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Research examining college students' attitudes toward homosexuality has been consistently reported as generally negative (Herek, 1984a; Malaney, Williams, & Geller, 1997; & Mohr & Sedlacek, 2000). Furthermore, the attitudes of heterosexual college males have reflected higher levels of negativity when compared to their female counterparts (D'Augelli & Rose, 1991; Kite, 1984; & Smith & Gordon, 1998). The ensuing literature review examines research studies conducted at large, small, public, and private institutions. The purpose of this study is to investigate attitudes toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from the point of view of heterosexual males who attend private institutions. The literature in regards to private institutional campus setting is very limited. Data was collected through the dissemination of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Attitude Assessment at four private colleges. The administration of the instrument was conducted through a designated coordinator and through facilitators who agreed to participate. Descriptive data, including means, standard deviation and histograms, were collected. In addition, the research study used four methods of inferential statistics: (1) within-subjects ANOVA, (2) t-tests with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha, (3) within-subjects ANOVA with one between-subjects variable, and (4) the post-hoc Ryan Procedure. All statistical tests were performed using an alpha level of .05 unless otherwise stated. The GLBT Attitude Assessment included the GLBT Far Proximity Scale and GLBT Close Proximity Scale. While the GLBT Far Proximity Scale indicated no mean difference from males toward the subgroups, the statistical analysis conducted on the GLBT Close Proximity Scale did indicate a mean difference. In addition, males who held conservative beliefs in their political and religious orientations were significantly different than those who held liberal and moderate beliefs. Respondents' differences presented in this study were within the neutral range, however, they had negative and positive trends. For example, the respondents' attitudes were least positive toward transgender people. / Master of Arts

No / Objectives: High prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) has been reported in lesbians but most studies were based in sexually transmitted infection clinic settings; therefore, we wished to determine the prevalence and risk factors of BV in lesbians and heterosexual women in a community setting in the UK. Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting lesbian women volunteers from community groups, events, clubs and bars. Heterosexual women were recruited from a community family planning clinic. They self-swabbed to create a vaginal smear, which was Gram-stained and categorised as BV, intermediate or normal flora. They completed a questionnaire about age, ethnic group, smoking, genital hygiene practices and sexual history. Results: Of 189 heterosexuals and 171 lesbians recruited, 354 had gradeable flora. BV was identified in 43 (25.7%) lesbians and 27 (14.4%) heterosexuals (adjusted OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.25 to 4.82; p¿=¿0.009). Concordance of vaginal flora within lesbian partnerships was significantly greater than expected (27/31 (87%) couples, ¿¿=¿0.63; p<0.001). Smoking significantly increased the risk of BV regardless of sexuality (adjusted OR 2.65; p¿=¿0.001) and showed substantial concordance in lesbian partnerships but less than for concordance of flora. Conclusions: Women who identified as lesbians have a 2.5-fold increased likelihood of BV compared with heterosexual women. The prevalence is slightly lower than clinic-based studies and as volunteers were recruited in community settings, this figure may be more representative of lesbians who attend gay venues. Higher concordance of vaginal flora within lesbian partnerships may support the hypothesis of a sexually transmissible factor or reflect common risk factors such as smoking.

The following manuscript is a novel intended to explore the confusing nature of butch lesbian gender identity and the unique bonds of friendship butch women often share with one another. Lesbian culture, today, sometimes puts pressure on the term butch and pushes butch women to choose between transgender, femme and androgynous. The lead character in this novel, Sarah, struggles to come to terms with her own sexual identity amidst all this pressure to conform. She watches her friends and searches for a model of what butch is and is not but she continues to feel emotionally and physically cut off from the people she cares about. Ultimately, Sarah realizes she can move fluidly between many genders. When she stops trying to be a stereotype, she is finally able to connect with the people she cares about. / by Elizabeth Andrea Norberg. / Signature page unsigned. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Lai Yuen-ki. / Thesis submitted in: October 2003. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves p. 144-146). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter One - --- Introduction --- p.1 / "What is a ""TB""?" --- p.2 / The cultural context of Hong Kong --- p.6 / Research question --- p.8 / Literature review --- p.9 / Background of the study --- p.16 / Persistent display of masculinities --- p.16 / Fluidity of TB/TBG role-play --- p.23 / Methodology --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter Two - --- The lesbian community --- p.33 / "Identity change from ""tomboy"" to ""TB""" --- p.34 / The lesbian community in Hong Kong --- p.39 / Ethnicity --- p.40 / Lesbian pubs --- p.41 / Lesbian service groups --- p.48 / Lesbian websites --- p.51 / Influence of the lesbian community on TBs´ةmasculinities --- p.56 / Common features of TBs' bodies --- p.56 / Identifying as a TB --- p.62 / Diversity within the lesbian community --- p.71 / Identity --- p.71 / Sexuality --- p.73 / Summary --- p.80 / Chapter Chapter Three - --- Negotiation between TBs and the society --- p.83 / The mini-society: the workplace --- p.84 / Insisting masculinity in the workplace --- p.84 / Femininity in the workplace --- p.91 / Naturalization of TBs´ةmasculinities --- p.102 / Negotiation between TBs and the society --- p.102 / The lesbian community as buffer --- p.104 / Summary --- p.106 / Chapter Chapter Four - --- Negotiation between TBs and the lesbian community --- p.108 / The discourse of sex in Hong Kong --- p.109 / Expectations imposed on TBs --- p.111 / TBs' sexual pleasures --- p.112 / Power dynamics in sex --- p.113 / Negotiation between TBs and the lesbian community --- p.116 / Interchanging sex roles --- p.116 / Role conflict --- p.118 / Role-segregation and audience-segregation --- p.121 / Negotiation process: resistance and conformity --- p.122 / Fluid sexual relationship --- p.123 / Using the sex service --- p.124 / Casual sex with a man --- p.128 / Masturbation --- p.130 / Summary --- p.132 / Chapter Chapter Five - --- Conclusion --- p.134 / Personal reflections --- p.134 / An overview --- p.137 / Limitations --- p.139 / Further implications --- p.141 / Bibliography --- p.144

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-63).

