Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Communication, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toledo, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-197).

This dissertation investigates the influence of family messages about gender, free expression, conformity, and privacy on coming out disclosures, a difficult experience in today’s society. Using communication privacy management theory, this study explored how heteronormative beliefs, family privacy boundaries, and family communication patterns relate to disclosure concerns. A total of 218 self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) participants were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Participants completed an online survey to measure family privacy orientations, family communication patterns, heteronormative attitudes and beliefs, and disclosure concerns. Six linear regression analyses were performed. The findings suggest that both family privacy orientations and family communication patterns contribute to concerns about disclosing one’s sexual orientation. The study did not find heteronormative beliefs and attitudes to play a significant role in disclosure concerns. Additional findings indicate that family communication patterns inform family privacy orientations, which suggest a more complicated chain of influence. The findings of the study highlight the influence of early communication on LGBT individuals’ long-term ability to communicate about their sexual orientation.

In this article, the author dissects and refracts a single, defining moment in his life using autoethnography and the lenses of specific communication and social theories. The author mines the moment in first, second, and third person to uncover the different responses to overwhelming emotions ranging from the noble to the shameful in response to his father’s “coming out of the closet.” A torrent of emotion took the author by surprise and is the total moment of his analysis in this article. The author scrutinizes the multiple ways in which this moment was a release, a turning point, an ending, a beginning, bittersweet, hateful and hate filled, selfish, guilt ridden, and loving. Through multiple retellings of the event, like the film Groundhog Day, the author presents the moment in different narrative formats, from multiple perspectives, with relevant quotations and passages to thoroughly dissect the emotional layers.

Whereas sex is a classification that is expected to remain consistent and stable over time, gender is more fluid and changes depending on one's culture, within culture, and in relation to the other gender. Our society suggests that all individuals fall neatly into one of two sex and gender categories; however there exists an entire community of individuals who, in fact, do not. Transgender individuals "express their gender in non-traditional ways and find their sense of self as female, male, or other to be in conflict with their assigned gender role" (Burdge, 2007, p.244). Disclosing as transgendered is a process of emergence that is not only an internal psychological process but is also a "relational and systemic dynamic that intimately involves family, friends, loved ones, and all social relationships" (Lev, 2005, p. 11). In this study, the disclosure experiences of male to female transgender individuals as well as the changes and adjustments that occurred in their relationships were explored through individual interviews. Thematic coding was used to analyze the data and identify themes in the disclosure experiences. Considering the experience from a systemic perspective, participants discussed the mutual impact of their disclosure on family, friends, acquaintances as well as greater systems including the medical field, mental health field, and other community agencies. / Master of Science

No description available.

