From the Newsletter 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 Years Ago

Spring 2012

Mark Pope, president, reported that at the Midwinter Executive Committee Meeting, we decided to develop a high quality professional journal on sexual orientation and gender identity. Also, we moved into the 21st century as our new and first Facebook page went live on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at 1:15 p.m. during our meetings.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office (LGBTCO) is pleased to report that abstracts for one symposium and four individual papers were accepted for presentation at the 30th International Congress of Psychology 2012, which will be in Cape Town, South Africa, July 22-27, 2012.

The first citizen-initiated referendum on marriage equality will be held this November. Maine's same-sex marriage law, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, was repealed by voters in 2009. This time supporters feel they have made substantial progress in changing people's hearts and minds over the last two years. Other states also expect a referendum this year.

The APA Task Force on Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Clients held its first in-person meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Feb. 10-12. Task force members flew from Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., to meet and begin the development of guidelines for psychological practice with trans clients.

Spring 2007

Christopher Martell, as president of the division, had the honor of introducing Stephen Morin as one of the elders at the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. He also reported that the Executive Committee voted to offer a welcoming statement to those specific sexual minority psychologists who have not seen themselves heretofore included in the division.

Arlene Noriega and Francisco J. Sánchez reported that the NMCS was a huge success as over 950 delegates attended and that the conference seemed to serve as a “healing” experience for many LGB individuals who felt marginalized by events at a prior conference.

Jin Wu described the 10-day summer camp in Beijing on LGBT issues and AIDS prevention in which she and Barry Chung taught the psychology course and Dean Hamer gave lectures on the genetics of sexual orientation.

Kris Hancock and Robin Buhrke reported that the APA Council passed the “Resolution on Opposing Discriminatory Legislation and Initiatives Aimed at Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Persons” without dissent.

Spring 2002

President Sari Dworkin reflected on the effects of the Sept. 11 attack in New York City and reported a deeper commitment to social justice, civil liberties, and global concerns. She noted the upcoming International LGB Conference.

The midwinter meeting highlighted a training session on transgender issues by James Green and Katherine Rachlin.

Hal Kooden reviewed the book “ The Soul Beneath the Skin” by David Nimmons that he felt was a landmark book on gay men that had the potential for creating another paradigm shift in our community.

Kimberly Balsam and Cisco Sanchez, student co-chairs, created a student recruitment poster for the division.

May 1997

President Doug Haldeman wrote that our bisexual sisters and brothers deserve to be formally welcomed in to the division. He urged the membership to vote “yes for bi inclusion” on the ballot insert contained in the newsletter regarding the name change for the division, which was unanimously approved by the Executive Committee at the midwinter meeting.

Pat Ashbrook wrote an article in support of inclusion of bisexual women and men in the division, noting that a task force was developed in 1991 to investigate this issue.

Tomas A. Soto reported on a 10-year review of ethnic minority gay, lesbian and bisexual publications. He found that only 4.5 percent of GLB articles related to ethnic/racial minorities focused primarily on the area of race or ethnicity; 85 percent of articles did not consider or treat issues of race and ethnicity. He concluded that research articles imply homogeneity among GLB communities and fosters a marginalization of issues of racial and ethnicity diversity.

May 1992

President Connie Chan noted the division's attempt to be as inclusive, racially diverse, and as sensitive to ethnic minority issues within a lesbian/gay context as possible. Deborah Johnson led an all-day anti-racism workshop. Chan noted an incident in her own life where she was confronted with a racist insult: “Go back to where you came from. We don't like waiting on ‘boat people' here.”

Lisa Frey and Jim Hickey, student co-chairs, reported several outreach activities to APA graduate students through the APAGS newsletter, follow-up letters, and a symposium. Frey designed a questionnaire in a collaborative research project with Div. 45 regarding diversity in graduate training curriculum.

Alan Goodman, a past treasurer of the Association of Lesbian and Gay Psychologists, and John L. Martin, winner of the division's 1990 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Science, died in January.

March 1987

Linda Garnets, program chair, announced 10 symposia for the upcoming APA convention; among the chairs were Thomas J. Coates, Adrienne Smith, Royce Scrivner, David McKirnan, Laura Brown, Robert L. Mapou, Harold Kooden, and Gregory M. Herek. Susan Cochran chaired the poster session and Bart Aoki chaired the conversation hour on “Forging Alliances: Organizing Around Lesbian/Gay and Ethnic Minority Issues.“

Douglas Kimmel, president, reported on the business at the midwinter meeting. Alan Pinka gave the treasurer's report. The Executive Committee decided to create division awards to acknowledge contributions to the goals of the organization. Bronwyn Anthony opened her home to us for dinner and relaxation. One new business item concerned actions the division might take with regard to the Georgia sodomy law while APA meets in Atlanta in August.

Anthony Russo announced the beginning of a mentor/protégé program to establish a support network for researchers starting out in their career.

William Bailey, science policy officer of APA's Office of Legislative Affairs, reported on AIDS and Anti-Gay violence. Gregory M. Herek presented APA's statement on the issue to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice.