Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Sarah E. Riforgiate / Leadership is a phenomenon studied in all cultures (Murdock, 1967), yet representation in the diversity of influential leaders is often limited (Moon, 1996). In order to understand the full breadth of leadership scholarship, it is essential that research focuses on how leadership is both enacted and communicated in underrepresented groups. A group that is currently facing marginalization from dominant culture is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. With no national anti-discrimination law in place to protect the individuals belonging to this community (American Civil Liberties Union, 2016) it is vital to understand how leaders within this marginalized group are motivating others to fight to enact change. While influential organizations like The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) are fighting for social justice on a national level, it is important to understand how local organizations are engaging in communicative leadership to motivate others to enact change in their own community. This study seeks to understand how leadership is communicated within a local LGBT rights organization (given the pseudonym the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campaign, or LGBTC) and to identify the ways LGBT leaders motivate others to enact social change. Using ethnographic methodology, the researcher observed four monthly board meetings held by this group (lasting approximately an hour and a half each) and conducted a focus-group interview where the participants confirmed observations and answered follow-up questions from the ethnographic observations. A qualitative thematic analysis revealed two common themes: the first theme, cohesive communication, was exemplified through organizational procedures that allowed for collective discussion and expression of individuality by emphasizing and depending on group members’ personal expertise. The second theme, proactive communication, emerged through group members’ communication to evoke tenacious defense strategies to counter the opposition and engage in outreach with external organizations. These leadership communication behaviors resulted in two critical implications on the theoretical and practical levels. In regards to the theoretical implications, LGBT leaders, who have been typically characterized as predominantly transformational, were found to enact leadership outside of that typology, actually engaging in relational styles through shared leadership, communicating in a way that relies on interaction and emotional expression. On a practical level, other marginalized groups could benefit from inclusivity, or the mode of collective leadership this particular LGBT Rights Group engaged in. By including multiple voices and having a variety of minority representation, the LGBTC was able to successfully motivate community change. Other marginalized groups experiencing social injustice may be able to motivate others to enact change by adopting this mode of collective communication through shared leadership.

The purpose of this study was to determine and assess social work students’ attitudes towards working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) clients and identifying factors that would affect such attitudes. LGBT individuals face increased risk factors as opposed to their non-LGBT peers and are disproportionately over-represented in the foster care system. This study assessed California State University, San Bernardino Social Work student's attitudes towards working with LGBT clients through the use of self-administered questionnaires. The data acquired from such quantitative surveys was analyzed utilizing Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Results yielded that sexual orientation, religion, religiosity and political view rate were factors that significantly affected attitudes towards LGBT clients. It was also found that Title IV-E participants did not differ significantly compared to non Title IV-E participants in attitudes towards LGBT clients. Implications for social work education and practice include increased training, experience, competence and humility building opportunities when working with LGBT clients.

This thesis considers how the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities of Plymouth have performed and signified their own culture and identities during the period 1950 to 2012. Its source materials were largely generated by conducting oral history interviews with members of Plymouth’s LGB and T communities. This resulted in the creation of an archive which included thirty-seven interviews conducted with twenty-four individuals. These interviews, in conjunction with other uncovered archival memorabilia, now form a specific LGBT collection with Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. This PhD thesis interrogates this newly created community archive accession, using theories of performance as a tool, to consider how differing narratives and histories have been constructed, reproduced, contested and maintained. Pride, as a political concept in LGBT culture, is linked to the belief that individuals should maintain and display a sense of dignity in relation to their sexual orientation or gender role as a response to the stigmatisation traditionally associated with being LGB or T. This study tests the relevance of the concept of pride for the lived experience of LGBT communities in Plymouth, concluding that it needs to be understood within personal narratives rather than as primarily manifested in outward-facing forms of performance (such as a parade or a public event). Particularly significant in this regard is the “coming out narrative”. The thesis identifies spaces which, for various reasons, came to be accepted as safe places to accommodate sexual and gender differences in Plymouth in the 1950s and 60s. These strongly reflect Plymouth's location as a port, in combination with the fact that it has played host to each of the armed forces. It considers the impact of international public displays of gay pride from the Stonewall riots in the US through to performances as protest employed by groups such as Outrage! and legislation as Section 28 of the Local Government Act in the UK. The thesis concludes by considering the author’s role in, and wider impact of, the “Pride in Our Past” exhibition, which took place at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery (April-June 2012) as part of this research project.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Democratic South Africa was based on a constitution that is meant to have democratic values that promote human dignity and non-discrimination. Such democratic values were put in place to ensure that the human rights violations that took place in apartheid South Africa would not take place again and that everyone, especially those previously oppressed are treated with respect and dignity. Despite the guaranteed human rights that are supposed to apply to everyone, lesbians and other members of the LGBT community still face discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Nell and Shaprito (2011, p12) point out that “in stark contrast with constitutional guarantees of freedom and human rights for all, research indicates that homophobic victimization is an endemic part of the South African landscape”.

