the Church
Was written as a pastoral message to the parents of homosexual children
Contact Campus Ministry to get more information
To understand the rest of the training, we are going to have to explain some terms that we will be using that you may not be familiar with already

4. Vocabulary Basic Terms
Sex: Medical term designating a combination of gonads, chromosomes, secondary sex characteristics.
Traditionally divided into male or female
Intersex: Someone whose biological sex is ambiguous.
Sexual Orientation: Emotional, physical, and sexual attraction
Let’s start with some basic terms:
Sex refers to the combination of primary & secondary sex characteristics
Sex is often divided into male & female (such as on birth certificates)
An Intersex individual has a combination of male and female sex characteristics
Sexual Orientation refers to someone’s romantic and sexual attraction
Can be asexual or non-sexual as well
Now we will go over some terms to further discuss sexual orientation

5. Homosexuality
Homosexual: A person who is emotionally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to members of the same sex.
The terms “gay and lesbian” are often preferred by members of the community.
Of the entire LGBT community, most people are familiar with gay men and lesbian women
Appearance of gays & lesbians in TV and movies has increased visibility
Please note this definition does not describe actions of gay and lesbian people.
A gay man does not necessarily act like Jack from the show Will & Grace any more than a heterosexual male has to love football and know how to work on cars
This definition also does not imply that a gay or lesbian person is sexually active
There are many gay and lesbian people who are not sexually active just as there are many heterosexual people who are not.

6. Bisexuality
Bisexual: A person who is emotionally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to both men and women.
Not a transition phase from heterosexuality to homosexuality
Legitimate Sexual Orientation
Bisexuality is the sexual orientation of those who are romantically attracted to members of both sexes and/or genders.
Some people believe bisexuality is a transitional orientation that no one identifies with for life, while others recognize it as their orientation.
Unlike the way gays and lesbians are recognized, some people don’t believe bisexuals exists at all
This non-recognition has adverse effects on a bisexual person’s life which we will discuss later

7. Sex and Sexual Orientation
Marie Young
Elizabeth Straley
TJ O’Neill

8. Vocabulary Part 2 Gender Terms
Gender: A person’s gender is made up of these things:
Identity/Awareness: One’s psychological sense of self
Expression: The way one expresses oneself; how society views oneself
It is important to remember that an individual may fall anywhere along any of these different spectra
Gender is divided into two parts:
Gender Identity or Awareness—your psychological sense of self; how you feel on the inside
Intergendered, Third Gender, or GenderQueer individuals don’t necessarily identify with either gender
Gender Expression—the way you express yourself; how society views you
Androgynous individuals express themselves in both masculine and feminine ways (through mannerisms, clothing, etc.)
Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity/Awareness, and Gender Expression aren’t dichotomies—they all run on spectrums.

9. Transgender Trans Terms
Transgender: Refers to those whose gender expression sometimes runs contrary to what others would normally expect.
“umbrella term”
Transsexual: Individuals who change their sex to align with their gender identities.
Transgender as an umbrella term includes transsexuals, people who choose to cross-dress (a person of any sexual orientation who dresses in clothing associated with the opposite gender), etc. One way to understand it is to think of transgender as short for “transcending gender”
Just because someone’s gender expression doesn’t match social norms does NOT mean that they identify as transgender
It is a personal identification
There are a number of other non-scientific terms that are used which are synonymous to those being presented such as genderqueer, gender ambiguous, etc. (some of which are offensive)

10. Sex, Gender & Sexual Orientation
Elizabeth Straley
Marie Young
TJ O’Neill
Examples
Marie: Female, Third Gender, Androgynous, Attracted to Females
Beth: Female, Woman, between Feminine and Androgynous, Bisexual slightly more attracted to Females than Males
Brandon Teena (made famous by the Hilary Swank film “Boys Don’t Cry”): Female, Man, Masculine, Attracted to Females
David Bowie: Male, Man, Androgynous, Bisexual

11. Why are people gay?
Scientific research has linked homosexuality to genetics as well as some environmental causes (primarily exposure to certain hormones before birth)
However, there seems to be no single cause of homosexuality (APA)
Research has most closely linked homosexuality to genetic factors and prenatal hormone exposure in the uterus
Certain assumptions, like the idea that overbearing mothers “create” gay children have been debunked

12. Choice?
The American Psychological Association notes that the consensus among professionals in the field is that most people experience “little to no choice” regarding their sexual orientation
Further, they note that homosexual behavior is not a psychiatric disorder and that homosexual behavior is a normal part of the spectrum of human sexuality (apa.org)
Emphasize that, in almost all cases, sexual orientation is not chosen but arises in an individual
Homosexuality is not listed as a disorder in the DSM-IV, a manual for psychiatric diagnoses
If comfortable, describe how you discovered your sexual orientation (whether gay, straight, or bi)

