Homosexuality is universal -- as universal as man himself. The practice has been recorded in the literature of most societies. Although homosexuality has at times been accorded a place of special respect, occasionally regarded as the prerogative of a particular class, more frequently it has been subjected to societal punishment. This study analyses the pattern of social relationships among homosexuals under conditions of repression characteristic of American urban society. It is the object of his sexual drive that distinguishes the homosexual from other men. Society condemns such behaviour and subjects the sexual deviant to severe social sanctions. Thus the homosexual finds himself defined as a criminal by the law makers, as a perpetrator of unnatural and ungodly acts by the churches, and a pervert by the ordinary men and women of society. These evaluations of his behaviour create the particular set of social problems which confront the homosexual. The general vulnerability of his position within society imposes the limitations upon his activities and determines to a great extent the type of adjustment which he is able to make to the larger social environment. In an attempt to solve his social problems. the practising homosexual has become involved in a distinctive, separate, and somewhat secret set of social relationships which we shall call “homosexual society”. This distinctive society is a response to the need to communicate with others for the satisfaction of sexual drives under conditions of social repression. The emergence of homosexual society is therefore an adaptation to the limitations and restrictions imposed by the larger heterosexual culture. [...]

Over the past thirty years, we have seen a rise in sexual self identification and group affiliation based on sexual identity across the world, but particularly in China. Much of the research on this topic has focused on the role capitalism and urbanization has played in producing the circumstances under which tongzhi (gay men) could come together, which has necessarily prioritized processed of transnationalism, class aesthetics and geographic emphasis on coastal areas. This project expands the literature on tongzhi assembling by focusing on the legacy of HIV/AIDS organizations in the province of Yunnan in helping to bring important funding and political opportunity to emerging tongzhi social groups. Through presenting detailed ethnographic data, I argue that the organization’s leaders engage in a form of fragmented authoritarian politics which involves balancing between localized bureaucratic political demands and organizing opportunities of fun for tongzhi men who may lack other spaces and times to meet. In this dissertation I will discuss how activities of play allow these groups to balance between dominant discourses and pragmatic social interactions.

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This paper explores the reality of a queer individuals life and the reality of a mother of a queer individual, where the author himself and his mother are the subjects. The paper seeks to explore these person's experiences/realities using both an autoethnographic approach and a life history approach. Coming from a postmodern and feminist position the author delves into such issues as power, oppression, social construction, personal voice, and identity. Personal narratives and academic literature within this paper are going to display queer realities and the broad range of oppression (such as heterosexism, homophobia and gendering) that they face (in educational, familial, and religious settings) and the experiences of a mother who has a queer child (such as emotional reactions, lack of resources/information). / The methodologies used within this paper also seek to explore and expand the use of alternative forms of academic research, focusing on the autoethnographic approach. Personal narratives, emotions and experiences take center stage within the body of this paper and seek to represent the realities of queer youth and their families to the reader, and hopefully, expose the need for more queer awareness, education, and advocacy.

This study aimed to investigate how “outness,” spirituality/religiosity, gay identity affirmation and demographic factors relate to each other and predict internalized homophobia (IH). IH is linked to a host of negative outcomes. The study took place over three months at the 2012 New York Pride parades in all five boroughs. Participants were recruited via the cross-sectional street-intercept approach, 195 of whom met the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26. In sum, the sample consisted of a highly educated, mostly white, high-income subset of men. The regression model indicated that gay identity importance and being “out” to world were predictive of IH. There were also significant differences in participation in gay activities along the lines of education and race. Same sex attracted men who earned a four-year college degree reported more participation in gay activities compared to those of lower attainment levels. Compared to White men, Latino men participated in less gay activities, possibly due to cultural factors. Men who have higher levels of affirmation were more likely to participated in gay activities, which could include pride, which suggests a potential bias. Buddhists reported unusually high levels of internalized homophobia compared to other spiritual and religious practices and orientations. Finally, there were no significant differences in homophobia with race, but there was one with religion. Christians exhibited statistically significantly higher levels of internalized homophobia compared to those who were nonreligious namely atheists, agnostics, and the spiritual but not religious. Implications for health promotion were discussed.

