This page is designed to give readers a general overview of available literature on LGBT issues in Ontario and abroad, as well as related topics.
Project Affirmation. (1997). Systems Failure:A report on the experiences of sexual minoritiesin Ontario’s health-care and social-services systems. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.clgro.org/pdf/Systems_Failure-Report.pdf
This article, released by Project Affirmation (a four year government funded research project), outlines the barriers to service that members of the LGBT community face when attempting to access healthcare and social services in Ontario. This report outlines both personal experiences and statistical data as well as recommendations for the reformation of Ontario Services.
Chen, C. P., Lemoire, S. J. (2005) Applying person-centered counseling to
sexual minority adolescents. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83 (2), 146-154.
The authors, faculty of the University of Toronto, outline the potential benefit of using a person-centered counseling approach to deal
with the unique needs of sexual minority youth. The authors seek to demonstrate the value in a person-centered approach to counseling when dealing with youth who seek acceptance from both themselves and others in regards to their own sexuality. This article would be useful to child and youth practitioners, including Child and Youth Workers, counselors, and therapists, as well as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/sexual) youth themselves, seeking an effective treatment modality. The authors identify 6 aspects to the person-centered approach that deal particularly with the issues queer youth face. Furthermore, the authors also indicate the limitations of a person-centered approach and provide an additional 3 techniques that seek to mitigate these limitations. This article is of good quality as it is published in a recognized professional journal and author affiliations include the University of Toronto Schools as well as the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), Canada.
Grace, A.P., Wells, K. (2009). Gay and bisexual male youth as educator activists and cultural workers: the queer critical praxis of three Canadian high-school students. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13 (1), 23-44.
The authors, from the University of Alberta, outline the plight of three Canadian students to eradicate the exclusion, violence and the homophobic sentiments experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/ sexual) youth in Canadian schools. The authors seek to illustrate a holistic picture of these activists’ lives, including personal experiences that demonstrate the homophobic attitudes in Canadian schools and communities. This article guides the reader through the three students’ journey and describes, in detail, the steps they took to promote social, cultural and political change to enhance the educational experience of LGBT youth. Furthermore, the authors outline the motivation behind these students’ activism, as well as the forces that drove them to continue as well as outlining their continued efforts. This article would be useful to LGBT youth or allies who seek to implement queer-critical praxis in their schools or communities, as well as educators, policy-makers and youth practitioners. A limitation of this article is that it only considers the views of three queer youth activists and may not represent a common paradigm for students across Canada, but rather these students’ specific community and experiences. As a result, praxis that seemed to be effective in these students’ circumstances may not prove to be reproducible in other environments. This article is of good quality as it is published in a professional educational journal and author affiliations include the Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta.
Wells, K. (2008). Generation Queer: Sexual minority youth and Canadian schools. Education Canada, 48 (1), 18-23.
The author, from the University of Alberta, provide readers with a general overview of the progression of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/sexual) issues and youth culture within the Canadian school system from the 1970’s to present day. The article also provides the author’s predictions for the future trends in LGBT human rights and recognition within schools. This article is useful for readers who wish to gain a general understanding of the social and political issues that the LGBT youth community face in the Canadian school system, particularly students, educators and administrators. This article would also be useful to researchers as it provides statistics regarding protection of civil rights, recognition by administrators, and threats of violence. A limitation of this article is that it only extends as far back in time as the 1970’s, which may exclude important and relevant information concerning the history of LGBT social and political struggles related to the school system. This article is of good quality and seems to be a reputable source, as it is published in a professional educational journal, and the author’s affiliations include Killam Fellow and SSHRC Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholar, and the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta.
Gehring, D., Knudson, G. (2005). Prevalence of childhood trauma in a clinical
population of transsexual people. International Journal of Transgenderism, 8 (1), 23-30.
