Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2025

Summer 2025 • 57

these educational settings, be sure to give space for staff and therapists to share their experiences if they feel marginalized. • Plan for insight, oversight and direction . If financially feasible, have someone in your organization serve as a director of people, culture and inclusion. If the organization is large, assemble a cultural competence committee or advisory board of community members. The committee or board should be representative of the culture of the organization and of the populations the organization serves. The person or committee might investigate some of the upcoming modality trends, such as Thai massage or Lomi lomi, or partner with local traditional healers. Or they might organize participation in cultural community events to raise cultural awareness and to interact with people from different cultures. This helps build trust and relationships with other cultural groups. These types of activities create a climate of cultural competence within the workplace and among individuals. Cultural Competency and Microcultures The United States is a diverse country with many cultures, including ethnic groups, religious groups and international groups. A microculture is a subgroup of people within a larger culture who have their own ethos and behavioral expectations, and often their own language. 19 The formation of microculture groups is often because of immigration, occupation or colonization. Many microcultures exist in the United States. These include Hispanic/Latine; Black/African Americans; Asian Americans; Native Americans/ First Nations/Indigenous Peoples; Arab Americans; and lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer/ questioning Americans. Currently, Hispanic/Latine is the largest microculture in the United States. Cultural competence extends to all individuals we serve, and we have explored many ways to become more culturally competent. Following is deeper consideration for one of the microcultures in the United States, and will include important terminology and interventions this population

might access, as well as more ways to modify a session to create a responsive and inclusive massage practice. LGBTQIA+ Communities and Cultural Competence The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community is a unique microculture because members can be of any age, sex, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, occupation, socioeconomic status or other demographic group. The distinguishing cultural trait among LGBTQIA+ community members is sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The plus sign (+) is a symbol of recognition for current and emerging subgroups, such as asexual and gender variants within the LGBTQIA+ community. The plus sign can also include those who are intersex, but it is important to recognize that being intersex, transgender or other LGBTQIA+ identities is not mutually exclusive. The demographics of sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States have been studied in social science research in recent decades. So what have we learned? Approximately 7.6% of the adult population in the United States classify themselves as LGBT. 20 This is over double the percentage from 2012 when Gallup started collecting these data; the percentage at that time was 3.5%. In a different report, 26% of high school students in the United States classify themselves as LGBT. 21 It is important that massage therapists educate themselves on proper terminology and inclusive best practices when working with this population. There are terms the LGBTQIA+ community uses frequently. Knowing them and their definitions will facilitate mutual understanding and will make conversations with clients easier and more comfortable. 22,23,24 This is not an exhaustive list, and the terms listed, as well as their definitions, change over time. Individuals may identify themselves in LGBTQIA+ Terminology: What You Need to Know

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community is a unique microculture because members can be of any age, sex, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, occupation, socioeconomic status or other demographic group.

amtamassage.org/mtj