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For the first twenty-five years of Ghana’s national response to HIV/AIDS, the government, like most nations in Africa, did not include gay and bisexual—locally known as sasoi—and other men who have sex with men (MSM) as a high-risk group for HIV in its policies. In 2011, Ghana finally addressed this policy blind spot by acknowledging sasoi and other MSM as a key population at-risk for HIV and in need of policy and programmatic interventions—a shift that is occurring in many parts of Africa. Using Ghana as a case study of this policy shift on the continent, my dissertation examined: why sasoi and other MSM were not initially acknowledged in Ghana’s national AIDS policies; why and how the government decided to include MSM as a key population in its national AIDS policies and programs; what cultural, social, and political factors have affected the development, implementation, and reception of these policies and programs; how sasoi and other MSM perceive and experience these policy and programmatic efforts; and how sasoi and other MSM experience life in a country that criminalizes and stigmatizes same-sex sexual activities. Using ethnographic methods, I conducted a 12-month qualitative study in Ghana. I conducted: interviews with 43 state and non-state policymakers and stakeholders, HIV frontline workers, and sasoi and other MSM; focus group interviews with 18 peer educators; participant observations of policy and HIV prevention work, and meetings and other events related to the research scope; and archival research of media coverage of homosexuality. My findings indicate that Ghana’s MSM policy blind spot was due to: 1) the criminalization and stigmatization of same-sex sexualities in the country, 2) a construction of the Ghanaian epidemic as driven by migrant female sex workers, and 3) international AIDS researchers’ categorization of HIV in Africa as heterosexual, which informed donor policies and stipulations. However, in 2011, the government shifted to include MSM as a KP at risk for HIV in light of mounting epidemiological data on MSM HIV prevalence and risk, NGO advocacy efforts, and international donor policy changes that now recognize MSM as a KP in Africa. I conceptualize this change as a paradigm shift in Ghana’s national AIDS policies from a general population paradigm to a key populations paradigm that includes MSM as biomedical citizens at higher risk for HIV. The country’s progress in addressing HIV among sasoi and other MSM using evidence-based policies has earned it status as a model country in Africa in MSM HIV efforts. Stakeholders, however, face significant challenges rooted in the country’s sociocultural context, namely institutionalized homophobia and heterosexism, a dated and underfunded healthcare system, and inadequate HIV funding. Implementation of MSM HIV policies has come into conflict with the country’s legal and sociocultural realities in Ghana, where male same-sex sexual activities are criminalized and socially stigmatized. Moreover, stakeholders are strategically discreet in how they implement MSM HIV policies and programs and are hesitant to publicly push any advocacy efforts that might come across as supporting or promoting homosexuality, in fear of social and political retribution. Despite this strategy, I argue that MSM HIV efforts have attracted public attention and criticism and have constituted, in part, the politicization of homosexuality in Ghana, reshaping public representations and perceptions of homosexuality and presenting challenges to the ongoing efforts to address HIV among MSM. Stakeholders must evaluate these unintended consequences alongside the intended policy objectives and outcomes to strengthen efforts to reduce the burden of HIV among sasoi and other MSM in Ghana.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Sexual encounters among gay men produce distinct meanings when methamphetamine is involved. Few studies have inquired about the meanings gay men ascribe to their meth and sex encounters. We have yet to ask, what meanings do these experiences hold and how are they constructed? Using qualitative data gathered from one-on-one semi-structured interviews with eleven men, at least 18 years of age and who report using meth during sex with another man in the past 90 days, this study explored the meanings constructed from the participants’ meth-sex experiences. The analysis revealed several important themes helping to explain why these men use meth and have sex with other men including belonging; being in, searching for and falling out of love; having sex for 12 hours; dealing with HIV; and, confronting addiction. The findings impart a meaningful role for belonging, love, sex and disease as socially constructed through the intersection of the body, mind, social interaction and the environment in which lived experiences unfold. Previous research supports several of these themes while at least one theme, i.e. love, extends our understanding of meth and sex among gay men. I assert belonging binds the themes together. The desire to belong came across more powerful and determining in its meaningfulness than the risks associated with sexual encounters where meth is present.