While the South African criminal justice system has become increasingly aware of issues affecting women, matters pertaining to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have largely been ignored. The homosexual panic, as well as the quasi-militaristic nature of discrimination among police and within law enforcement agencies in relation to LGBT issues, suggests an apparent omission in the law and sets an example of institutional homophobia, and this fosters antipathy towards the LGBT people in larger communities. With the employment of post-structural feminist theory, this research argues that police homophobia and homophobia in general, reinstates conservative hetero-patriarchal dominance and new forms of marginalization. Criminal law, disregard for human rights legislation and public opinion have been used by some police to reduce and suppress protection of the LGBT community within the Durban Metropolitan area. This dissertation aims to add to current debates on LGBT sexuality by interrogating violence motivated by homophobia and heterosexism as this is the most frequent, visible, violent and culturally legitimized form of hate crimes in Durban. It highlights the antagonism that the LGBT community faces at the hands of police when reporting these crimes. It aims to engage Foucault‟s theory of power in conjunction with other major theories such as Butler‟s theory of performativity, Queer theory, as well as Theron‟s criminalizing theory in order to unpack reasons why power dynamics come into play between police and the LGBT community. The study establishes how fundamentalist moralist Christian notions of sexuality perpetuate violent anti-LGBT rhetoric within law enforcement structures and other institutions in Durban. It seeks to add a new dimension regarding the interrogation of power structures by questioning law enforcement with the aim of demonstrating how homophobia dictates to the victim that they cannot negotiate different forms of sexuality. It sets out to explain how dominant heterosexual culture and religious discourses set boundaries on how the LGBT community in Durban should enjoy their bodies. This research analyzes the human cost of the fusion between culture and conservative religious discourses and how these posit a serious threat to LGBT subjects in negotiating gender fluidity within law enforcement spaces. The concluding chapter offers suggestions on how to strengthen the fragile relationship between the LGBT community and police officials. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Violence against gay men occurs every day. Stories can be found in newspapers, magazines, and on the World Wide Web reporting these incidences, yet there has been little research done from a qualitative perspective that explores the impact of violence on the lives of gay men. How do gay men make sense of the experience and the affects that violence perpetuated against them has on their lives? This research project examines the experiences of gay men that have been victims of various levels of violence directed at them as a result of their sexual orientation and identity as gay men. Using a qualitative approach, six gay men were interviewed and shared their experiences through personal interviews. The data collected within the interviews was then analyzed using Grounded Theory as the methodology. As there has been little research done on the impact that gay bashing has on gay men’s lives, the main objective of the research was to explore the experience of gay bashing with gay men that have been victims of such violence and gain a better understanding of the issues related to this experience. This research will add to the knowledge base around the experiences of sexual minority men and provide information for social workers, medical practitioners, law enforcement agencies, teachers and other service providers that will encounter gay men that are victims of violence. It provides valuable information that can be used to shape policy and practice to better assist gay men that are victims of violence. It also provides a voice to the many men whose stories are never heard and whose experiences are often discounted.

