Thesis (MA(Counselling Psychology)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75).

The purpose of this study was to analyze the change in gay/lesbian friendships after the disclosure of their sexual identity. Six specific areas were examined: (1) what are the circumstances under which persons find out their close friends are gay/lesbian (hereafter referred to as the event), (2) do relationships change when close friends find out about the participants' sexual identity, (3) if the relationship changes, how does it change (hereafter referred to as the relational outcome), (4) which events are associated with which relational outcomes, (5) how satisfied are the gays/lesbians with their relational outcomes, and (6) what are the gays'/lesbians' perceived causes of the relational outcomes. The results of this study indicated that the majority of the participants disclosed their sexual identity to their close friends. And they did so in an attempt to be honest, to avoid hiding who they are, and to be able to talk about their sexual identity freely. Most of the participants reported being quite satisfied with the relationships which became more close or stayed the same. Most of the participants reported being somewhat unsatisfied with the relationships which became more distant or terminated. The way in which the friends found out about the participants' sexual identity was not related to whether or not the relationship became more close or more distant. The participants believed their relationships became more close because they were honest. However, the participants believed their relationships became more distant because their friends were homophobic. This research is significant because it may help counselors, therapists, and practitioners coach gay men and lesbians when their relationships deteriorate or are strained. This research may also enable gay men and lesbians to be aware of potential factors which might affect their relationships with their friends after disclosure occurs. In addition, this research may equip gay men and lesbians with information to enable them to make educated decisions on discussing their sexual identity with their friends. Furthermore, the results from this research might provide suggestions to individuals who have gay friends to help them make the coming-out process easier for their gay friends. / Graduation date: 1998

Garçon manqué (2000), premier récit autobiographique de Nina Bouraoui, raconte l'enfance d'une narratrice partagée entre quatre identités conflictuelles -française et algérienne, féminine et masculine -qu'elle cherche à concilier. Bouraoui y expose un cheminement identitaire complexe: alors que le texte s'ouvre sur le désir, très fort, de la jeune Nina de quitter ce qu'elle nomme « le camp » des femmes, il se ferme sur sa réconciliation totale et heureuse avec une féminité apparemment stéréotypée, mais en réalité renouvelée. Cette confusion identitaire est attribuée à la force de pressions sociales et familiales contradictoires à laquelle la narratrice sent devoir se soumettre. Garçon manqué montre comment, de sa prise de conscience du caractère construit de ces diktats, la narratrice en vient à une prise de parole littéraire salvatrice. Notre mémoire s'intéresse à l'évolution de la perception de son genre par la narratrice. D'abord éprouvé comme une structure aliénante et figée, il est finalement considéré comme malléable et potentiellement libérateur. Nous croyons que ce cheminement identitaire se déploie selon trois mouvements principaux, soit la construction, la déconstruction et enfin la reconstruction identitaires. Alors qu'on lit généralement Bouraoui sous l'angle post-colonialiste, l'originalité de notre projet se trouve dans le parti pris que nous adoptons, soit celui de considérer Garçon manqué comme un texte fondateur de son oeuvre en raison avant tout du questionnement sur l'identité sexuelle et sur le désir qu'il renferme. Notre approche intègre les théories féministes matérialistes, les gender studies, les queer studies, et les théories de l'agentivité (« agency »). En premier lieu, nous convoquons principalement des féministes travaillant à étudier les mécanismes d'oppression des femmes selon un point de vue constructiviste et matérialiste. Puis, nous faisons appel à une discipline émergente, les queer studies, qui permettent de lire le rapport de la narratrice à son genre et à ses désirs à l'intérieur d'un espace de réflexion qui fait éclater les frontières de la pensée binaire. Ensuite, nous nous inspirons des théories de l'agentivité (« agency ») et du pouvoir des mots afin de montrer comment le texte littéraire permet à Nina Bouraoui de reprendre possession de sa propre histoire. Enfin, la « théorie du placard » développée par Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick guide notre lecture de l'affirmation du lesbianisme par l'auteure de Garçon manqué, pensée comme un acte de langage risqué, mais stimulant et nécessaire. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Agentivité (Agency), Féminisme, Garçon manqué, Genre, Gender Studies, Nina Bouraoui, Queer Studies, Théorie du placard.

