Finding Equilibrium: Mentoring, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity

The authors explore mentoring relationships in which one or both members are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). They highlight the role of stigma, in its variable presentations, as an important underpinning of these relationships. They argue that explicit attention to stigma, both within the mentoring relationship and beyond, is of value to the mentoring process and outcome. The authors offer a developmental perspective on mentoring needs, and they suggest specific considerations for LGBT and heterosexual mentors of LGBT students.