Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to explore gay men's relationship with their parents before and after the revelation of their sexual orientation towards their parent(s). Six men, who voluntarily offered to participate in the study, were interviewed by means of a semi-structured interview. These interviews were initially tape recorded and there after transcribed by the researcher. To be included in the study the participants had to comply with the following criteria: i) they had to be male; ii) 18 years or older; iii) have revealed their sexual orientation towards one or both parents; vi) be English or Afrikaans speaking; v) reside within Paarl, Stellenbosch or Cape Town; and vi) accept that no remuneration would be received for participation in this research. The process by which data was analysed mainly included : The organisation of data, the generation of categories, themes and patterns, testing the emerging categories and patterns, seeking alternative explanations, and writing the final report. Findings from the research study include four main themes, with ten sub-themes identified. Firstly, the nature of the relationship between the mother and the gay son before disclosure of the sons' sexual orientation. The associated sub-themes were: i) Confirmation that the revelation was usually first made towards the mother or siblings, ii) the stadium of self-awareness and process of self-empowering of the son about his gay identity before disclosure towards the mother, iii) mentioning that the mother was aware of the sons' sexual preferences before disclosure, and iv) the relationship between mother and son and the supporting role that she plays within the parental context after disclosure. Secondly, the nature of the relationship between the father and the gay son before the revelation of the sons' sexual orientation. The associated sub-themes were: i) mention of a patriarchal system that existed within the parental relationship, which could be linked to the fathers' social perception, including, amongst others, homophobia, and ii) the father/son relationship after disclosure of the sons' sexual orientation. Thirdly, parental involvement regarding acceptance and support after disclosure of the sons' sexual orientation. The associated sub-themes are:i) the avoidance of the gay subject by the parents during communication within the family context, ii) the sensitivity and avoidance of discussions about lovers or companions within the family relationship, and iii) the regularity of contact between the parent(s) and their gay son after disclosure. Lastly, the nature of the relationship between the gay brother and his siblings before the revelation of his sexual orientation. The associated sub-theme were: i) the unconditional acceptance and support of the siblings. These themes are subsequently discussed in terms of existing research literature in this field of study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die verhouding wat tussen gay mans en hul ouer(s) bestaan het voor en na openbaarmaking van die seun se seksuele orientasie aan die ouer(s), te verken. Ses mans wat vrywilliglik aangebied het tot deelname aan die ondersoek, is deur middel van 'n semi-gestruktureerde onderhoud ondervra. Hierdie onderhoude is eers op band geneem en daarna deur die navorser verbatim getranskribeer. Die riglyne vir insluiting tot die studie was dat die deelnemers aan die volgende kriteria moes voldoen: i) hulle moes manlik wees; ii) 18 jaar en ouer; iii) alreeds hul seksuele orientasie teenoor een of beide ouers bekend gemaak het; iv) Engels of Afrikaanssprekend; v) woonagtig in Paarl, Stellenbosch of Kaapstad; en vi) aanvaar het dat geen besoldiging vir deelname aan die navorsing ontvang sal word nie. Die proses van data-analise het hoofsaaklik ingesluit: Die organisering van data; die generering van kategoriee, temas en patrone; die toetsing van sigbaarwordende temas; soeke na alternatiewe verduidelikings en die skryf van die finale verslag. Bevindinge uit die navorsingstudie sluit in vier hooftemas met tien subtemas wat gei'dentifiseer is. Eerstens, die aard van die verhouding tussen moeder en gay seun voor die openbaarmaking van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Die geassosieerde subtemas was: i) die bevestiging dat die openbaarmaking meestal eerstens teenoor die moeder of sibbe sou geskied, (ii) die selfbewustheidstadium en die selfbemagtigingsproses van die seun ten opsigte van sy gay identiteit voor die openbaarmaking teenoor dikwels die moeder, (iii) die vermelding dat die moeder bewus was van die seun se seksuele orientasie reeds voor openbaarmaking, en (iv) die moeder-en-seun-verhouding en die ondersteunende rol wat sy binne ouerverband inneem na bekendwording van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Tweedens, die aard van die verhouding tussen vader en gay seun voor openbaarmaking van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Die geassosieerde subtemas was: (i) die vermelding van 'n patriargale sisteem wat binne gesinsverband bestaan het, en wat ook saamhang met die vader se sosiale persepsies wat onder andere homofobie insluit, en (ii) die vader-en-seun-verhouding na die bekendwording van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Derdens, ouerbetrokkenheid in terme van aanvaarding en ondersteuning na bekendwording van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Die subtemas wat hieruit gevloei het, was: (i) die kommunikatiewe vermyding van die gay onderwerp deur die ouer(s) binne gesinsverband, (ii) die sensitiwiteit en vermyding van gesprekke oor minnaars of metgeselle binne ouerverband, en (iii) die gereeldheid van kontak tussen ouer(s) en gay seun na bekendwording van die seun se seksuele orientasie. Laastens, die aard van die verhouding tussen gay broer en sibbe voor openbaarmaking van die broer se seksuele orientasie. Die geassosieerde subtema was: (i) die onvoorwaardelike aanvaarding en ondersteuning deur die sibbe. Die temas is vervolgens bespreek in terme van bestaande navorsingsliteratuur oor die onderwerp.