This thesis analyzes the coming out action of individuals through perception of political identity. Instead of considering coming out as an individual experience, it is discussed as a political action that effects the others around the individual. This political action is examined from the Queer Theory&rsquo / s perspective of subverting the gender norms. The coming out experience of lesbians, gays and bisexuals not only has an impact of their personal environment, but also effects their relation to the LGBT movement. The importance of coming out in LGBT movement is explained through the interviews with lesbians, gays and bisexuals. Where they place themselves politically in their socialization process is analyzed. LGBT movement&rsquo / s historical background is introduced and compared with the movement in Turkey. The issues originate from Turkish society&rsquo / s social structure is indicated through interviews.

This thesis mainly aims to understand how construction of gay identity differentiates in terms of class inequalities. Regarding the conceptual framework of Deniz Kandiyoti, it inquires in what way class position reshapes the experience of gay sexuality and how gay men of different classes bargain with heteronormative order through different perceptions of homoeroticism and gender identities. In discussing this issue, how gay men identify themselves, how they represent their body, how they interact with and percieve other gay men, how they percieve masculinity and femininity in construction of gender identities engender as primary questions to understand plurality of gay experience. These featured aspects of gay experience in Turkey entail a dynamic process in the way of both multiple formation of gay experience due to class differences and contradictory character of such plurality. Perception of other forms of gay experience is included to the discussion for understanding a comprehensive analysis for plurality of gay experience.

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Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of New Orleans, 2003. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 5, 2005). "A thesis ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Department of Drama and Communications." Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-93).

Scissors Paper Rock is based on the true story of Amy Biel, a young and idealistic American woman who went to South Africa to support the political effort against Apartheid. She worked there as a volunteer organizer during a time of great political turmoil, and was days away from returning home to the United States, when she was violently killed in a riot. While Amy's death was not an accident--four men were found guilty for taking her life--it is certainly possible to think of her death as a tragedy. Amy's idealism and belief in her power to do good, allowed her to put herself into the midst of forces over which she had no control, and which ultimately overwhelmed her. In this novel, a fictionalized version of Amy's story, a young American woman named Miya Clare goes to the African country of Oneg Kempo in the hope of making a difference. While there, she is killed during a political action against white oppression that escalates into a riot. Although Scissors Paper Rock does not focus primarily on Miya's death and the events leading up to it, those elements are certainly part of the story, and are presented in the novel as testimony in an amnesty hearing for one of the men implicated in Miya's murder. But the real heart of this work is the story of Miya's life, not her death, and the main narrative of the story investigates how she came to be the person she was. What were the complex threads of her personal history, the disparate collection of events, people, and interactions that formed her? How did they shape her world view? Why did they lead her to make the choices that she did, and to take the actions that that ultimately led to tragedy?Miya Clare's death was an accident, but her presence in Oneg Kempo was not. She was there by choice, or rather, by a multitude of choices. What those choices were, and how they made Miya into who she was, are the engine of this story.

This is a study of the mental health status of black homosexuals from LGTBI social organisations who have disclosed their sexual orientation. One hundred participants participated, fifty homosexuals and fifty heterosexuals. The heterosexual participants were used as comparative group. The General Health Questionnaire-28 and a self-designed categorical choice questionnaire were administered to the homosexual sample out of the closet. The heterosexual sample only answered the General Health Questionnaire-28. The designed questionnaire was tested in the pilot study with homosexual participants. The current study seeks to determine whether there is a relationship between disclosure of sexual orientation and mental health. The results suggested that the homosexual population were mentally healthier than heterosexuals of the current study. Nevertheless homosexual people did face significant challenges in disclosing their sexual orientation. Regarding challenges that homosexuals face, some gender differences between gays and lesbians were found. Lesbians were found to be experiencing fewer challenges than gay participants. Being part of LGTBI social networks was found to be associated with positive mental health for homosexuals. Therefore, the study’s general finding was that there is an association between disclosure and positive mental health for homosexuals belonging to LGTBI social networks. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Toru Takemitsu (1930--96) composed several musical works which adopt as their titles quotations from James Joyce' s final and most revolutionary novel, Finnegans Wake. In this thesis I focus on one of these compositions, Far Calls. Coming, Far! (1981) for solo violin and orchestra. I explain the ways in which Takemitsu and Joyce possess similar philosophies and aesthetics, and examine their mutual interest in the phenomena of dreams. The Wake explores one night of a family's unconscious sleep activity and is heavily influenced by Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams. I argue that Takemitsu composes Far Calls. Coming, Far! as a "dreamwork" modelled after Joyce's similar literary endeavour. Accordingly, I categorize the analogous dream structures between Takemitsu's music and Joyce's text. These are: The Dreamer, Language, Time and Water, which I discuss in turn.