The current study examined and attempted to converge two existing models of identity, as well as provide quantitative data that support longstanding assumptions and hypotheses regarding gay and bisexual Latino men. Using contemporary models of ethnic identity and sexual orientation identity development as a conceptual framework, the study examined the convergence of these identities, the influence of cultural factors, and how this influences mental health, specifically depression. Participants were 276 self-identified gay or bisexual, Latino men, between the ages of 18-26 yrs old. Ninety three percent of the study’s sample (n = 257) self-identified as gay, where the other 7% (n = 19) self-identified as bisexual. Thirteen Latino ethnicities were represented in the sample, including, but not limited to, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Cuban, and Ecuadorian. Participants completed a demographic form, the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000), the Outness Inventory (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000), the Ethnic Identity Scale (Umana-Taylor, 2003), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck, Steer, & Brown 1996) and a questionnaire on Managing Multiple Identities modeled after Chen’s (2005). The results of this study indicated that gay and bisexual men do struggle with integrating the two identities, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Cultural factors such as importance of family, religion, and homophobia, appear to contribute to endorsing symptoms of depression. Results indicated that many participants of the sample also struggled with managing the conflict they experienced through the convergence of the two identities, reporting Avoidance and Not Knowing as coping strategies for managing this conflict. This study provides evidence that supports some of the longstanding assumptions and hypotheses and assists in shedding new light on identity development conceptualization, identity convergence, and identity management between two identities as it relates to self-identified gay and bisexual Latino men. Additionally, through examining the convergence of ethnic identity and sexual orientation identity, this study was able to expand on the identity development literature. / text

Background/Purpose: This study aims to better understand attitude formation since attitudes influence behavior. I explore opinion on gay marriage, the gender gap in regard to this issue, and trends in attitudes toward gay marriage. I also explore how gender intersects with other identities in forming these attitudes so that we can better understand the opinions of men and women. Methods: I start by using simple percentages for men's and women's attitudes to determine if there is a gender gap and examine whether these gender differences exist within different subgroups. From there, I use multivariate equations to discover reasons for these gender gaps. Results and conclusions: People's attitudes in support of gay marriage versus support for civil unions or no legal recognition are shaped by gender and a host of other demographic traits and attitudes. A small but consistent gender gap exists, with women being 6 percentage points more likely to support gay marriage, while men fall slightly more often in the other two categories. I found evidence of intersectionalities between gender and other demographic traits. One intersectionality exists between gender, race and religiosity. Black women's opinions on gay marriage are split, falling both in greater support for gay marriage and greater opposition. The religiosity of black women accounts for this split. I also found evidence of intersectionality with regards to education, but here it appears that it is men's attitudes that are shaped by this factor. As education levels increase, the gender gap in support of gay marriage disappears as men's attitudes become more similar to that of women.

This project examines “positive change” with regard to queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism in Vancouver, British Columbia directed at building what has been described as “queer-friendly schools” through the development and implementation of policy, as well as activist work connected to those efforts. I employ elements of autoethnography and participatory research by documenting and analyzing my education-activist work in this context and that of others with whom I have done this work. I situate this project within the broader context of the education system and queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activist efforts in British Columbia. In the process, I problematize what is meant by or capable of activism and “positive change.” As demonstrated in the literature review, various understandings of sexuality, gender, activism, educational leadership, and “positive change” are available to inform queer/LGBTTITQetc. education-activism. This thesis examines how these understandings sit in tension with the practicalities, limitations, and contradictions of activist engagement at the school district level of a complex, politicized public school system. My engagement with the literature, documentation of the practical work, and exploration of a number of guiding questions with the project’s participants comprise the bulk of this project.