This cross-sectional study examined if heterosexist experiences (harassment/rejection, workplace/school discrimination, other) were associated with suicidality (suicidal ideation, suicide attempts) and symptoms of anxiety/depression, and if symptoms of anxiety/depression were associated with suicidality in a national sample of sexual minority men (SMM; N = 89). The study also examined if depression mediated the relationship between heterosexist events and suicidal ideation and whether active and disengaged coping styles moderated this relationship. All associations were significant and positive, with harassment/rejection and symptoms of depression generally independently associated with outcome variables. Symptoms of depression were a significant mediator of the harassment/rejection-suicidal ideation relationship; however, neither disengaged nor active coping moderated the mediation. Clinical research could focus on reducing symptoms of depression associated with heterosexist events in order to influence suicidal ideation in SMM. Other implications are discussed.

Antiretroviral treatment pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective daily prevention medicine to reduce risks of HIV infections in high-risk populations. The current study examined PrEP uptake among gay men using the integrative model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) as the theoretical framework. Briefly, the IMBP states that attitude, norms, and behavioral control predict intention, which then predicts behavior. The intention-behavior relationship is moderated by actual control variables: skills and environmental constraints. To examine how IMBP variables affect PrEP uptake among gay men, I first conducted formative elicitation interviews with gay men; then I used the results from the interviews to construct the main survey. Then, the project recruited 500 gay men to participate in the survey, half of whom were PrEP takers and half of whom were not. The results of path modeling showed that attitudes and norms predicted behavioral intention, and intention predicted PrEP uptake among gay men. Results of moderation analyses testing the influence of skills and environmental constraints showed that HIV knowledge, lack of access to a doctor(s), and lack of health care system knowledge were significant moderators between intention and PrEP uptake. The practical implications, theoretical contributions, and empirical advancements were discussed.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the relationship between identity, behaviour and desire to examine the nature of research among homosexually active men. The hypothesis is that samples of such men necessarily reflect the definitions of sexuality and homosexuality, and their interpretation, by both the researchers themselves and their research subjects, meaning that the research process itself is marked by the subjectivity of the field of sexuality. The relationship between the observer and the observed is intrinsic to research into homosexual subjectivity and the samples obtained, therefore, represent particular kinds of sexual subjects in a particular social and sexual cultural milieu. Research in this field has given pre-eminence to behaviour over identity and desire, and, as such, has usually failed to account for these differences in sexual subjectivities. To investigate this problem, I have reviewed the relevant literature both on subjectivity and on methodological approaches to research among homosexual men, and I have appraised my own ideological and personal relationships with the subject matter. I have examined the nature of the samples of homosexual men I have obtained during my work as a researcher within the Sydney gay community and reanalysed these with regard to the particular problematic I have identified. These investigations and analyses have shown that there are numerous differences within and between the various samples of homosexual men obtained, indicating that methodological frameworks can determine the nature of the samples obtained. These differences in samples also appear to reflect differences in the ways of enacting homosexual desire among the men in the studies. However, they also parallel differences in the definitions and understandings of the target population by the researchers themselves. These differences reflect differences in definition and understanding both of homosexuality and of the population of gay men, but they also represent differing patterns in the ways of being and living ?gay?, differences in sexual subjectivity. ?Gayness? and homosexuality, as concepts in research, are both the subjective basis on which the research endeavour itself is based, as well as its representational outcome.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Apr. 23, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-420).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Psychology, Committee on Human Development, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This study examined how gay men construct a gay identity and have relationships within a heteronormative (Kritzinger, 2005) society in South Africa. The impact of this study is that homophobia continues to persist within different levels of society despite progressive legislation (Republic of South Africa, 1998 / Republic of South Africa, 2006 / Republic of South Africa, 2007), that gender binarisms persist in gay relationships, that power differences impact and shape gay relationships, and that resistance and transgression to heteronormativity were present in some of the narratives. The qualitative study employed a semi-structured guide with in-depth interviews. Sampling procedures that were utilised were snowball sampling in a non-probability sample. Data was collected via an MP3 player and each interview was transcribed and analysed using content and narrative analysis. I-poems using the listening guide (Gilligan et al, 2003) were constructed in six of the narratives. The sample distribution included 15 gay men aged between 20 to 46 years. Of these, 12 participants were black (6 coloured, 3 Indians, 3 African) and 3 were white.

A feminist point of view is used in this study of gay men living in a small, collegiate community who use leisure travel as a negotiation strategy to achieve freedom of expression. Feminism is concerned with equality, empowerment, social change, the elimination of invisibility and the distortion of situated experiences. Feminist research is no more defined by the sex of the researcher than by the sex of the researched. Several in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants who revealed the complex nature of how many gay men pursue leisure experiences that are affirming to their gay self-identities in "Soledad." While gay meeting places and people exist in this small community, they remain mostly covert and invisible. Leisure travel to larger cities was a major negotiation strategy used to escape the stifling, hetero-normative community in which they lived. Escaping perceived hostilities was essential for gay men to feel comfortable exploring their homosexuality in a positive, affirming manner. Furthermore, the benefits of leisure travel bled into the daily lives of gay men after leisure travel was performed. For instance, leisure travel helped gay men make other gay friends who helped them cope with their homosexuality, and, in the process, they helped them "learn" how to be gay. The skills and experiences these gay men acquired while pursuing leisure in other places helped them transform their daily lives and home community into a more bearable place to live, thereby making home an easier place to negotiate. Gay men were able to discover a whole new set of possibilities of how to express themselves and discovered a new "gaze" by which to view the world. This research adds to the literature on travel and tourism, while expanding the information we have concerning the gay subculture that is becoming more socially and politically efficacious and economically powerful. Likewise, some of the gaps in the literature concerning leisure constraints and negotiation are also filled by this research.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-86). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ56233.