The authors, faculty at the University of British Columbia, researched the prevalence of childhood trauma in the transsexual population. This quantitative study used a sample group of 42 transsexual people and reported on the occurrence of experiences such as: unwanted sexual touch, verbal abuse, insults, embarrassment, and guilt before the age of fifteen. The authors note that although over half of the sample group had experienced unwanted sexual touch in their childhood, these sexual experiences were related to satisfying curiosity about the youth’s gender rather than satisfying sexual desires. They also note that these incidences did not lead the case samples to commit sexually offensive acts of the same type. This report includes three charts and two graphs as well as the statistical information produced by the study. This report would be useful to researchers, mental health practitioners, and transsexuals experiencing difficulty with childhood trauma. Some limitations of this report are that the study included a disproportionate amount of natal males versus natal females (34 vs. 8), and the size of the study sample was not large enough to produce reliable results. The authors have reputable backgrounds including affiliations with the Division of Sexual Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. This report is also published in a reputable journal, and for this reason can be classified as being of good quality.
Raj, R. (2008).Transforming couples and families: A trans-formative therapeutic model
for working with the loved-ones of gender-divergent youth and trans-identified adults. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4 (2), 133-163.
In this article the author, a psychotherapist working in Toronto, Canada, proposes his Trans-formative Therapeutic Model as an effective treatment model that promotes the cohesion of the Trans youth and their families in order to support one another through the transformative process. The author also proposes that there is a lack of clinical competence and sensitivity to gender-related issues among helping professionals, which allows for a large population to be excluded from receiving proper support. This report includes one diagram and a case study, which outlines the experiences of a transgender youth and his family. This report would be useful for helping professionals including Child and Youth Workers, Therapists, and Psychologists, etc. This information could also be useful to researchers and institutions who are interested in creating services for the transgender/sexual community. A limitation of this study is that it does not discuss comparable or alternative treatment models in regards to efficacy or research stating the efficacy of this particular treatment model. This article is of good quality and both the journal and author are reputable sources. Author affiliations include the Sherbourne Health Centre, Toronto, Canada.
This page is designed to give readers a general overview of available literature on LGBT issues in Ontario and abroad, as well as related topics.
Project Affirmation. (1997). Systems Failure: A report on the experiences of sexual minorities in Ontario’s health-care and social-services systems. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.clgro.org/pdf/Systems_Failure-Report.pdf
Systems Failure in Ontario’s Health-Care and Social-Services Systems- Health Care and Social Services
This article, released by Project Affirmation (a four year government funded research project), outlines the barriers to service that members of the LGBT community face when attempting to access healthcare and social services in Ontario. This report outlines both personal experiences and statistical data as well as recommendations for the reformation of Ontario Services.
Chen, C. P., Lemoire, S. J. (2005) Applying person-centered counseling to
sexual minority adolescents. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83 (2), 146-154.
The authors, faculty of the University of Toronto, outline the potential benefit of using a person-centered counseling approach to deal
with the unique needs of sexual minority youth. The authors seek to demonstrate the value in a person-centered approach to counseling when dealing with youth who seek acceptance from both themselves and others in regards to their own sexuality. This article would be useful to child and youth practitioners, including Child and Youth Workers, counselors, and therapists, as well as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/sexual) youth themselves, seeking an effective treatment modality. The authors identify 6 aspects to the person-centered approach that deal particularly with the issues queer youth face. Furthermore, the authors also indicate the limitations of a person-centered approach and provide an additional 3 techniques that seek to mitigate these limitations. This article is of good quality as it is published in a recognized professional journal and author affiliations include the University of Toronto Schools as well as the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), Canada.
Grace, A.P., Wells, K. (2009). Gay and bisexual male youth as educator activists and cultural workers: the queer critical praxis of three Canadian high-school students. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13 (1), 23-44.
