A Youth Leader's Guide to Building Cultural Competence 

If you have had heterosexual intercourse, at what point was contraception a part of your sexual 

experience? Your sexual education? How was the subject treated in your family? Who was responsible 

for purchasing and using contraception, including condoms?  

How do you view homosexuality? How does your view influence or not influence your treatment of 

others? Your own behavior?  

Are gay, lesbian, and bisexual people accepted as members of your community? The community you 

were raised in?  

Are you gay, lesbian or bisexual? When did you come out to yourself? Are you out to friends? Family? 

Employers and co workers? Why or why not? How many other members of the gay, lesbian or bisexual 

community do you know? How involved are you in organized gay, lesbian or bisexual community 

activities? 

What behavior constitutes flirting? What are your expectations of people engaging in flirtatious behavior? 

Are there certain behaviors that are unacceptable? 

At what age did you first express yourself physically in asexual relationship? Was that considered an 

acceptable age by your family for someone of your gender? Was it typical of your peers? What age was 

considered acceptable for males to have sexual intercourse? For females? 

What did you learn about child sexual abuse growing up? About forced sex between partners? About 

sexual harassment? How is that knowledge different or similar to what you know now?  

Gender Roles  

Were tasks in your home assigned by gender? Are they now? Which things were traditionally done by 

men in your family? By women?  

Were both yourself and members of the opposite sex encouraged to stay in school? Go to college? To 

work outside the home? Were there certain hobbies or extracurricular activities that were encouraged in 

one gender and not the other?  

Were you allowed or encouraged to express emotions freely? Was this similar for members of the 

opposite sex in your family? Did this differ by age? Were some emotions more appropriate in one gender 

or another?  

Who takes care of the children? What respective roles do members of your sex and members of the 

opposite sex have in raising a child?  

Are either males or females expected to be more knowledgeable, interested or experienced in sex? Is one 

gender supposed to be more interested in monogamy or abstinence before marriage?  

Religion  

What religion or religious beliefs do you adhere to? Is this different or similar to that of your family? If 

you do not follow any religion, why? How observant are you with regard to specific traditions, beliefs, 

holy days or daily practices?