While studies in the social sciences have looked at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, few have focused on how they experience school. Sexual orientation is still a taboo subject or only treated cursorily in educational institutions and teacher-training programmes. Research that does look at schools is mitigated by subjects who are at different degrees of being out in their schools, or are treated as a monolith with other LGBT youth, or have been recruited through psychosocial agencies, and by data gathered retrospectively and/or at arms-length through surveys. / This dissertation describes the experience of being gay and out at school for seven male students aged sixteen to eighteen. Data was collected through multiple semistructured interviews with participants recruited through the various urban, suburban, and alternative high schools they attended at the time of this study. / Data was analyzed using a modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of analyzing phenomenological data (Moustakas, 1994). The theoretical framework undergirding this study is phenomenological research, arts-based research, and queer theory in education. Findings are represented as a literary novel in order to better preserve participants' voices. / Data analysis indicates that the experience of being out in high school is characterized by: (a) managing "the secret" of being gay before and during coming out; (b) seeing being gay as just being yourself; (c) perceiving the school as privately supportive, but publicly indifferent to gay students; (d) emotionally reflecting the school environment; (e) valuing relationships as a positive; (f) seeing harassment, gossip, and gender differences as negatives; (g) ascribing to perpetrators of homophobia and harassment character flaws and anachronistic beliefs; (h) being left on your own to deal with homophobia and harassment as others abdicate their responsibilities; (i) employing escapist, self-protection, and resistance strategies to deal with homophobia and harassment; (j) searching for connectivity to other gays and the LGBT community; (k) facing the silence of information and resources in schools on LGBT issues and people; and (l) advising others to be true to themselves. / This research has implications for teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and those involved in teacher education programmes who are interested in addressing the needs of gay students.

While sociological studies of 'Jewish identity' have proliferated over the last several decades, these works often ignore the internal diversity found within Jewish populations. Because of the particularities of the gay Jewish case, there is a need to devote more scholarly attention to the 'Jewish identities' of this subpopulation. This study contributes to this under-studied area. Using qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and participant observation), this study explores the processes of Jewish identity construction among gay Jewish men. Despite the fact that Jews have historically held more liberal attitudes on social issues than non-Jews, the study found that Jewish families and communities often demonstrate a resistance to homosexuality and Jewish same-sex relationships. While most North American Jews, whether heterosexual or gay, partake in some form of negotiation between their Jewish identity and the non-Jewish world around them, because of the perceived stigmatization felt by gay Jewish men within the Jewish community, this group has added obstacles to overcome in constructing a personally meaningful Jewish identity. Due to the emphasis on 'traditional' gender roles, the 'nuclear family,' procreation and conservative religious values, the gay Jewish experience bears many similarities to the experiences of gay men in Black, Latin American, Asian, Greek and Italian communities. There are some distinctive features to the Jewish case, however. These include a particular aversion to same-sex relations due to the Jewish preoccupation with ethnic survival and continuity, especially in light of the Holocaust, and increased difficulty for the gay Jewish man to maintain privacy about his sexual orientation due to high levels of friendship and social networks within the Jewish community. Building upon theoretical models that attempt to acknowledge the complexities of multiple layers of stigmatized identities, the study develops a more nuanced analytical framework in which to understand the various strategies ethnic minority gay men implement as a means of negotiating their ethnoreligious and gay identities. The study illustrates, for example, that the variable of 'level of religiosity' serves as a key factor in this process. The study concludes with reflections on the implications of the findings for Jewish communities and recommends similar studies of other ethno-religious communities.

On April 26, 2000, Governor Howard Dean of the State of Vermont signed into law the Civil Union bill. The first of its kind in the United States, it extended the rights of marriage to same-sex couples. Holding that the rights of homosexual couples flowed from the Common Benefits clause of the State Constitution, this bill was the result of a contentious judicial and legislative process. Preceding as it did the state and national election contests later in the year, the Civil Union law generated anger, discord, elation and fear. In the year following its passage, Vermonters came to terms with this bill in many ways. This study considers the antecedents and the consequences of this bill.

