Social Work Essay: Poverty, Social Exclusion, and the LGBTQ+ Community

This essay examines the effects of poverty and social exclusion on the LGBTQ+ community in the UK, exploring the various forms of discrimination and disadvantage faced by this group. It defines poverty and social exclusion, differentiating between absolute and relative poverty, and discusses how sexual orientation contributes to these issues. The essay delves into the causes of poverty within the LGBTQ+ community, highlighting factors such as homophobia, heteronormativity, and workplace discrimination. It also analyzes the effects of poverty and social exclusion, including youth homelessness, educational disparities, healthcare challenges, and mental health issues. The discussion extends to policy reform, advocating for measures to combat homophobic bullying, promote awareness, and ensure equal opportunities. Ultimately, the essay aims to determine whether the causes of poverty and social exclusion are primarily structural or pathological, providing a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK
Social Work
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Author’s Note

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Analyze the effects of poverty and social exclusion on LGBTQ Community and discuss whether
the causes are primarily structural or pathological.
Introduction
Poverty and social exclusion happens all across the world as there are always certain
groups who are discriminated against in a particular society. It is a form of systematic
disadvantageousness which is done on the basis of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, caste,
health status like HIV, disability or migrant status. The social discrimination that leads to poverty
and social exclusion occurs at various places including public institution, health and care
services, education institutions, and even households (Slater et al. 2017). Focusing on the aspect
of sexual orientation, it can be seen that most people are homophobic which leads to the
prejudices and discrimination directed towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer
(LGBTQ) population (Marston 2017). However, it can be said that the lesbian almost equals to
the discrimination faced by women on the basis of gender and experience poverty (Marston
2017).
This essay aims to explore the poverty and social exclusion on the basis of sexual
orientation in the UK. It will provide an insight into the mental harassment, material
disadvantage or poverty, stigma, and discrimination for their sexual preferences, and the
changing scenario in the UK. Furthermore, it would look into the loopholes in the structure, and
the necessary amends it needs to incorporate in the anti-poverty strategies in relation to sexual
orientation. All these analysis will then be evaluated to come to the understanding as to whether
it is structural or pathological.
Discussion

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Defining Poverty, social exclusion
Poverty can be defined as the material disadvantage experienced by a group of people
which deters them to participate in social activities (Marston 2017). Not only that, but it also
prevents them to meet their bare minimum needs thereby violating human dignity (Marston
2017). It is a social condition which forces them to face lack of sufficiency, make choices, and
experience opportunities. Poverty can be further divided into absolute poverty and relative
poverty. In the former condition, people do not have the privilege to afford their bare minimum
sustenance like getting access to proper food, cloths, shelter, and healthcare services (Atkinson
2019). On the other hand, the relative poverty is the situation where the group of people do not
have sufficient money to maintain the average standard of living in the society they are residing
in (Atkinson 2019). Social exclusion, on the other hand, is also related to the concept of poverty
due to distinct separation of classes caused by the material status of an individual (Fabbre et al.
2019). The poor cannot experiences the privileges enjoyed by people having material disposition,
and hence cannot partake in social activities especially in the sectors of education and health care
services (Marston 2017). The term social exclusion is somewhat dubious because they have to
feel that they are socially excluded from the wider society and they are being denied some of
their rights of social participation and intermingling (Fabbre et al. 2019).
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation can be defined as having emotional, romantic or sexual attractions to
men, women, or both sexes. It is usually discussed towards having relationship between
members of opposite sex (heterosexuality), members of same sex (homosexuality, lesbian/ gay),
or both the genders (bisexual) (Fabbre et al. 2019). There are no specific reasons behind this

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behavioral activity, however, it is pretty common in human as well as animal world (Aksoy,
Carpenter, and Frank 2018).
Causes of poverty and social exclusion on the LGBTQ community
The cause of poverty is rooted in social factors that generate low income (Aksoy, Carpenter,
and Frank 2018). However, when it comes to specific groups like the LGBTQ community, the
reasons tends to move towards socially constructed ideas (Lupton and Turok 2004). The Joseph
Rowntree Foundation in the UK has provided some interesting researches and facts that tend to
give an insight into the current poverty and social exclusion based solely on sexual orientation
(Marston 2017). Some of the key findings of this research are –
 Gay men are likely to experience discrimination than their heterosexual counterparts
(Lupton and Turok 2004). It is indicated by the high number of poverty within the gay
community (Wright et al. 2019). They are also the ones who face the consequences of
homelessness (Wright et al. 2019).
 Gay elders have a higher rate of facing social isolation compared to that of heterosexual
men (Wright et al. 2019). It is accompanied by poverty because of having less housing
wealth (Uhrig 2014).
 Lesbians also face poverty which is almost similar to that of a heterosexual woman facing
it (Marston 2017). However, it has been found that lesbians are at materially
advantageous position then the gay men (Uhrig 2014). This can be backed by the fact that
they participate more freely in the labor market, pay premium, and can control their
motherhood (Wright et al. 2019).
 Bisexual men and women both have to suffer pay penalty as they are more prone to
experience poverty as compared to heterosexual men and women (Uhrig 2014). This is