The authors, from the University of Alberta, outline the plight of three Canadian students to eradicate the exclusion, violence and the homophobic sentiments experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/ sexual) youth in Canadian schools. The authors seek to illustrate a holistic picture of these activists’ lives, including personal experiences that demonstrate the homophobic attitudes in Canadian schools and communities. This article guides the reader through the three students’ journey and describes, in detail, the steps they took to promote social, cultural and political change to enhance the educational experience of LGBT youth. Furthermore, the authors outline the motivation behind these students’ activism, as well as the forces that drove them to continue as well as outlining their continued efforts. This article would be useful to LGBT youth or allies who seek to implement queer-critical praxis in their schools or communities, as well as educators, policy-makers and youth practitioners. A limitation of this article is that it only considers the views of three queer youth activists and may not represent a common paradigm for students across Canada, but rather these students’ specific community and experiences. As a result, praxis that seemed to be effective in these students’ circumstances may not prove to be reproducible in other environments. This article is of good quality as it is published in a professional educational journal and author affiliations include the Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta.
Wells, K. (2008). Generation Queer: Sexual minority youth and Canadian schools. Education Canada, 48 (1), 18-23.
The author, from the University of Alberta, provide readers with a general overview of the progression of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender/sexual) issues and youth culture within the Canadian school system from the 1970’s to present day. The article also provides the author’s predictions for the future trends in LGBT human rights and recognition within schools. This article is useful for readers who wish to gain a general understanding of the social and political issues that the LGBT youth community face in the Canadian school system, particularly students, educators and administrators. This article would also be useful to researchers as it provides statistics regarding protection of civil rights, recognition by administrators, and threats of violence. A limitation of this article is that it only extends as far back in time as the 1970’s, which may exclude important and relevant information concerning the history of LGBT social and political struggles related to the school system. This article is of good quality and seems to be a reputable source, as it is published in a professional educational journal, and the author’s affiliations include Killam Fellow and SSHRC Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholar, and the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta.
Gehring, D., Knudson, G. (2005). Prevalence of childhood trauma in a clinical
population of transsexual people. International Journal of Transgenderism, 8 (1), 23-30.
The authors, faculty at the University of British Columbia, researched the prevalence of childhood trauma in the transsexual population. This quantitative study used a sample group of 42 transsexual people and reported on the occurrence of experiences such as: unwanted sexual touch, verbal abuse, insults, embarrassment, and guilt before the age of fifteen. The authors note that although over half of the sample group had experienced unwanted sexual touch in their childhood, these sexual experiences were related to satisfying curiosity about the youth’s gender rather than satisfying sexual desires. They also note that these incidences did not lead the case samples to commit sexually offensive acts of the same type. This report includes three charts and two graphs as well as the statistical information produced by the study. This report would be useful to researchers, mental health practitioners, and transsexuals experiencing difficulty with childhood trauma. Some limitations of this report are that the study included a disproportionate amount of natal males versus natal females (34 vs. 8), and the size of the study sample was not large enough to produce reliable results. The authors have reputable backgrounds including affiliations with the Division of Sexual Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. This report is also published in a reputable journal, and for this reason can be classified as being of good quality.
Raj, R. (2008).Transforming couples and families: A trans-formative therapeutic model
for working with the loved-ones of gender-divergent youth and trans-identified adults. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4 (2), 133-163.
In this article the author, a psychotherapist working in Toronto, Canada, proposes his Trans-formative Therapeutic Model as an effective treatment model that promotes the cohesion of the Trans youth and their families in order to support one another through the transformative process. The author also proposes that there is a lack of clinical competence and sensitivity to gender-related issues among helping professionals, which allows for a large population to be excluded from receiving proper support. This report includes one diagram and a case study, which outlines the experiences of a transgender youth and his family. This report would be useful for helping professionals including Child and Youth Workers, Therapists, and Psychologists, etc. This information could also be useful to researchers and institutions who are interested in creating services for the transgender/sexual community. A limitation of this study is that it does not discuss comparable or alternative treatment models in regards to efficacy or research stating the efficacy of this particular treatment model. This article is of good quality and both the journal and author are reputable sources. Author affiliations include the Sherbourne Health Centre, Toronto, Canada.