Introduction
The case study highlights the life of a young man with a troubled childhood. His conflicting parents barely have time to guide him, allow him to grow positively, or even offer parental love. Consequently, he outgrows his faith in God, turns gay, and is infected with HIV. This paper is an analysis of the various factor of the case study such as gay stereotypes, social and spiritual settings, biblical perception, and my opinions. Jude is conflicted about his health status, his position with God, and his association with society. Thus, Jude has problems with sexual orientation, health, spiritual, and social relationships.
Initial Feelings
When I first read the story, I was thrilled, concerned, shocked, and later worried. At the beginning of the case study, I felt that Jude was undergoing normal conflicted family situations. His father was not available for him which is usually the case in most troubled families. Jude’s faith in God amazed me and I felt that he was a strong and good child despite a lack of fatherly support. I was then happy to know that Jude was still in the right direction so far. However, I was concerned after learning that the young man started to experience social and academic difficulties. After Jude’s father got saved, I was expecting him to get close to his son but was worried that they were total strangers. I experienced shock when Jude turned gay despite being such a strong believer in Christ and then worried that he contracted HIV in his first relationship. His confusion due to sexual orientation and health status got me worried too. All in all, Jude’s story took an unexpected turn which left me disturbed.
Societal Stereotypes
Young gay men experience various stereotypes as society tries to relate to and understand their sexual orientation. One of the stereotypes is that gay men are prone to contracting HIV. Amongst heterosexuals and homophobic, HIV/AIDS is classified as a gay disease. In the United States, a huge percentage of gay men contract HIV, however, a representation of one country should not define the fate of all gays in the world. Gay amongst young males is caused by trauma and poor parenting in childhood (Salvati et al., 2019). The societal populations who are against LGBTQ+ dismiss the aspect of sexual orientation claiming that gayism is caused by other factors. They argue that gay children often have experienced a traumatic incident or were raised by unavailable parents. The other stereotype is that gay men cannot be trusted around male children. Society tends to characterize gay men as child predators more than other people. Lastly, society believes that gay men are obsessed with sex and cannot control their sexual desires (Salvati et al., 2019). Gay men have sexual desires like any other people but society sees them as having an insatiable quench for sex. Although these are among many beliefs about gay men, the LGBTQ+ group has different behaviors and causes of their statuses.
Cultural Oppression
Gay people are marginalized, discriminated against, oppressed, and alienated by the general cultural settings of society. One of the ways gay people are culturally marginalized is through marriage. In the United States, marriage for gays was made legal in recent years. Many other countries in the world have not yet legalized gay marriage based on cultural practices. Those opposing their marriage cite that heterosexual couples are culturally right for marriage. The use of pronouns when addressing gays is another way the group is culturally alienated. Straight people believe that men should be addressed using a “he” pronoun thus they address gay men the same (Kuzma et al., 2019). They do not recognize the gay men who assume female gender roles and make pronoun differences when addressing them. The third way in which gay men are oppressed is by labeling washrooms. Culturally, there are ladies’ and gentlemen’s washrooms in hotels and other public places. The introduction of LGBTQ+ has not affected most washroom settings in the United States. The hotels do not recognize the group and thus do not provide a labeled washroom for gay people. Indeed, gay men are required to use gentlemen’s rooms even if they are of female orientation.
Personal Biases
After reading through the case study, I have a bias against several people and situations. One is that I am against being gay at a young age and it was wrong for Jude’s friend from the BK to introduce him to a gay friend. I feel conflicted about the situation because, at 16, Jude could not make a logical decision regarding his sexual orientation. Another reason could be because I am straight and I would never want to be gay at any time in my life. I am also against the drinking and unavailability behavior of Jude’s father. It is very irresponsible of him to grow distant from his child due to drinking. He also could have put effort to know his son after getting saved. I have seen children suffer in adulthood because their parents failed in raising them during childhood. Finally, I am against Jude’s teacher who after Jude tried being a chef and instead of supporting his effort discouraged him. I have been discouraged in life and I know how it feels thus felt it was wrong.