13. Coming Out Identity Development
Coming Out: The lifelong cyclical process of developing a positive identity as a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person.
Why is “coming out” necessary?
Assumption of heterosexuality
Most people think of Coming Out as a one-time disclosure event in which an LGBT-identified person tells all their friends and family that they’re gay, bisexual, trans, etc.
It’s NOT—it’s the lifelong process of developing a positive identity as an LGBT individual
Coming Out doesn’t mean that you’ve decided to be gay, it means that you’re accepting, disclosing, and developing your identity.
GLBT individuals come out because heterosexuality is almost always ASSUMED
The act of coming out is not an unnecessary disclosure of one’s private life. It is a response to this assumption

14. Coming Out Stages Awareness Confusion, questioning
“Coming out,” acceptance
Integration and acceptance
Stages aren’t always in perfect succession—some people jump around in stages, never progress beyond a certain stage, or slide into a previous stage (because of various external factors)
Awareness
Recognizing your persistent attraction to the same sex
Confusion, questioning
Experiencing dissonance between one’s feelings and society’s expectations
Coming out, acceptance
Identifying as LGBT and beginning to share this identity with at least a few other people, even in the face of possible rejection by family, friends, employees, etc.
Integration and acceptance
Committing to one’s identity, increasing the sharing of one’s identity, experiencing sexual orientation as only one part, although an important part, of one’s total identity.

15. Reflection Questions
If you were a parent, how would you react if your child disclosed an LGBT identity to you?
If someone you care about were to say to you, “I think I’m gay,” would you suggest that the person see a therapist? Why or why not?
How would you feel if others automatically assumed you were homosexual, regardless of your actual sexual orientation?
Can you think of three ways homophobia manifests itself in our society, either institutionally, legally, or socially?
ACTIVITY: “Personal Assessment of Homophobia”
These are just some questions to ask yourself. It can be quite eye-opening to think about activities that you do and things that you think that actually display a discomfort you have for LGBT persons in the community.
After coming out, most GLBT persons must deal with negative ramifications based on their identity, these we call homophobia, biphobia and transphobia

16. Homo-, Bi-, Transphobia An irrational fear of:
persons who identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgender
homosexuality, bisexuality or transgenderism
any behavior, belief, or attitude of self or others which does not conform to rigid sex-role stereotypes
Reinforces sexism and heterosexism
Common Examples of Homophobia include:
Thinking of a gay or lesbian individual only in terms of their sexuality
E.g. called someone gay____ rather than calling them by their first name
Using terms “lesbian”, “gay”, or “fag” in derogatory ways
Thinking that gays and lesbians are coming on to you if they look at you
Assuming that a lesbian woman or gay man would be heterosexual if given the opportunity
Biphobia
It ranges from the lack of recognition of bisexuality, to overt intolerance of bisexuals.
There is biphobia within the LGBT community.
Examples of biphobia include:
Assuming that everyone is either heterosexual or homosexual.
Thinking that bisexual people are confused.
Thinking that bisexual people are greedy or don’t want to commit to one sexual orientation.
Thinking that people identify as bisexual because it's "trendy".
Anyone who defies traditional gender norms can be the subject of transphobia
Does not just include members of the LGBT community
Challenging the institution of gender (the way children are raised by parents and schools) is a difficult concept for people to wrap their minds around, which hinders the fight against transphobia
Now we will explore some offensive terms that people use to discriminate against GLBT-identified individuals

17. Homo-, Bi-, Transphobia Effects on LGBT Students
Depression
Suicide
Twice as likely to report having seriously considered suicide or made a suicide plan and three to four times as likely to report attempting suicide
30% teenage suicides among LGBT youth
Shame (internalized homophobia)
Homophobia has a profound effect on the mental health of an individual
Most LGBT people will experience some of these effects in vary degrees and duration.
For some individuals, experiences with homophobia are a mere nuisance; however, for others, this homophobia becomes internalized and very destructive and sometimes ends in suicide, as you can see from these statistics.
It is because of this ignorance of each other’s differences that programs such as Creighton allies are needed.
Other ways that homophobia affects LGBT students:
Chronic stress/anxiety
Isolation
Lack of self-efficacy
Belief that safety and self interest are best served by silence and nondisclosure
Inhibits the ability of heterosexuals to form close, intimate relationships with members of their own sex, for fear of being perceived as gay or lesbian
Due to all of these negative effects that face GLBT persons as they attempt to decide the time and place to come out about their identity, they may face road blocks to admitting their true identity

18. Coming Out Challenges to Developing a Positive LGBT Identity
Identity Confusion
Rejection
Misinformation
Lack of Self-acceptance
Denial of Basic Civil Rights
Relationship Development
We defined coming out and talked about the phobias related to LBGT students and the effects of those phobias, which leads us to why it is challenging to create a positive environment for LBGT students to come out in.
Identity Confusion
Lack of LGBT role models, shared LGBT history and culture
Background of pervasive institutionalized homo/bi/transphobia and heterosexism
Rejection
Internalized homophobia
Familial & cultural rejection, open devaluing, discrimination and violence
Misinformation
Distorted images of LGBT people in the media
Inaccurate information perpetuated by some institutions
Lack of Self-acceptance
Absence of self-affirmation and validation during developmental years
Visibility can be dangerous
Denial of Basic Civil Rights
Only 38 states protect LGBT people from being fired for being LGBT (Nebraska not included)
On May 23, 2007 the Nebraska Senate voted against Nebraska L.B. 475, a bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and marital status. (HRC.org)
Housing discrimination against LGBT people is legal in most states (including Nebraska)
Relationship Development
Lack of socially supported venues for LGBT youth to interact

