12. Invitation for the journey to the world of togetherness / 医学教育

This article is an account of a trans individual to share with the audience that transgender people are not a myth but ordinary humans living in Japan. I illustrated the real emotions and challenges a transgender person faces in a society that lacks sufficient understanding and support, including adequate legal and healthcare systems. I also want to tell readers what "coming out" and "transitions" mean to those who have had to hide their sexuality from a very young age, even from their parents.　Our society has been changing. However, there is still a number of enormous barriers in healthcare for someone who underwent gender-affirming therapy and finally started to live as their true self. I sincerely hope medical educators training future health professionals will recognize the hardships to improve the situations.

As repercussões do coming out nas famílias de jovens adultos homossexuais / The repercussions of coming out on gay young adult families

O processo do coming out pode reverberar de modo diferente em cada núcleo familiar. O presente estudo teve por objetivo conhecer as percepções de mães, pais, irmãos(ãs) e dos(as) homossexuais acerca da repercussão do coming out na família de origem. Participaram 24 membros de oito diferentes núcleos familiares. Foram empregados roteiros de entrevista e Diagramas de Escolta. As famílias, com certa dificuldade e resistência, aceitaram ou ainda estão em processo de aceitação de seus(suas) filhos(as), sendo observada alta recusa dos pais em falar sobre o assunto. Todos os membros consideraram importante saber do coming out. Os irmãos representaram uma potente fonte de apoio aos homossexuais, contribuindo para a aceitação dos demais membros. Alguns movimentos de preconceitos velados puderam ser depreendidos, tornando lícita a afirmação de que a aceitação é um processo construído ao longo do tempo e das experiências em família.

The coming out process may reverberate differently in each family nucleus. The present study aimed to know the perceptions of mothers, fathers, siblings and homosexuals about the repercussion of coming out in the family. A total of 24 members from eight different family groups participated. Interview scripts and Escort Diagrams were used. The families, with some difficulty and resistance, accept or are still in the process of accepting their children, and a high refusal of parents to talk about the subject was observed. All members considered it important to know about the coming out. The siblings represented a powerful source of support for the homosexuals, contributing to the acceptance of the other members. Some movements of veiled prejudice could be understood, making the statement that acceptance is a process built over time and through family experiences.

A Revelação da Homossexualidade na Família: Revisão Integrativa da Literatura Científica / La Revelación de la Homosexualidad en la Familia: Revisión Integra de la Literatura Científica / Revealing one's Homosexuality to the Family: An Integrative Review of the Scientific Literature

Resumo A revelação da homossexualidade (coming out) no contexto familiar é um tema ainda pouco investigado na literatura científica. O presente estudo teve por objetivo apresentar uma revisão integrativa da literatura científica a fim de compreender quais as repercussões da revelação da orientação sexual nas relações familiares de jovens adultos homossexuais. A partir das bases LILACS, MEDLINE, PePSIC, PsycINFO e SciELO (janeiro/2006-maio/2016), foram recuperados 38 artigos. Predominam estudos qualitativos com pessoas homossexuais, tanto com gays quanto com lésbicas, e outros que ressaltam o papel da família diante do coming out, o que permite conhecer e identificar questões ligadas ao processo de revelação ou ocultação da homossexualidade. Estudos também avaliam a participação e os sentimentos que acarretam a revelação nas famílias, sendo observado contextos em que os conflitos prevaleceram e outros nos quais houve acolhimento por parte dos entes. Também foram observados casos em que jovens buscaram a rede social como uma referência de apoio no processo de coming out. Nota-se a necessidade de novos estudos acerca da temática, ampliando a visibilidade desse processo.

Resumen La revelación de la homosexualidad (coming out) en el contexto familiar aun es un tema poco investigado en la literatura científica. El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo presentar una revisión integradora de la literatura científica a fin de comprender cuales son las repercusiones de la revelación de la orientación sexual en las relaciones familiares de jóvenes y adultos homosexuales. A partir de las bases LILACS, MEDLINE, PePSIC, PsycINFO y SciELO (enero/2006-mayo/2016), fueron recuperados 38 artículos. Predominan estudios cualitativos con los homosexuales. Los estudios también evalúan la participación de los sentimientos que conducen la revelación en las familias, siendo observados contextos en que los conflictos prevalecen y otros en los cuales hubo acogimiento por parte de los entes. También fueron observados casos en que los jóvenes buscaron la red social como una referencia de apoyo en el proceso de coming out. Se nota la necesidad de nuevos estudios acerca de la temática, ampliando la visibilidad de ese proceso.

Abstract Coming out in the family context is a subject that has not been widely investigated in the scientific literature. This study aimed to present an integrative review of the scientific literature to understand the repercussions of young adult homosexuals revealing their sexual orientation to their families. A total of 38 articles were retrieved from the LILACS, MEDLINE, PePSIC, PsycINFO and SciELO databases (January/2006-May/2016). Qualitative studies with homosexuals predominate, both with gays and lesbians, and others that highlight the role of the family in the coming out, which allows to know and identify issues related to the process of revelation or concealment of homosexuality. The studies also assessed the participation and feelings resulting from coming out to the family, with contexts in which conflicts prevailed observed and others in which there was acceptance by the family members. Cases in which young people turned to social networks as a support reference in the coming out process were also observed. There is a notable need for new studies on the theme, increasing the visibility of this process.

El Significado de la Experiencia de la Aceptación de la Orientación Sexual Homosexual desde la Memoria de un Grupo de Hombres Adultos Puertorriqueños / The Meaning of the Experience of the Acceptance About the Sexual Orientation for Homosexual from the Perspective of Puerto Rican Male Adults

El presente estudio es de corte cualitativo utilizando un diseño fenomenológico y en él se describe el significado que le asignan a la experiencia un grupo de 12 hombres homosexuales que participaron en la etapa de la adultez media entre las edades de 41 años a los 59 años. Se presentan cuáles fueron las construcciones sociales, familiares y los aspectos psicosociales que inciden en el proceso de aceptar la orientación sexual homosexual. Así mismo, cómo muchos homosexuales están conscientes en la adultez media luego de un proceso de aceptación, lo que significa la orientación sexual homosexual y sus diversas dimensiones.

The present study is classified as a qualitative design, using phenomenological and describes the meaning assigned to experience of a group of 12 homosexual men who participated in the stage of middle adulthood between the ages of 41 years to 59 years. The study represents the socials and families constructors and psychosocial aspects, and the influence of the process of accepting homosexual sexual orientation. Also, how many homosexuals are awareness in the middle adulthood after the process of acceptance, which means the homosexual sexual orientation and the different dimensions.