Impact of Differences
Jude experienced deviation in terms of upbringing and sexual orientation. From the dominant cultural perspective, Jude did not have a proper upbringing. His father was both physically and emotionally unavailable. Hence, Jude could not experience fatherly love at a young age. Consequently, he lacked guidance about things men do and those that they do not do. The lack of a father’s love at a young age led Jude to seek male love elsewhere. Jude decided to fill the empty gap of the presence of the father by dating a male. He yearned for a man who cared and by getting that from his boyfriend, he ended up with HIV.
Questions for Jude
The following are five questions I would ask Jude as a social worker. How do you feel about your general life right now? How do you feel about your father and the rest of your family members? Have you ever dated a girl and if any, how did you feel about the experience? After you met your male sexual partner, did he tell you he was HIV positive? Finally, are you still in the relationship with the male, and how did knowing you are HIV positive affect the relationship?
Learning from Jude
One of the things I learned from the case study is the need for a strong faith. Jude never lost faith in hoping that his father would convert someday and even if it took long, he waited. He also instead of confronting his parents about their fights opted to take his problems to God through prayers. Another lesson learned from Jude is the power to outgrow problems. Jude failed to connect with his father after he was saved but that did not stop him. He wanted so much to have a caring father but upon realizing their distance Jude continued to follow his interest by trying to be a chef and working at the Burger King. The ability to move past all family and personal problems and still earn GED is a strength. The other lesson is that one could be deep in faith and still become gay because it is God’s plan.
Personal Values
Achievement is my number one personal value that drives me every day. Attaining my goals is the most important thing in life. I might not have the necessary settings but with time, I believe I will have the input and reach my goal. Jude is determined to meet his goals no matter the situation on the way. My other value is health and by health, I do not mean a lack of diseases. I could be sick for so long as I have access to medical care, am in the right mind, and have no stress, I consider myself healthy. Jude needs health support from both his family for emotional healing and medical professional for HIV management.
Biblical Impact
Jude is a young man who knows God and despite the thing, he is passing through, God is still present. As a social worker, I need to help Jude without looking at his actions because God is the judge. The bible says, “In Him, we have redemption through His forgiveness of sins…” (The King James Version of the Bible, 2017, Ephesians 1:7-8). I should also not stop Jude from being gay because he has a relationship with God and that is between them. I should show him, love, because loving each other is God’s command and is also a way of social working. In John 4:8, the bible says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (The King James Version of the Bible, 2017). Therefore, loving Jude and allowing him to love whoever he wants is the will of God.
Value Management
My values significantly align with the biblical values based on the case study. However, acting as a social worker may require me to compromise to avoid judging clients like Jude. Just like a believer, I embrace God’s command about being heterosexual. Being faced with a gay case would mean putting my values and those of the bible aside to help the client. In this case, I do not support gays and neither does the bible. Therefore, working to help Jude means compromising my values to support him emotionally.
Biopsychosocial Assessment
For biological assessment, Jude reports being HIV positive which he contracted after an intimate relationship with a male friend. He is also a bright young man as he reports to have an IQ of a genius. The client reports to be 19 years old and is attracted to men, thus, making him gay. Finally, Jude reports that when he was young, his father had a drinking problem.
Psychological Assessment
The client reports being an achiever who is determined to pursue his interest. Jude’s strength is that he does not let family problems bring him down or stop him from following his dreams. Another of his strength is that Jude is very smart and shows the ability to make good decisions. However, his weakness is that he easily gives up a dream, especially when discouraged. Jude reports crying often and experiencing difficulties in sleeping.
Social Assessment
Jude reports to have joined the junior football club but never liked it. At the moment, the client could count on his mother, sister, and uncle’s support. He mentions that despite his father later trying to play his role, they have grown distant. Furthermore, Jude has few friends and is struggling to socialize with people. Lastly, the client is underperforming despite having a high IQ.