19. Activity
A Guided Journey

20. Heterosexism
Heterosexism: The individual or institutionalized assumption that heterosexuality is the ‘normal’ sexual orientation and which, therefore, systematically denies, invalidates and fails to recognize the complete humanness of LGBT persons.
What causes heterosexism?
This can also be thought of as a form of structural violence, which affects all members of the LGBT community.
It is institutionalized because it exists in corporations, established organizations, and groups of people who enforce laws, practices and policies that discriminate against glbt identified persons or favor heterosexual persons
Examples
Until recently, sexual orientation was not included in the university’s non-discrimination policy
LGBT individuals can’t serve in the military (unless they deny their S.O.)
Like Catherine said earlier, only 38 states protect against housing discrimination, and most states don’t include sexual orientation in their employment non-discrimination policies (like Nebraska)

21. Heterosexual Privilege
Heterosexual Privilege: The basic civil rights and social privileges that a heterosexual individual automatically receives, which are systematically denied to LGBT persons on the sole basis of their orientation.
For instance:
not questioning your normalcy and having positive role models in the media
living in a residence hall without fear of rejection or discomfort from roommates
walk down the mall holding hands with partner
Now, we will move on to another term, heterosexual privilege
Privilege is when a person or group of people has access to something that others do not
privileges afforded to an individual based on the fact that they are heterosexual
Rather than a single person who acts in a homophobic way, we’re talking about systems that are in place in government, business, schools, even here at CU that deny LGBT people the same rights and privileges given to heterosexual people without question
Heterosexual privilege is unique in that, compared to something like White Privilege, an individual can choose to have that privilege if they think the benefits of having that privilege outweigh the costs of denying who they are.
An LBGT individual might choose to hide their sexual orientation because they are seeking a job as a teacher

22. Heterosexism Combating Heterosexism
To combat heterosexism, address its primary cause, homophobia
- Object to the use of offensive terms, such as “fag,” “dyke,” and “queer” (contextual)
- Do not reinforce the assumption that all “normal” people are heterosexual
- Fight institutionalized homophobia, especially related to the concepts of “sexual preference,” “special rights,” and “gay agenda.” These terms are used to demean GLBT individuals and reinforce homophobia in society.
Just as we talked about with the phobias, there are many ways to combat it and some of them are the same
Of the three terms we have been discussing, it is probably the hardest to combat, because it’s easier to change people than it is to change institutions
Remember that every time you challenge your comfort zone and combat heterosexism, you widen someone else’s safety zone
Don’t be afraid to ask CAP trainers about homophobia or heterosexism

23. Activity
Three Volunteers

24. Creating an Inclusive Campus Environment
Object to and eliminate “gay” jokes and humor.
Don’t force anyone to disclose his or her orientation to you.
Appreciate the strength and struggle it takes to establish a positive LGBT identity.
View the creation of an inclusive campus environment as the responsibility of everyone in the Creighton community, not just LGBT individuals.
As individuals upholding Jesuit values, we are called to recognize the worth and dignity of each individual and to care for the whole person
One way that we can answer this calling is by ensuring that all of the students on our campus feel safe, welcome, and are treated with respect
Some ways you can help alleviate the negative effects of homophobia on campus are:
call people out on gay and f-word jokes
wear ally bracelet
sign ally pledge, be positive sign
gsa
Counseling, self-education
encourage your group/organization (floor?!?) to participate in a CAP training

25. Ally Development What is an ally?
A person who supports the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities
Actively works to break down systematic discrimination against LGBT people
In the GSA, we informally divide Allies into 2 types:
Passive Allies
Friends of LGBT individuals
Don’t work to educate themselves, but understand the value & worth of LGBT folk
Active Allies
Openly identify as allies
Stand up against homophobic behavior & jokes
Attempt to educate themselves on LGBT issues

26. Ally Development Stages
Stage 1: Pre-Contact
Stage 2: Acceptance
Stage 3: Internal Identification
Stage 4: External Identification (Redefinition)
Stage 1: Precontact—a lack of understanding or valuing LBGT individuals or relationships or negative image due to lack of knowing GLBT members
Stage 2: Acceptance—acknowledges GLBT as “normal” or “acceptable” but unconsciously accepts majority views and denies the existence of oppression
Stage 3: Internal Identification—recognizes and feels overwhelmed by the oppression and doesn’t know how to solve it
Stage 4: External Identification—recognizes oppression and injustice and deliberately confronts social norms; becoming more outspoken about being an ally; also heterosexuals reexamine their own identities, seek out other like-minded people, and find non-oppressive ways to use your privilege

27. Activity
A Guided Journey…with a twist

28. Thank you! Please feel free to ask any questions.
Ask for questions- If comfortable, share your personal experience with the audience
Pledges are just that—a promise to the Creighton Community
Hand out Manuals
Hand out CAP Membership Pledge
Hand out Evaluations