Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Political Science December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Prior research focused upon the intersection of race, ethnicity, citizenship and identity produced as a result of the Census Schedule. In this dissertation, I focus on the Census, as an instrument of the state, to capture the process of inclusion and exclusion as it relates specifically to the intersection of sexualities and family formation. Using Sewell’s (1992) concept of dual structures, that is, cultural schemas and resources, I argue that sexuality is structural. Using mixed-methodology and three different data sources, I produce five different indices to determine settlement patterns of same-sex households in various geographic areas. Secondly, drawing on variables operationalized as cultural schema and resources, I identify characteristics of metropolitan areas that have arguably been related to levels of gay and lesbian concentration. In the multivariate context, the variables that are most influential in predicting levels of gay and lesbian concentration are physical temperature index, poverty rate, and heterosexual cohabitation rate. Variables focusing on characteristics of the metropolitan areas of relevance mainly to gays and lesbians such as those dealing with sodomy laws and anti-discrimination laws pertaining to sexual orientation, as well as the presence of political and religious conservatism are either not statistically important predictors or exhibited minimal influences. Through the Internet survey and thirty interviews, I examine how gay and lesbian couples answered the Census Schedule. The highest percentage of individuals marked single on the Census Schedule, suggesting that partnered homosexuals are being underenumerated by the Census Bureau. Furthermore, in regards to the Census and the state, two underlying ideas influence individuals’ enactments of agency: legal consciousness and statistical consciousness. Legal consciousness refers to people’s lay understandings of the law, while statistical consciousness refers to everyday knowledge of statistics. In both cases the production of legal interpretation and statistics by authoritative sources is then variously understood, consumed, and employed by ordinary citizens for their distinct purposes. This understanding takes on forms of generally unquestioned folk knowledge, despite being socially constructed in specific historical-cultural contexts. The production and consumption of statistics serve as a pivotal point of contestation of power and resistance, especially for these interviewees.

Prior research focused upon the intersection of race, ethnicity, citizenship and identity produced as a result of the Census Schedule. In this dissertation, I focus on the Census, as an instrument of the state, to capture the process of inclusion and exclusion as it relates specifically to the intersection of sexualities and family formation. Using Sewell’s (1992) concept of dual structures, that is, cultural schemas and resources, I argue that sexuality is structural. Using mixed-methodology and three different data sources, I produce five different indices to determine settlement patterns of same-sex households in various geographic areas. Secondly, drawing on variables operationalized as cultural schema and resources, I identify characteristics of metropolitan areas that have arguably been related to levels of gay and lesbian concentration. In the multivariate context, the variables that are most influential in predicting levels of gay and lesbian concentration are physical temperature index, poverty rate, and heterosexual cohabitation rate. Variables focusing on characteristics of the metropolitan areas of relevance mainly to gays and lesbians such as those dealing with sodomy laws and anti-discrimination laws pertaining to sexual orientation, as well as the presence of political and religious conservatism are either not statistically important predictors or exhibited minimal influences. Through the Internet survey and thirty interviews, I examine how gay and lesbian couples answered the Census Schedule. The highest percentage of individuals marked single on the Census Schedule, suggesting that partnered homosexuals are being underenumerated by the Census Bureau. Furthermore, in regards to the Census and the state, two underlying ideas influence individuals’ enactments of agency: legal consciousness and statistical consciousness. Legal consciousness refers to people’s lay understandings of the law, while statistical consciousness refers to everyday knowledge of statistics. In both cases the production of legal interpretation and statistics by authoritative sources is then variously understood, consumed, and employed by ordinary citizens for their distinct purposes. This understanding takes on forms of generally unquestioned folk knowledge, despite being socially constructed in specific historical-cultural contexts. The production and consumption of statistics serve as a pivotal point of contestation of power and resistance, especially for these interviewees.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- La Trobe University, 2006. / Research. "A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy [to the] School of Public Health, (Australian Research Centre in Sex, health and Society), Faculty of health Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria". Title of digital version: Beyond Choice : Family and Kinship in the Australian lesbian and gay 'baby boom'. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-335). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-188).