Spiritual Assessment
Jude reports having had strong faith when he was young. He was a faithful Christian who prayed and gave offerings to God. The client has now been uncertain about his relationship with God. He is currently conflicted between being gay and what God says about same-sex relationships. However, he believes that God created him to be a male gay.
Presenting Problems
The first problem is that Jude is conflicted between being gay and Christian. He has also not told his Christian parents that he is gay and HIV positive. Jude has a sour relationship with his father and that is a problem. He has few friends, is struggling socially, and has poor academic performance. The confusion brought by all of Jude’s problems makes him cry many times and find difficulties sleeping.
Textbook and Journal Research
Young gay men experience many problems such as lack of family support and health discrepancies. According to Healy and Thomas (2020), LQBTQ+ individuals require special health attention. This group of people suffers more emotionally than physically due to rejection and isolation from society. Offering gay people social support is the first step to treating them (Klein, 2017). Most of the illnesses LGBTQ people suffer from are mentally related thus unless they are accepted and supported, giving them medical treatment is valueless.
Wisdom Gained
I have learned that young gay men suffer a lot, and thus, need social and emotional support from family and friends. Lack of such support could lead to serious health problems and at times mental disorders. Just like Jude, biblical teachings could trouble people when they act contrary to their beliefs. Lastly, enjoying adequate parental love from both parents is important in the development of children.
Social Work Values and Ethics
The social work code of ethics acts as a guide to the workers’ daily activities. The value of service challenges me to ethically help the client in solving his problem (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). For example, I am obligated to help Jude get the health attention he needs. Another value is the dignity and worth of a person which is guided by the ethical principle that social workers respect the dignity of clients and uphold their worthiness as a person. For example in Jude’s case, I should respect his decisions and help him feel his worth without judgment. The third value is integrity whereby a social worker is guided by the ethical principle to behave in a trustworthy manner problem (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). For example, while helping Jude, I cannot reveal his HIV status or sexual orientation among other problems to anyone.
Case Plan
After listening to Jude’s problems, I would offer my support as a social worker. The support would be to inform counseling him about his feelings. However, the first thing that would help him sleep by offering antidepressants and sleeping aid pills. Once he has a clear mind, we would talk about his emotions and the need to accept who he is. I would advise him to start taking HIV medication immediately and work towards revealing his sexual orientation to his family. I would also mobilize his sister who knows Jude is gay to keep supporting him before the parents come in. Finally, I would counsel him on positive dating strategies to ensure that he does not infect his next partner with HIV.
Conclusion
Jude is experiencing a lack of fatherly love, spiritual conflict, and sleeping problems among others. He is in a bad status and needs immediate medical attention due to lack of sleep and being HIV positive. As a social worker, assessing Jude’s biopsychosocial status will help me to offer him the right treatment. The first help to give Jude would be emotional support which he lacks from his Christian family. The support will help him manage and live with HIV positively and come out as gay. Finally, empowered by social work values and code of ethics, I would offer service, integrity and dignity, and worth to Jude.
References
Healy, L. M., & Thomas, R. L. (2020). International social work: Professional action in an interdependent world. Oxford University Press, USA.
Klein, E. (2017). Using social support for LGBTQ clients with mental illness to be out of the closet, in treatment, and the community. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 29(3), 221-232. Web.
Kuzma, E. K., Pardee, M., & Darling-Fisher, C. S. (2019). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health: Creating safe spaces and caring for patients with cultural humility. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(3), 167-174. Web.
National Association of Social Workers. (2021).Code of ethics. Web.
Salvati, M., Piumatti, G., Giacomantonio, M., & Baiocco, R. (2019). Gender stereotypes and contact with gay men and lesbians: the mediational role of sexism and homonegativity.Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 29(6), 461-473. Web.
The King James Version of the Bible [KJV]. (2017). Full Moon Publications.