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the reason they face a higher poverty and social exclusion rate as compared to
heterosexual men and women (Uhrig 2014).
Population and community surveys are two types of research that looks into the issues of
LGB (Aksoy, Carpenter, and Frank 2018). In the cases of studying gender issues of a place,
community surveys are mostly preferred over population surveys because the latter needs to have
large data for robust analysis which is missing (Aksoy, Carpenter, and Frank 2018). The small
proportion of the LGB issues are best represented by the former one (Hudson and Romanelli
2019). However, the reasons behind the prejudices and discrimination towards people of other
sexual orientation is mainly the factor of heteronormativity which is due to irrational moral
values and the acceptance of the fact that heterosexuality or relationship between men and
women is the only normal thing. Homophobia is also a term which is applicable to this context
where people have the fear of accepting somebody indulging in homosexuality (Hudson and
Romanelli 2019). This fear or non-acceptance is triggered by mainly religious reasons where this
particular act is perceived as a sin (Semlyen et al. 2016). Apart from that, socially constructed
ideas are also deep rooted within an individual which causes them to distance from other worldly
truths and considering their particular narrow approach about marriage and relationship to be the
ultimate truth (Slater et al. 2017).
Effects of poverty and social exclusion on the LGBTQ community
The poverty and social exclusion of the LGBTQ community has several effects on the
lifestyle of the sexual minorities in the country (Semlyen et al. 2016). Some of the effects apart
from poverty and social exclusion are described below -

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Youth homelessness – According to (Slater et al. 2017), youth has the high risk to face
homelessness as a consequence to their sexual preference as compared to the heterosexuals.
However, it can be either voluntary or involuntary. A community study on the self-identified
Londoners in 1984 revealed that most of the homelessness were due to being forcefully thrown
away from their home (Thompson and Dahling 2019). A research also suggested that it
oftentimes becomes traumatic for the young people to speak about their sexual orientation to
their heterosexual parents (Thompson and Dahling 2019). Thereby, it either way creates the need
to explore themselves without their heterosexual parental norms or the forceful housing crisis
created by their conservative parents. This is also the reason why young people voluntarily
abandon their home (Leonard 2017). The issue of homelessness also creates other factors like
drug abuse which in turn, is a result of poor mental health condition. (Lupton and Turok 2004)
 Education – It is certainly one of the significant aspects of capital creation (Lupton and
Turok 2004). Therefore, it is essential for the minorities to have a basis level of education
which would eliminate their risk of poverty (Hudson and Romanelli 2019). In other
context, it is also necessary to eradicate the irrational beliefs and the fears related to
homosexuality and the acceptance of people from other genders (Marston 2017).
 Healthcare – Health is also related to creation of poverty leading to social exclusion
(Lupton and Turok 2004).For instance, if the health condition of a sexual minority is
poor, it may lead to the less production of material. Therefore, wellbeing is an important
factor which is interdependent to poverty (Marston 2017). However, researches related to
it has suggested a higher amount of deteriorating health conditions among the community
due to the constant stress and pressure that occurs due to their sexuality (Satsangi and
Gkartzios 2019). It is because of the pervasiveness of heterosexuality and the persistence

