Overview
This lecture covers gender, gender norms, sexuality, and LGBTQIA2S+ issues across the lifespan, focusing on their impact within individual, couple, and family systems, with emphasis on self-reflection for therapists.
Gender, Gender Norms, and Development
- Gender roles and expectations shape women's and men's development throughout the family life cycle.
- Women's life stages often center on caregiving roles, social expectations, and emotional labor, sometimes leading to distress and mental health symptoms.
- Traditional models of family life cycles can reflect male-centric or Western biases, often overlooking women's experiences.
- Men face pressures for emotional restriction, relational distance, and societal expectations to provide and "be strong."
- Life cycle transitions—leaving home, marriage, motherhood, midlife, and aging—pose unique challenges for each gender.
Clinical Considerations and Therapy
- Therapists must validate clients' experiences, explore gendered expectations, and support individuation and self-expression.
- Recognize how cultural, socioeconomic, and systemic factors affect individuals' and families' roles and transitions.
- Use tools like genograms to explore intergenerational patterns and support narrative reconstruction.
- For men, normalize emotional expression and focus on relational resilience while avoiding stereotypes.
Sexuality Across the Lifespan
- Sexuality is an identity and expression shaped by social norms, culture, and family systems, not just behavior.
- Development of sexual identity starts in childhood/adolescence and evolves through adulthood and older age.
- Heterosexism and social stigmatization impact LGBTQIA+ individuals, often leading to invisibility or rejection in families.
- Communication and flexibility are essential for healthy sexual intimacy in relationships; cultural scripts may inhibit openness.
Social Class and Family Life Cycle
- Social class affects access to resources, healthcare, education, and emotional support.
- Class shapes family roles, delays or accelerates life transitions, and interacts with other identities like gender and immigration status.
- Families with fewer resources may experience delays in milestones like home ownership or retirement.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Gender Norms — Societal expectations for behaviors and roles based on gender.
- Emotional Labor — The management of emotions to support others, often expected of women.
- Genogram — A family diagram used to explore relationships and patterns across generations.
- Heterosexism — The assumption that heterosexual relationships are the norm, marginalizing LGBTQ+ identities.
- Individuation — The process of developing a distinct identity separate from family expectations.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Read McGoldrick chapters 2, 3, 6, and 7.
- Watch the assigned video on LGBTQ+ families.
- Complete the participation attestation and submit by Sunday before midnight.
- Write and submit a 300-word APA-style reflection journal examining personal reactions to this week's materials, due Sunday.