Holly Thompson

SWK 4600 Social Justice Practice Ethics Reflection

Fall 2022

While researching and gaining insight on the information of this portfolio assignment, I

was able to grasp diverse parts of social justice and how they pertain to real life. I chose to do my

portfolio paper on homophobia. This social injustice has had a profound and detrimental affect

on the LGBTQ community. I incorporated into the paper the history, prevalence, populations

impacted, and social problems that are impacted by homophobia. In my opinion, homophobia is

just another detrimental form of racism that inflicts pain and suffering on those different from

others.

This assignment made me aware of the various groups that have advocated and fought for

social justices on behalf of the LGBTQ community. The Gay-Straight Alliance Network is an

organization that has fought for the acceptance of youth in schools and other settings for these

individuals to feel and be accepted. It has proven to have positive influence in the LGBTQ

community and its constituencies. It has contributed to many peers of LGBTQ youth to become

more acceptable of their sexual minority peers and help eliminate the stigma surrounding gay

youth. Another organization, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project was founded in 2002 by civil rights

attorney and activist Dean Spade. It was named in honor of Sylvia Rivera, a transgender male

who fought for the LGBTQ community and stood up for rights to be enacted on their behalf.

This non-profit has been a huge difference in laws and regulations that now fight for social

justice.

On a micro level, many LGBTQ individuals have struggled to be accepted by family and

friends which can have a detrimental significance on gay youth. Social workers must advocate
and fight for social equalities that exemplify empathy and understanding for members of the

LGBTQ community to have a sense of dignity and self-worth. For one to feel adequate and feel

as though they are human, they must be accepted by society, and most importantly, members of

their family. This assignment helped me to understand how important and significant acceptance

is in society for LGBTGQ members or otherwise it could lead to mental health problems, self-

esteem issues, depression, or suicidal ideation. I gained an enormous amount of insightful

information which will help me become a proficient social worker. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr.

Williams’s class and learned a lot of important aspects pertaining to social justice and ethics.