While research indicates that children reared in households headed by lesbian parents are no more likely to be teased or bullied than children from other households, lesbian mothers feel it is necessary to socialize their children as if they were. Twenty lesbian mothers with at least one child between the ages of eight months and 17 years old from the central Texas area were selected for this study. The mothers came from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds and diverse socioeconomic statuses. This study was qualitative in nature, using primarily grounded theory methods. The mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured format regarding their socialization strategies. Themes emerging from the interviews were that mothers went to great lengths to secure parenthood. They engaged in both direct and indirect socialization strategies. They considered their children to be members of the gay community and emphasized contact with 'families like theirs.' They felt that their families were normal yet possessed some distinct advantages and had some unique concerns. Finally, they had egalitarian relationships in terms of the division of paid labor, household tasks, and childcare, with a focus on spending the most amount of time possible with their children. Racial and ethnic socialization literature was used as a framework for this study. The similarity between participant's responses and racial and ethnic socialization theory led to the development of a model of "Alternative Family Socialization." Similar to racial or ethnic socialization, "Alternative Family Socialization" involves preparing minority children to thrive in the majority culture. Mothers stated that they prepare their children for bias by encouraging them to take pride in their family, accessing support from the gay community, encouraging the development of positive self-concepts, encouraging open communication, and teaching them how to access support. Future directions for research include further development of the model of "Alternative Family Socialization" such as how this model might explain gay men rearing children. Also future research focusing on how children of lesbian parents perceive themselves within the gay community is suggested. / text

<p> <i>The Most Fantastic Lie</i> explores the troubled realm of lesbian history through contemporary art practice, visual culture, and activist collectives, arguing the necessity of new strategies toward the construction of marginalized histories in the absence of traditional evidence-based documentation. I identify three overlapping strategies toward the reconstruction of lesbian and queer histories: the documentation and collection of existing material evidence by grassroots archivists and contemporary artists who base their practice in affective relationships to archival objects; the manipulation of found objects, in the tradition of Claude Levi-Strauss&rsquo;s concept of bricolage, to serve as visual placeholders for absent histories; and the fabrication of material evidence by artists working in a mode referred to by Carrie Lambert-Beatty as parafiction: deceptions that have productive power in the creation of new senses of plausibility. These strategies, in addition to providing visual pleasure to those seeking lesbian and queer histories, each mount critiques of institutionalized notions of legitimate history. In shucking the burden of proof and elevating denigrated forms of evidence such as gossip, oral history, and fantasy, artists and collectives are able to construct lesbian histories while simultaneously demonstrating the unstable foundations of historical truths.</p>

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Dana M. Britton / The literature on friendship and social networks finds that individuals form social ties with people who are like them; this is termed "homophily." Several researchers demonstrate that social networks and social ties are homophilous with regard to race and class, for example. However, few studies have explored the relationship of homophily to the social ties of lesbians, and fewer still have explicitly examined sexual orientation as a point of homophily. This study intends to help fill that gap by looking at homophily among lesbian social ties, as well as how urban and non-urban residency might shape homophily and lesbian social ties. I gathered data that would answer the following central research questions: Are lesbian social ties homophilous and if so around what common characteristics? What are lesbians' experiences with community resources and how does this influence their social ties? How does population influence lesbian social ties? Data for this research come from 544 responses to an internet survey that asked lesbians about their social ties, their interests and activities and those of their friends, and the cities or towns in which they resided. Using the concepts of status and value homophily, I attempt to make visible some of the factors and forces that shape social ties for lesbians.

The subjective experience of dementia for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals is largely absent from the extant literature. This study aimed to explore what it means to experience dementia in this context given the documented psychosocial influences facing this population. A second aim was to develop understanding of these experiences within dyadic relationships. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals with dementia and people with whom they had a significant relationship. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of transcripts identified three superordinate themes reflecting characteristics of participants’ experience: Duality in managing dementia; Giving yourself away vs. holding onto yourself; and Relationships as sheltered harbours. Ten subthemes indicate processes these individuals adopt to adjust and make sense of their experience of dementia. This included decisions around concealment, ensuring safety and the promotion of personhood and couplehood. In line with findings for heterosexual couples, partners had an important role in maintaining the identity of the person with dementia. Results suggest additional and distinct challenges, including experienced and perceived discrimination and heterosexism. In response to these conditions, interviewees worked to resist a ‘double stigma’ of dementia and sexuality. Findings indicated areas of improvement for dementia services, including training in inclusive practice.

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This thesis presents research into the development and deployment of web sites and email facilities by members ofthe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Brighton, UK. It contributes to an understanding of localised and specific Internet use, asking in what ways Internet technologies are impacting community practices. The scope of the research is restricted to this localised study in order to facilitate an understanding of the relationships between actions and artefacts made in online spaces, and their counterparts in offline, localised space. An approach is taken that gives equal weighting to the analysis of social practices and structures in the offline LGBT community and to the nascent online practices. The thesis proposes four interconnected hypotheses relating to patterns of Internet usage and the relationship these bear to existing communication practices. Findings are presented from four studies. These approach the field of study from different vantage points, combining quantitative and qualitative data. The studies are linked through common considerations of three key aspects of LGBT community life: the notion of community; deployments of space; and identity politics. The research finds the LGBT community under study structured by complex interpersonal identifications and group hierarchies. Particular spaces in the city offer possibilities for actions that counter hegemonic norms. The Internet is conjectured as another possible site of resistance and an entry point to the community. Four studies present an overview of the community's Internet use, exploring the content of a selection of web sites, and the construction of a website by a social group. The majority of non-commercial, LGBT community websites in Brighton are found to be underused, and at risk of becoming unrepresentative of the extent of LGBT culture in the city. The level of Internet use by members of the LGBT community in Brighton is. however, high, with users seeking information and social contact via nationally based websites and through email.

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