The aim of the study was to gain a holistic understanding of the lived experiences of four South African, black, Xhosa-speaking lesbians in Nelson Mandela Bay. Contextual, exploratory, descriptive qualitative research based on a phenomenological approach was conducted and analysed through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). A combination of purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit participants and semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with four South African adult, black, Xhosaspeaking females of homosexual orientation between the ages of 18 to 35 years. Findings indicate that the participants experience the following: (a) sexual development as a major influence on their sexual- and self-identity, (b) homosexual sexual orientation had a psychological impact on their lives, (c) they have a holistic understanding of who they are, and this understanding of themselves, has positively influenced their lives, (d) their homosexual sexual orientation has influenced the personal relationships in their lives in both positive and negative ways, (e) society has influenced their lives both positively and negatively because of their homosexual sexual orientation , (f) social networking can act as a risk to unintentional disclosure of homosexual sexual orientation and (g) they have experienced discrimination in various areas of their lives because of their homosexual sexual orientation. Some suggestions for future research included exploring lesbian stereotypes within the broader society, as well as inside the black lesbian community and examining the so-called differences between city and township lesbians with an emphasis on beliefs, attitudes, practices, subcultures and gender identity issues.

While gay male and lesbian spatialisation has been historicised in some of the literature, and it has been determined that distinct gay male and lesbian neighbourhoods do exist i n our inner cities, the processes that are at work i n each case have seldom been compared. In the case of Vancouver, British Columbia, the two neighbourhoods in question are the West End (for men) and Grandview-Woodland, or 'The Drive' (for women). Such a comparative analysis yields a number of useful insights, particularly as concerns cultural differences between gay men and lesbians. For instance, historical gay male sexual marketplaces form the kernel of gay male ghettoisation, while lesbians' feminist politics (an early lesbian cultural signifier) orient them more towards countercultural enclaves. Similarities are also encountered, especially with respect to the central role of housing availability i n determining permanent gay identification. Specifically, the presence of a large number of single-occupancy apartments is a determining factor i n gay male spatialisation, while gay women typically need low-rent, family-oriented housing. A longitudinal perspective on the production of these gay-identified spaces reveals that their reinscription on Vancouver's landscape is also determined by different processes. The gay West End emerges as a landscape that reflects much more openly a gay presence, with gay-specific institutions and businesses, events, and several visual, cultural cues that inform passers-by of its gay identity. By contrast, The Drive is more subtly gay, and spaces are more likely to be lesbian-friendly or semi-lesbian: unable to support lesbian-only institutions, the women carve their own (sometimes fleeting) spaces out of the existing landscape. Changes are perceived, however, that indicate that boundaries — both between these two districts, and between these and 'straight' spaces more generally — are shifting and even blurring. Gay male and lesbian politics and culture are being transformed, and the spaces with which they have historically identified may no longer reflect these changes. Consequently, not only is there increasing fluidity between the West End and The Drive (with men and women moving from one to the other), but many gay households are openly foregoing these spaces altogether, opting instead for traditionally straight-identified spaces such as the suburbs. These spatial changes are seen as being indicative of the emergence of a 'queer' politics, which seeks to expose the constructedness of sexuality, and thus de-privilege heteronormativity.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Deakin University, 2003. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 15, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-225).

While gay male and lesbian spatialisation has been historicised in some of the literature, and it has been determined that distinct gay male and lesbian neighbourhoods do exist i n our inner cities, the processes that are at work i n each case have seldom been compared. In the case of Vancouver, British Columbia, the two neighbourhoods in question are the West End (for men) and Grandview-Woodland, or 'The Drive' (for women). Such a comparative analysis yields a number of useful insights, particularly as concerns cultural differences between gay men and lesbians. For instance, historical gay male sexual marketplaces form the kernel of gay male ghettoisation, while lesbians' feminist politics (an early lesbian cultural signifier) orient them more towards countercultural enclaves. Similarities are also encountered, especially with respect to the central role of housing availability i n determining permanent gay identification. Specifically, the presence of a large number of single-occupancy apartments is a determining factor i n gay male spatialisation, while gay women typically need low-rent, family-oriented housing. A longitudinal perspective on the production of these gay-identified spaces reveals that their reinscription on Vancouver's landscape is also determined by different processes. The gay West End emerges as a landscape that reflects much more openly a gay presence, with gay-specific institutions and businesses, events, and several visual, cultural cues that inform passers-by of its gay identity. By contrast, The Drive is more subtly gay, and spaces are more likely to be lesbian-friendly or semi-lesbian: unable to support lesbian-only institutions, the women carve their own (sometimes fleeting) spaces out of the existing landscape. Changes are perceived, however, that indicate that boundaries — both between these two districts, and between these and 'straight' spaces more generally — are shifting and even blurring. Gay male and lesbian politics and culture are being transformed, and the spaces with which they have historically identified may no longer reflect these changes. Consequently, not only is there increasing fluidity between the West End and The Drive (with men and women moving from one to the other), but many gay households are openly foregoing these spaces altogether, opting instead for traditionally straight-identified spaces such as the suburbs. These spatial changes are seen as being indicative of the emergence of a 'queer' politics, which seeks to expose the constructedness of sexuality, and thus de-privilege heteronormativity. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate