The Queer Community Is Made Up Of An Very Diverse Array Of...

Society is made up of an extremely diverse array of people, ranging in age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and numerous other factors. King Winterdyk (2010) define diversity as â€Å"the degree of socially meaningful differences among and between individuals, groups, communities, culture, and societies. As an empirical measure, diversity is neither a positive or negative attribute† (p. 5). Canada is made up of a variety of minorities, but since the queer community is a â€Å"non-visible† minorities, there is very little research on the number of individuals who identify with this community, the demographic distribution, the degree of discrimination, the rate of victimization, and criminality among the group (p. 166-167). A study†¦show more content†¦The LGTBQ+ community are faced with homophobia, discrimination, and increased victimization; social movements have led to the adaptation of Canadian legislation and the creation of specialized pol ice units in order to recognize and accommodate the unique needs of the queer community. Definition The LGBTQ+ community faces various internal and external issues. The acronym for their community is joked to be called â€Å"alphabet soup†, but each letter in the acronym represents a unique group of people. Dr. J Henderson, a professor at Mount Royal University, breaks down the acronym to include those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, and the â€Å"plus† aiming to include anyone who identifies outside of societal gender or sexuality norms, such as asexual or pansexual (personal communication, January 11, 2016). Issues Everyone is affected by different issues with the justice system, but there are a variety of specific issues that many LGBTQ+ members are faced with such as homophobia, discrimination, and increased victimization. Homophobia The term homophobia was first used in the late 1960’s by psychologist George Weinberg to â€Å"label heterosexuals dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals as well as homosexuals self loathing† (Herek, 2012, para. 2). Homophobia in itself is not always detrimental, but is usually a tool that fuels discrimination and victimization. Heterosexism. Similar