Sexual minority people face a heterosexist society in which they are legally and socially marginalized. Additionally, Black people face a society where racist attitudes and laws persist, one in which they are dehumanized as "other" in relation to Whites. Furthermore, being a Black male means confronting a system where, beginning in elementary school, one is frequently deemed deficient or deviant and penalized by racist practices and policies. Very few studies have examined how Black gay males come to understand their intersecting racial and sexual identities or how they navigate and negotiate life in a White heterosexist society. This dissertation outlines the current state of sexual minority youth with a focus on Black gay males and suggests that more must be done to understand the lived experiences of this community within and beyond the schoolhouse, especially in a city such as Atlanta, which is known as a Black gay mecca and where the Black sexual minority community is visible. It is important to examine how a range of institutional forces, working in tandem with and sometimes against racism and heterosexism, challenge as well as assist Black gay males in forming their identities. The purpose of the study was to gather the life histories of five young Black sexual minority males aged 19-24 in metro-Atlanta. I utilized critical race theory and quare theory, which critique endemic racism and heteronormativity, as a lens to understand their life histories within a larger societal context. By probing how numerous social institutions have influenced young Black male identity formation, including schools, peers, family, church, community-based LGBTQ organizations, and social media, this study presents life histories in a way that provides a more holistic picture of this community. Due to the paucity of research focused on how young Black gay males are productively navigating through life, this study offers a distinct contribution by placing their histories front and center in an attempt to provide a counterstory to deficit-based perspectives. From the participants’ life histories, five factors were found to shape identity formation while navigating the above institutions: racial shelving (bracketing race in majority-Black environments to contend with sexual identity issues); thick skin (increasing ability to face and conquer challenges based on negotiation of past challenges); self-determination (taking the initiative to seek information and relationships to learn about sexual identity, including use of social media); defying/transcending stereotypes (refusing to conform to dominant narratives about Black gay males); and experiential evolution (understanding that experience translates into growth and self-affirmation). All of these factors address the ways in which the participants have come to understand, negotiate, accept, and even embrace their intersecting identities. Additionally, findings are useful because the participants’ life histories have set a foundation for how educators and sexual majority youth can better understand a population facing a racist and heterosexist society and enable new policy interventions to be imagined. Four proposals, which emanate from participants' life experiences, are presented for schools to undertake: incorporating Black gay activists and community members into school culture, providing professional development for teachers on race and heterosexism, developing a comprehensive sex-education curriculum that includes gay students, and implementing a “Who Cares” campaign to mediate peer pressure to conform.

No description available.

Denna uppsats redogör för hur homosexuella, bisexuella och transsexuella personer har karaktäriserats inom svensk film mellan åren 1916 och 1998. Undersökningens mål har varit att ta reda på hur framställandet av HBT-personer har förändrats under tidsperioden och relatera detta till samhällets lagar och normer kring homosexualitet samt till den internationella utvecklingen. Uppsatsen visar att homosexualitet alls inte diskuterades öppet inom den svenska filmen förrän i slutet av 1940-talet. På 1950 och 1960 framställdes homo- och bisexuella relativt ofta inom den svenska filmen - betydligt oftare än inom hollywoodfilmen. Poträtterandet var ofta negativt men undantag fanns, särskilt när det gällde kvinnlig homosexualitet. Först på 1980-talet kan man se en klar tendens till att homosexualitet framställdes som någonting naturligt och ofarligt. De filmer som tar upp homosexualitet under 1990-talet verkar alla att ha en mycket positiv inställning.

This study examines how the beliefs of 139 psychologists regarding the causes of male homosexuality influenced how favorably they perceived male clients presenting in therapy with concerns about sexual orientation. The independent variables were the goal the client identified (accept or change his orientation) and the beliefs the psychologist had about the causes of homosexuality (more the result of "nature" or "nurture"). It was hypothesized that a significant interaction would be found between the client's goal from therapy and the psychologists' etiological beliefs, which would influence favorability of client perception. It was further hypothesized that psychologists would perceive a client seeking change would be perceived less favorably than one seeking to accept his orientation. To measure participants' beliefs, the Etiological Beliefs Regarding Male Homosexuality (EBRMH) scale was developed. Positive scores indicate more internal beliefs (nature), whereas negative scores reflect more external beliefs (nurture). Favorability was assessed by combining four ratings participants' made about the client: 1-client's level of pathology, 2-appropriateness of the client's goal for therapy, 3-likelihood the client will achieve his goal, and 4-participants' willingness to provide requested treatment. Data were analyzed using multiple regression, and no demographic variables made a significant contribution to the model. Both independent variables and their interaction were significant, however. The interaction was more closely examined using the Johnson-Neyman technique.The research hypotheses were largely supported. Participants viewing homosexuality as more influenced by internal factors strongly preferred clients seeking to accept their homosexuality over clients wanting to change it. Participants with more external beliefs felt more similarly regarding clients regardless of goal, though most viewed the client wanting to accept his orientation more favorably. A small group of participants (n = 8) with extremely external beliefs reported no difference in how they viewed the client regardless of his goal.The results of the present study challenge some empirically supported beliefs about judgments regarding homosexual clients. Specifically, several factors often considered to influence how favorably a homosexual client is seen (e.g. amount of clinical experience with homosexual clients, being homosexual oneself) had no real influence on favorability ratings. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services