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of heteronormativity (Phellas 2018). Heterosexual nature is the primary and of greater
respect as perceived by the societal norms (Marston 2017). On the contrary, homophobia,
trans-phobia, or biphobia are created from the negative perception of people of other
sexual inclination that develops a negative societal attitude (Lupton and Turok 2004). In
addition to this, there are various instances where sexual minorities have experienced
violence that caused them physical injury or even have led to death (Satsangi and
Gkartzios 2019). The constant fear and stress of being perceived negatively has affected
the health of these communities largely (Holman and Oswald 2016). Moreover, they also
have the stigma of not being socially accepted, expectations of rejection of their beliefs
and discrimination also affects their health adversely (Pateman and Vincent 2016). Not
only does it lead to stress, but it also causes internalized depression and chronic mental
health issues (Fabbre et al. 2019). It has also been accompanied by substance abuse
which becomes another important factor for their deteriorating health. (Lupton and Turok
2004) Furthermore, often they experience low self-esteem that further aggravates their
social exclusion.
 Workplace discrimination – It has also been found that the sexual minorities are often
harassed and bullied at workplace, schools and universities (Satsangi and Gkartzios
2019). The heteronormative approach causes them to be laughed and bullied at which
affects their mental health a lot. It also forces them to conceal their sexuality which
results in low self-esteem, depression and anxiety (Hudson and Romanelli 2019). Many
reports have also indicated the self-harm and suicidal tendencies among the teenagers
which is a matter of major concern (Hudson and Romanelli 2019).
Policy reformation to combat poverty and social exclusion in the UK

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In the UK, anti-poverty policies are directed towards the empowerment of people, and
aims to eliminate “giant evils”, namely want, ignorance, disease, idleness and squalor. (Satsangi
and Gkartzios 2019) In the context of sexual orientation, people are most likely to discriminate
due to proper awareness and acceptance of people with “different” sexuality (Park 2016). In
lights of eradicating poverty and social isolation among the sexual minorities of the country,
some steps are necessary to be implemented (Aksoy, Carpenter, and Frank 2018).
Action against Homophobic bullying
Homophobic bullying in school is a very severe problem that needs to be eliminated at
the earliest (Holman and Oswald 2016). It has a lot of consequences on the mental health of the
victim thereby leading to the utter destruction of one’s self esteem followed by career (Hudson
and Romanelli 2019). Studies have suggested that school bullying often resulted in the person’s
poor life outcomes as a consequences (Park 2016). The mental torture and the stigma they face
from their peer groups also stunts their development which keeps them a step behind in the
generation of human capital through education (Slater et al. 2017). Therefore, strict laws
pertaining to the harassment of individual should be eliminated (Wright et al. 2019). Strict
actions should be taken for such incidents along with proper impart of education regarding
sexualities of different kind. Moreover, in order to prevent the youth from going under mental
health (Wright et al. 2019) conditions, counselling sessions should be encouraged by the UK
school authorities (Wright et al. 2019).. Along with that, teachers’ awareness should also be a
priority which will help them to take a stance on these issues (Almeida et al. 2009).
There should be the review of policies supporting the rights of lesbians and bisexual
women (Slater et al. 2017). The government should take proper measure on the equal benefit
rights of both the lesbian and bisexual woman equally (Wright et al. 2019). It should also ensure

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their protection related to the poverty alleviation and childcare needs. Other than this policy,
review should also be done on the existing rules pertaining to the gay bisexual men. They tend to
experience material disadvantage which needs to be reduced by supporting bisexual and gay
visibility, Moreover, supporting the bisexual and gay men as fathers should also be encouraged
which would lead to the effective reduction of this gap. (Almeida et al. 2009).
Pathological or structural
In relation to the main theme of the topic, the causes of poverty and social exclusion of
the LGBTQ community is purely structural as the condition is due to the societal and political
issues pertaining in the society. In this case, the pathological viewpoint cannot be taken into
consideration because the condition of being a sexual minorities has nothing to do with
individual faults (Slater et al. 2017). Moreover, the cycle of deprivation theory states that the
family pathology plays a significant role in transmitting the deprivation in the next generations.
Analyzing the condition in close lens, it can be found that the poverty and social exclusion
especially of the sexual minorities are structural due to the societal unacceptance (Marston
2017). The community is made to go through systematic injustices which compels them to shrink
under poverty.
Conclusion
In the essence of the entire analysis, it can be said that the society needs to be lenient and
acceptable which would reduce more instances of harassment of sexual minorities. The
normalization of the homosexuality along with the issues of transgender and queer should be
acknowledged which would gradually eliminate homophobic tendencies. It can only be
implemented with governmental interference and policy making. In the UK, more social

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researches should be made so that a better condition of the LGBTQ community can be studied.
However, in comparison to the past experiences, the community has further been able to express
itself and voice their opinions. It is indeed a positive sign to the existing laws thereby helping the
sexual minorities to get over from facts like poverty and social exclusion.

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