Mixed findings in the research on mental health issues in the lesbian community have resulted in conflicting conclusions as to whether the prevalence rate of generalized anxiety disorders and depression in the lesbian population differs from that of non-lesbians. The variability of findings may be due to factors such as discrimination, coming-out, and self-esteem. Using the minority stress model a framework, the purpose of this quantitative survey study was to examine whether perceptions of discrimination, coming-out, and self-esteem levels predict lesbians' anxiety and depression. Participants anonymously completed online measures of the Outness Inventory, the Schedule of Sexually Discriminatory Events, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The snowball sample consisted of 105 self-identified lesbian women from the United States. Hierarchical regression was used to test the hypotheses. According to study results, frequency and stressfulness of sexual discrimination, coming-out, and self-esteem levels predicted depression and anxiety, with low self-esteem as the only significant predictor of depression and anxiety. The findings were only partially consistent with the minority stress model because perceived discrimination did not predict depression or anxiety. This study facilitates positive social change by pointing out and focusing on the need for mental health interventions specific to the stresses that lesbians face pertaining to low self-esteem, as that predicts their anxiety and depression.

Gay identity is inextricably tied to the metaphor of the closet. This tie is best exemplified by the act of "coming out of the closet," an act when a person discloses a gay identity to another, an act of self-identification and confession that others can motivate but never force, an act typically thought of as necessary, dangerous, and consequential, and an act often viewed as a discrete, linear process. Gay identity is also frequently framed as a self-contained trait thus making coming out a one-sided, personal affair. In this project, I use autoethnography and narrative inquiry, life story interviews of four gay men, life writings by gay men, mass mediated accounts of the closet, and my personal experience to describe three epiphanies-interactional moments that significantly change the trajectory of a person's life-of gay identity: (1) "Learning the Closet," a moment when a person first becomes familiar with the metaphorical space; (2) "Living the Closet," a moment when a person privately acknowledges a gay identity but publicly discounts this identity by saying and acting as if it does not exist; and (3) "Leaving the Closet," a moment when a person discloses gay identity to others. I conclude by describing the "double-bind of gay identity"-the dilemma that forms when a person cannot escape the closet-and argue that once a person identifies as gay, the closet becomes a formative influence on her/his life; a gay person can never live outside of the metaphorical space again, can never live as an out gay person everywhere. I also use a relational perspective to understand how gay identity and the disclosure of this identity implicate others in a gay person's social network. A relational perspective removes gay identity it from the individualistic realm and situates it among beings-in-interaction. In so doing, the experience of the closet becomes removed from the exclusive burden of the self-contained gay person to one in which coming out becomes a shared responsibility by all individuals involved in a relationship.

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.

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).

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.

Non-heterosexually identified young people, particularly those with a lesbian identity, have always experienced a marginalised position within Australian culture (Burnett, 1997; Gamson, 2000; Signorile, 1995; Thonneman, 1999). There is very little empirical research available which explores the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives (Brown, 1995; Burnett, 1997; Gamson, 2000). Hence myths, stereotypes, invisibility, lack of understanding and marginalisation of non-heterosexual identified people continue to be perpetuated in mainstream Australian society (Baird, 2005; Burnett, 1997; MacBride-Steward, 2004). The anthropological study presented in this dissertation was designed to explore and theorise the lived experiences of young lesbians post-initial coming-out within an Australian context using Memory Work methodology (Haug, 1987). The first goal of this project was to describe and provide details of the under researched and misunderstood lives of young lesbians between the ages of 23 and 33 years of age who had identified as lesbian for between two and ten years; what is termed here as post-initial coming-out. The second goal of the study was to gain insight into how young lesbians, post-initial coming-out, make sense of their lives, selves and identities, and positioning within society given the negative myths and stereotypes which currently exist within the general population in relation to people with non-heterosexual identities. The literature and data presented throughout the dissertation highlight the issues of invisibility, marginalisation, and homophobia experienced by each of the participants within a predominately heterosexual society. They also emphasised the inner strength and resilience developed by each of the participants in the face of adversity as they attempted to construct and make sense of their self narrative and positioning as defined by themselves and the positioning and identity imposed upon them by significant others. The data have been organised into four main focus areas; negotiating the family, work, heterosexual and lesbian landscapes. Lastly, the study sought to further develop and refine the Memory Work methodology (Haug, 1987), particularly as it pertains to a doctoral research program. This study has been able, via the use of Memory Work methodology, to provide richly descriptive and in-depth snap-shots of the lives of young lesbians post-initial coming-out in an Australian context which represents a unique contribution to the research literature. The study concludes with reflections on the methodology as it pertains to a doctoral research program and recommendations for further research which have developed as a result of this investigation. The five participants in this study were strong, independent, brave young wimmin searching for acceptance and an understanding of their post-initial coming-out lesbian identities in an Australian context. While there were only a small number of participants, their memories and experiences yield rich new insights into the everyday lives and experiences of young lesbians.