Page 17 - ALGBTIC News Magazine - Fall 2019
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Recent Publications ment. Journal of Bisexuality, 19(3), 337-360. Access
via the link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/cited-
by Members by/10.1080/15299716.2019.1608614
Navigating Disclosure of Sexual Minority
LGBTQ-Affirmative Career Counseling: Identity for Men in Socio-politically Con-
An Intersectional Perspective servative Areas
Megan Speciale, Palo Alto University & Joseph M. Currin, Texas Tech University
Mark Scholl, Wake Forest University Randolph D. Hubach, Hunter J. Meyers, Kyle
Deboy, Zachary Giano, & Denna L. Wheeler,
The authors demonstrate the utility of LGBTQ af- Oklahoma State University Center for Health
firmative career counseling model by applying the Sciences
model to the case of a client with multiple margin-
alized identities. The case illustrates the dynamic Previous models of sexual minority orientation iden-
relationships among the client’s cultural identities and tity development have theorized disclosure of current
sociopolitical environments. The idiographic career orientation as important in accepting one’s sexual mi-
counseling process highlights: (a) identification and nority identity. Furthermore, research into disclosure
support of the client’s strengths through use of the of sexual orientation highlights positive outcomes for
Strengths Inventory and (b) use of story crafting to disclosure and negative outcomes for concealment of
construct a narrative describing an attainable future. sexual minority identity. These models, however, fail
to incorporate the socio-cultural context of the indi-
Speciale, M., & Scholl, M.B. (2019). LGBTQ-affir- vidual. Using a grounded theory approach, we con-
mative career counseling: An intersectional perspec- ducted 40 interviews with individuals who identified
tive. Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, with a sexual minority identity living in rural areas
35(1), 22-35. Access the article via this link: https:// in Oklahoma, a primarily socio-politically conserva-
www.researchgate.net/publication/333456514_ tive state in the U.S. Data collection continued until
LGBTQ-Affirmative_Career_Counseling_An_Inter- thematic saturation was reached. Three main themes
sectional_Perspective were identified by participants in regards to navigat-
ing disclosure of sexual orientation: (1) assessment of
Nonsequential Task Model of Bi/Pan/Poly- consequences to disclosure; (2) situational disclosure
sexual Identity Development of sexual orientation; and (3) disclosure of current
Amney J. Harper & Renae Swanson, Univer- sexual orientation. Rural sexual minority men navi-
sity of Wisconsin Oshkosh gate disclosing their sexual orientation by considering
the socio-cultural environment where they live and
The article provides a thorough review of the existing the acceptance and/or rejection of important individu-
literature regarding identity development of bisexual als in their lives. This consideration demonstrates the
people. It answers the call of the critiques and limita- importance of considering disclosure as a step in sex-
tions of existing models and introduces a model that ual minority identity development, not actual disclo-
is a non-sequential, task-oriented, process model. This sure of sexual minority identity. A preliminary model
model provides a tool for counselors and individuals of navigating disclosure is proposed and implications
to conceptualize the identity development of bisexual, are discussed.
pansexual, and polysexual people in a more layered/
complex way. It specifically addresses intersection- Currin, J.M., Hubach, R.D., Meyers, H.J., Deboy,
ality as well as understanding the whole person in the K., Giano, Z., & Wheeler, D.L. (2019). Navigating
context of their environment. disclosure of sexual minority identity for men in so-
cio-politically conservative areas. Journal of Gay &
Harper, A.J., & Swanson, R. (2019). Nonsequential Lesbian Mental Health, Advanced Online Publication.
task model of bi/pan/polysexual identity develop- Access via the link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
full/10.1080/19359705.2019.1655511