A presente pesquisa analisa o processo de emergência de grupos organizados de jovens LGBT e de seu engajamento. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com fundadores/as e coordenadores/as de grupos jovens LGBT, bem como observação de campo junto às atividades desenvolvidas pelas entidades, o que permitiu problematizar e descrever: o contexto de emergência desses grupos, seus modos de organização e funcionamento, suas bandeiras de luta e formas de ação, tal como o perfil e o processo de engajamento desses/as jovens. Assim foi possível traçar um panorama histórico envolvendo as seguintes organizações atuantes na cidade de São Paulo: Projeto de Apoio a Gays e Lésbicas Adolescentes (PAGLA), E-jovem, XTeens, Jovens e Adolescentes Homossexuais (JA) e Projeto Purpurina. Assim como traçar o cenário atual em Paris com foco nas seguintes entidades: MAG Jeunes LGBT, Pôle Jeunesse, CONTACT e Le Refuge. Essas organizações promovem encontros, online e offline (presenciais e virtuais) de apoio mútuo voltados a jovens, que varia de 13 a 29 anos e abordam sobretudo: autoaceitação, conflitos na família, com amigos, na escola, universidade e trabalho. Os grupos e os/as jovens apresentam ressalvas em relação à política institucional (governos, partidos, eleições, espaços de participação e controle social), para eles/as fazer política significa promover transformações sociais a partir de suas vidas cotidianas, que eventualmente podem passar por reivindicações pontuais em relação a legislações, políticas ou serviços públicos. / This research analyzes the process of emergence of organized groups of LGBT youth and their engagement. Semi-structured interviews were held with founders and coordinators of LGBT youth groups and field observation with the activities developed by the entities, which allowed discuss and describe: the emergence of such groups, their modes of organization and operation, their struggles themes and forms of action, such as their profile and engagement process. Thus it was possible to trace a historical overview involving the following organizations actives in São Paulo: Projeto de Apoio a Gays e Lésbicas Adolescentes (Pagla), E-Jovem, XTeens, Jovens e Adolescentes Homossexuais (JA) and Projeto Purpurina; As well as outline the current situation in Paris focusing on the following groups: MAG - Jeunes LGBT, Pôle Jeunesse, CONTACT e Le Refuge. These organizations hold meetings, online and off-line, of mutual support aimed at young people, which ranges from 13 to 29 years and cover mainly: self-acceptance, conflicts in the family, with friends, at school, university and work. Groups and young have reservations about the institutional policy (governments, parties, elections, opportunities for participation and social control), for them politics means promoting social change from their everyday lives, which can eventually move by specific claims regarding legislation, policies or public services.

A presente pesquisa analisa o processo de emergência de grupos organizados de jovens LGBT e de seu engajamento. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com fundadores/as e coordenadores/as de grupos jovens LGBT, bem como observação de campo junto às atividades desenvolvidas pelas entidades, o que permitiu problematizar e descrever: o contexto de emergência desses grupos, seus modos de organização e funcionamento, suas bandeiras de luta e formas de ação, tal como o perfil e o processo de engajamento desses/as jovens. Assim foi possível traçar um panorama histórico envolvendo as seguintes organizações atuantes na cidade de São Paulo: Projeto de Apoio a Gays e Lésbicas Adolescentes (PAGLA), E-jovem, XTeens, Jovens e Adolescentes Homossexuais (JA) e Projeto Purpurina. Assim como traçar o cenário atual em Paris com foco nas seguintes entidades: MAG Jeunes LGBT, Pôle Jeunesse, CONTACT e Le Refuge. Essas organizações promovem encontros, online e offline (presenciais e virtuais) de apoio mútuo voltados a jovens, que varia de 13 a 29 anos e abordam sobretudo: autoaceitação, conflitos na família, com amigos, na escola, universidade e trabalho. Os grupos e os/as jovens apresentam ressalvas em relação à política institucional (governos, partidos, eleições, espaços de participação e controle social), para eles/as fazer política significa promover transformações sociais a partir de suas vidas cotidianas, que eventualmente podem passar por reivindicações pontuais em relação a legislações, políticas ou serviços públicos. / This research analyzes the process of emergence of organized groups of LGBT youth and their engagement. Semi-structured interviews were held with founders and coordinators of LGBT youth groups and field observation with the activities developed by the entities, which allowed discuss and describe: the emergence of such groups, their modes of organization and operation, their struggles themes and forms of action, such as their profile and engagement process. Thus it was possible to trace a historical overview involving the following organizations actives in São Paulo: Projeto de Apoio a Gays e Lésbicas Adolescentes (Pagla), E-Jovem, XTeens, Jovens e Adolescentes Homossexuais (JA) and Projeto Purpurina; As well as outline the current situation in Paris focusing on the following groups: MAG - Jeunes LGBT, Pôle Jeunesse, CONTACT e Le Refuge. These organizations hold meetings, online and off-line, of mutual support aimed at young people, which ranges from 13 to 29 years and cover mainly: self-acceptance, conflicts in the family, with friends, at school, university and work. Groups and young have reservations about the institutional policy (governments, parties, elections, opportunities for participation and social control), for them politics means promoting social change from their everyday lives, which can eventually move by specific claims regarding legislation, policies or public services.