Introduction 

For centuries there has been a multitude of perceptions, concepts, and opinions about sexuality in the United States of America. Sexuality is often demonized in our communities, there is always a disconnect and sense of uneasiness. Sexuality is a crucial facet of society, family, friends, and relationships that needs to be nurtured and cared about for the well-being of society. With this experience, I plan to enlighten myself, gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of LGBTQIA community. I also plan to learn ways to better incorporate my friends who have confusion, resentments, a phobia towards LGBTQIA, or are ignorant. I will be exploring different perspectives on Gender (who one believes they are psychologically), Gender Identity (personal sense of one’s own gender), and Gender Role (sex role, social role with a range of behaviors). Prior to this engagement/ activity, I already had relationships with members of the LGBTQIA. My younger sister is Polysexual (attracted to both sexes romantically and sexually), one of my female cousins is bisexual (attracted to both sexes), and I have distant cousin that is a transgender woman (born a male but transitions to a female). So, I have a prominent level of comfortability by interacting positively with people of the LGBTQIA community. With this exploration I chose to separate them into three days: Day one I spent time with a homosexual man I have not interacted with, day two I fasted from social media, consuming meat, and television, and day three interviewed a gay man, a homosexual men, and a transgender woman.  

​

TO SEE CONDENSED AND EXPANDED NOTES CLICK THE FILE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

​

Introduction 

Development, maintenance, and deterioration are inevitable phases of any relationship, whether it be friendship, romance, or family. It is vital to understand that all relationships are effectively dying or developing. In this study, we will be focusing on romantic relationships and the role of interpersonal communication within the relationship. “Romantic relationships have been found to impact physical and psychological wellbeing, as individuals in healthy relationships report heightened emotional support, self-esteem, and quality of life” (Sedikides et al., 1994; Voss et al., 1999; Pateraki and Roussi, 2013). This is the positive perception of romantic relationships and the habitual foundation in our society. On the contrary, “...relationship distress and discord has been linked to heightened levels of psychopathology, including mood and substance use disorders, and poorer health outcomes (Lebow et al., 2019; Whisman and Uebelacker, 2006).” This is the negative perception of romantic relationships. According to the studies of James A. Cranford, negative relationships affect a wider range than positive ones. I have been appointed a Toxic Relationship (an unhealthy relationship where either or both sides feel drained, trapped, and manipulated by the opposite side, it might be physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive altogether or either of them). According to an article on Coachwalid.com, “The evidence suggests that many of us are willing to tolerate and compromise in a relationship even if we’re not happy. Around 60 percent of us stay in bad relationships that we do not find fulfilling at all...” I have more than one participant in this assignment: one from Lincoln, Alabama, one from my hometown Laurel, Mississippi, and one from Jackson, Tennessee. The analysis in my paper with explore the stages of romantic relationships and how far I got with each of them, the conflict managing styles we used, the amount of disclosure that was allowed, the deceptive communication we used, styles of expressions, and how I positively and negatively triggered my partners.  

 

TO SEE THE IN-DEPTH EXPERIENCE CLICK THE FILE THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

​

​