Native American Intersectional of Sexual Orientation

We are increasingly aware that the largest and most frequently used ethnocultural denominations refer to heterogeneous groups. African Americans show significant intragroup differences between recent and more established African immigrants, males and females, straight and gay persons, people from central and southern Africa, and so on. We know that individuals in umbrella groups such as "Hispanic" or "Asian" include several populations that may differ in terms of factors that influence mental health and the treatment of mental disorders, such as language, fluency, acculturation, religion, education, economic level, health insurance, mental health literacy, and attitudes toward mental illness and its treatment.

A knee-jerk reaction of some theoreticians and politicians is to propose an end to using these classifications. However, the suggestion of clinical providers and researchers is precisely the opposite: we need to multiply ethnocultural classifications. Using the term "Hispanic" is not only insufficient but to some extent misleading when we are discussing the mental condition of a black, Pentecostal, professional, bilingual, Hispanic male from the Caribbean who has sex with other men and has become severely depressed upon finding that he is HIV positive (Nitya 58-98).

Jean Paul Sartre said that the Arab or the Worker—with capital letters—do not exist, but there exist many arabs or workers. This is not true for sociologists, economists, or market researchers. For them, the "17-24 year-old male" or the "over 55 widowed female" is as real as penicillin is for a physician. But for clinicians, Sartre's affirmation is gospel. The more definitions we can have of our patients the better, but none of them should obscure the unique individual who is the target of our efforts.

The minority of Hispanics includes Mexicans, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, or other Hispanic heritage. They are consists of more than 500 tribes with almost entirely different cultural heritage, traditions, languages and ancestry. The 2000 census showed that the Hispanics are the Americas largest minority (Gilbert 56-89). According to the Times magazine 58 percent of this minority is of the Mexican origin.

The majority of Mexican Americans are most prominent in the areas, which were formerly the part of the Mexico, i.e. Southern California and Texas. The largest of Mexican Americans community was located around the Los Angles in Southern California, El Paso in Far West Texas, and the metropolitan areas of the South Texas.

According to the Auditors of Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Mexican Americans and especially the non-white Mexican Americans experience discrimination in the housing market from realtors and lending institutions. The auditors have also found out that the Mexican Americans faced discrimination due to their skin color and not due to their Mexican accent. Most of the Mexican Americans are the offspring of the Mexicans who voluntarily migrated to United States in the 20th Century. Hence it is the duty of the community, to which they have migrated, to assist them in adapting and absorbing them to American Society, but they were then busy in a war and colonization ...