Social institutions in rural communities tend to be highly interrelated and social ties tend to be dense and multiplex. Human ecological theoretical models posit that all institutions in which an individual is embedded interact in complex ways. As such, this dissertation examines the influences of school, faith, family, and risk contexts on the grade point averages of students who attended school in nonmetropolitan counties in Appalachian Kentucky. Using data disaggregated by gender from nearly 5,000 adolescents, I identified risk and protective factors on grade point averages by attraction type (exclusively opposite-sex attracted, same-sex attracted, and unsure of attraction), identified differences in grade point averages between attraction types, and identified mediators and moderators of the relationship between attraction type and grade point average. School belonging positively influenced the grade point averages of unsure males and religious belief negatively influenced the grade point averages of same-sex attracted males. In general, sexual minority students reported lower grade point averages than their exclusively opposite-sex attracted peers. Among same-sex attracted males and females, this disparity in grade point average was mediated by school belonging. Among unsure males the variation in grade point average was largely explained by engagement in risk behaviors. The relationship between sexual attraction and grade point average was moderated by religiosity, marijuana use, and labor market optimism.

Les objectifs généraux de ce mémoire visent à mieux comprendre comment les gais et les lesbiennes d'origine libanaise (primo-migrants ou descendants) vivant à Montréal articulent et négocient leurs identifications ethno-sexuelles à travers la (re)production et la mobilisation de divers capitaux (économique, social, culturel et symbolique). Basée sur sept entrevues menées auprès de cinq femmes lesbiennes et deux hommes gais d’origine libanaise, cette recherche propose d’examiner, en suivant un cadrage intersectionnel, les manières dont les discours identitaires des gais et des lesbiennes d’origine libanaise de Montréal sont structurés par les rapports de classe, de genre, de sexualités, d’ethnicité, d’âge, etc. Les chapitres 1 à 3 sont consacrés à la mise en situation théorique et pratique de la recherche. Le chapitre 4 est dédié à l’analyse des subjectivités ethno-sexuelles des répondants. / The main objective of this thesis is to better understand how gays and lesbians of Lebanese background (primo-migrants or their descents) living in Montreal articulate and negotiate their ethno-sexual identifications through the mobilization of diverse capitals (economical, social, cultural and symbolic). Based on seven semi-directed interviews with five lesbians and two gays of Lebanese origin, this research examines, with an intersectional approach, the ways in which their identitary discourses are structured by social axes of division such as class, gender, sexualities, ethnicity, age, etc., on which they occupy majority and minority positions. The stories of our participants reveal, among other things, that there are different ways of representing oneself and being homosexual, and that individuals sharing non-normative sexualities do not necessarily inscribe themselves in the «global gay discourse». Chapters 1 to 3 are devoted to a theoretical and practical contextualization of the research. Chapter 4 consists of an analysis of the ethno-sexual subjectivities of the informants.

Les objectifs généraux de ce mémoire visent à mieux comprendre comment les gais et les lesbiennes d'origine libanaise (primo-migrants ou descendants) vivant à Montréal articulent et négocient leurs identifications ethno-sexuelles à travers la (re)production et la mobilisation de divers capitaux (économique, social, culturel et symbolique). Basée sur sept entrevues menées auprès de cinq femmes lesbiennes et deux hommes gais d’origine libanaise, cette recherche propose d’examiner, en suivant un cadrage intersectionnel, les manières dont les discours identitaires des gais et des lesbiennes d’origine libanaise de Montréal sont structurés par les rapports de classe, de genre, de sexualités, d’ethnicité, d’âge, etc. Les chapitres 1 à 3 sont consacrés à la mise en situation théorique et pratique de la recherche. Le chapitre 4 est dédié à l’analyse des subjectivités ethno-sexuelles des répondants. / The main objective of this thesis is to better understand how gays and lesbians of Lebanese background (primo-migrants or their descents) living in Montreal articulate and negotiate their ethno-sexual identifications through the mobilization of diverse capitals (economical, social, cultural and symbolic). Based on seven semi-directed interviews with five lesbians and two gays of Lebanese origin, this research examines, with an intersectional approach, the ways in which their identitary discourses are structured by social axes of division such as class, gender, sexualities, ethnicity, age, etc., on which they occupy majority and minority positions. The stories of our participants reveal, among other things, that there are different ways of representing oneself and being homosexual, and that individuals sharing non-normative sexualities do not necessarily inscribe themselves in the «global gay discourse». Chapters 1 to 3 are devoted to a theoretical and practical contextualization of the research. Chapter 4 consists of an analysis of the ethno-sexual subjectivities of the informants.