This case study elicits the process of coming out of a 6 member family-of-choice of an adult gay man in rural New Hampshire. 27.5 hours of face-to-face interviews were conducted with the family individually and collectively. Reflexivity, as a technique, was used extensively. Four themes were identified: Embracing gay identity, integrating as a family, building social networks, and social awakening. This study addresses the complexities of how multiple individuals negotiate rules and accommodate diverse viewpoints within a family system, provides insight into a family's journey of accepting their gay identity, utilizes personal narratives of family members, and reveals how the reflexive process contributes to a family's creation of new stories. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. / Ph. D.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A partir de nove entrevistas semi-estruturadas, conduzidas entre os meses de abril e outubro de 2008 com homens homossexuais entre vinte e seis e quarenta e dois anos de idade, oriundos de camadas médias e médias baixas do Rio de Janeiro e adjacências, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo compreender as maneiras pelas quais estes indivíduos se descobrem atraídos por pessoas do mesmo sexo e buscam meios de lidar com esse desejo. Ao mesmo tempo, procura entender como essa diferença se desloca do plano subjetivo e fala de si, o que é conhecido como sair do armário ou fazer o coming out, processo que parece ocorrer de modo descontínuo e incompleto, na medida em que estratégias de manipulação e ocultamento da orientação sexual frequentemente se mostram necessárias perante os diversos círculos de sociabilidade nos quais se transita regularmente, dentre os quais a família, o ambiente de trabalho e os amigos. A análise do discurso dos informantes, aliada a uma fundamentação teórica de cunho majoritariamente sócio-antropológico, permitiu depreender que há um anseio por reconhecimento, aceitação e respeito. Observou-se também a existência de certos mapeamentos, que abrangem preocupações com a aparência, controle de gestos e manifestações de afeto e a evitação de lugares tidos como hostis ou pouco tolerantes, visando a uma redução dos riscos de discriminação e violência. / Based upon nine semi-structured interviews, conducted between the months of April and October of 2008 with homosexual men between twenty-six and forty-two years old, arising from middle and middle-low classes from Rio de Janeiro and surroundings, this work aims to understand the ways by which these individuals find themselves attracted to same-sex people and look for means to deal with this desire. At the same time, it tries to understand how this difference is dislocated from the subjective level and speak up, what is known as to come out of the closet or simply coming out, a process that seems to occur in a discontinued and incomplete way, since management and concealing strategies of sexual orientation are frequently required before the various sociability circles in which they move through on a regular basis, among which family, workplace and friends are included. The analysis of the informants‟ discourse, combined with a mainly socio-anthropological theoretical foundation, led to conclude that there is a yearn for recognition, acceptance and respect. Certain mappings, which cover concerns with appearance, gesture and affection display controls and avoidance of places considered to be hostile or little tolerant, were also observed as a way of lowering discrimination and violence risks.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A partir de nove entrevistas semi-estruturadas, conduzidas entre os meses de abril e outubro de 2008 com homens homossexuais entre vinte e seis e quarenta e dois anos de idade, oriundos de camadas médias e médias baixas do Rio de Janeiro e adjacências, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo compreender as maneiras pelas quais estes indivíduos se descobrem atraídos por pessoas do mesmo sexo e buscam meios de lidar com esse desejo. Ao mesmo tempo, procura entender como essa diferença se desloca do plano subjetivo e fala de si, o que é conhecido como sair do armário ou fazer o coming out, processo que parece ocorrer de modo descontínuo e incompleto, na medida em que estratégias de manipulação e ocultamento da orientação sexual frequentemente se mostram necessárias perante os diversos círculos de sociabilidade nos quais se transita regularmente, dentre os quais a família, o ambiente de trabalho e os amigos. A análise do discurso dos informantes, aliada a uma fundamentação teórica de cunho majoritariamente sócio-antropológico, permitiu depreender que há um anseio por reconhecimento, aceitação e respeito. Observou-se também a existência de certos mapeamentos, que abrangem preocupações com a aparência, controle de gestos e manifestações de afeto e a evitação de lugares tidos como hostis ou pouco tolerantes, visando a uma redução dos riscos de discriminação e violência. / Based upon nine semi-structured interviews, conducted between the months of April and October of 2008 with homosexual men between twenty-six and forty-two years old, arising from middle and middle-low classes from Rio de Janeiro and surroundings, this work aims to understand the ways by which these individuals find themselves attracted to same-sex people and look for means to deal with this desire. At the same time, it tries to understand how this difference is dislocated from the subjective level and speak up, what is known as to come out of the closet or simply coming out, a process that seems to occur in a discontinued and incomplete way, since management and concealing strategies of sexual orientation are frequently required before the various sociability circles in which they move through on a regular basis, among which family, workplace and friends are included. The analysis of the informants‟ discourse, combined with a mainly socio-anthropological theoretical foundation, led to conclude that there is a yearn for recognition, acceptance and respect. Certain mappings, which cover concerns with appearance, gesture and affection display controls and avoidance of places considered to be hostile or little tolerant, were also observed as a way of lowering discrimination and violence risks.

Social support is a key factor influencing older adults’ health and well-being. Disclosing one’s lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity at any age has great potential for altering, if not destroying, existing relationships with family, friends, and others. With long-established social roles and personal relationships, the potential risks may be accentuated for those who come out in mid- or later-life. Yet, researchers have paid scant attention to this phenomenon. This exploratory qualitative study examines the impact of coming out “late” on older adults’ social networks. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of fourteen older adults who disclosed their non-heterosexual identity at or after age 39. Interviews inquired about participants’ past and present social networks and the coming out process, particularly the influence of coming out “off time.” Findings show coming out is a dynamic, continuous, and non-linear process that simultaneously characterizes and is characterized by social network gains and losses.