Tema: Vyrų ir moterų homoseksualumo raiškos ypatumai. Temos aktualumas. Homoseksualūs žmonės kenčia įvairią nelygybę, kurios pasekmė homoseksualus paverčia nematomais, dauguma jaunų gėjų ir lesbiečių gyvena lyg ir dvigubus gyvenimus. Jie pasirenka šią strategiją racionaliai, siekdami išvengti nuoskaudų ir didesnių problemų asmeninėje erdvėje, profesinėje-darbinėje aplinkoje ir viešojoje erdvėje. Homoseksualių žmonių yra visur, įvairaus amžiaus, skirtingų socialinių sluoksnių ir profesijų, vyrų ir moterų, įvairių tautybių, su negalia ir be jos. Bet gyvendami tokioje priešiškoje visuomenėje jie nesiryžta išeiti į viešumą ir atskleisti savo seksualinę tapatybę. Darbo tikslas – atskleisti homoseksualių žmonių (vyrų ir moterų) tapatumo raišką ir jos ypatumus. Darbo uždaviniai: Išanalizuoti sociologinę homoseksualumo sampratą ir jos raidą. Išryškinti homoseksualių žmonių tapatybės formavimąsi. Atskleisti homoseksualumo raiškos ypatumus heteronormatyvioje visuomenėje. Išnagrinėti, koks yra homoseksualių žmonių socialinės atskirties kontekstas. Išanalizuoti vyrų ir moterų homoseksualų atsiskleidimą šeimoje, darbe bei viešoje erdvėje, atskleisti esminius panašumus ir skirtumus. Ginamieji teiginiai: 1. Homoseksualumo atskleidimas mūsų tyrimo informantams yra svarbus ir siektinas įvykis jų gyvenime, kuris leidžia susitvarkyti su savo vidine stigma ir atskleisti mano AŠ. 2. Homoseksualaus tapatumo raiška aprėpia tris pagrindines erdves (asmeninę, profesinę ir viešąją), tačiau yra tam... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Subject : Features of men and women homosexuality expressions. Justification of the explored topic. Interpersonal communication between people, the moral values of human norms are changing with the times. Every person is different and has individual differences, such as temperament, values, abilities, race, age, gender. It is often observed, that people are simply divided only into two categories: normal and abnormal. Those from the abnormal category are divided into two groups: the ones, who can easily adapt to the public and the others, who are unable to join the public. Homosexual people suffer from different inequality, the consequences of which make them become invisible, the majority of young gays and lesbians seems to live double lives. They rationally choose this kind of living in order to avoid soreness and major problems in personal life, professional - working environment and public space. Homosexual people of different ages, various social classes and professions, men and women of different nationalities, with and without disabilities are everywhere. But they hesitate to go public and reveal their sexual identity while living in such a hostile society. The aim of work – to reveal features of men and women homosexual identity expressions in Lithuania. Objectives: To analyze the sociological concept of homosexuality and its evolution. To highlight the identity formation of homosexual people. To reveal strategies of homosexual expressions in heterosexual society. To... [to full text]

This study attempted to make releveant connections between the marginalization theory posited by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky and Indiana news media coverage of the 1993 Gay, Lesbian and Bi-Sexual March on Washington. To date, Herman and Chomsky's work has looked at the marginalization of political or racial minorities. This study looked at how the elements of marginalization, the perpetuation of stereotypes and the complete annihilation of thought or consideration of the minority group, as seen regarding gay and lesbian people in America. Further, the theory guided the study's content analysis of Indiana news media coverage of the 1993 Gay, Lesbian and Bi-Sexual March on Washington. Taking the form of a case study, the contextual basis for the content analysis was provided by an interview with Gregory Adams, media co-chair for the march.Indiana coverage of the march in The Indianapolis Star was content analyzed sentence-by-sentence, while the same coverage was analyzed sentence-by-sentence from stories broadcast on WISH-TV, Channel 8 in Indianapolis. In addition, media images from the March broadcast by WISH-TV, Channel 8 in Indianapolis were also content analyzed video cut-by-cut.The study found gay and lesbian people were marginalized in the text of the Indiana news media coverage. The study also found that the marginalization of gay and lesbian people in the coverage was consistent among the three media types measured (newspaper text, television text and television images). / Department of Journalism

This study was designed to examine psychology graduate students' attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. It was hypothesized that the following variables would predict participants' attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women: participant gender, amount of client contact with gay men and lesbian women, and gender role attitudes. Additionally, a measure of social desirability was included to investigate the validity of responses. Data were analyzed by conducting an independent t-test, a correlated t-test, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicated that gay men were viewed more negatively than were lesbian women. As expected, participants' gender role attitudes significantly predicted their attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women. Contrary to predicted outcomes, results indicated that neither participant gender nor client contact predicted attitudes toward homosexuality. Finally, results suggested that participants were not engaging in socially desirable responding. Implications of this study for research, theory, and practice are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

In the last decade several western countries have greatly enhanced the rights of sexual minorities in their societies. Same-sex marriage is now legal in most states in the United States, while about twenty three countries in Europe presently allow same-sex marriage or some form of civil partnership. Africa on the other hand is witnessing a rise in the number of countries further criminalizing sexual minorities and homophobia is rising across the continent. Homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries in the world, 38 of which are in Africa and of these 38, homosexuality is punishable by death in 4. Though a growing discourse, existing literature and scholarly papers till date have rarely focused on the impediments to LGBT rights in the African continent. The few existing literature have looked at LGBT rights in Africa from the policy perspective without taking the popularity of anti-gay laws into consideration as seen in a country like Nigeria where 98 percent of the population supports anti-gay measures. An explorative qualitative research study was used to explore the impediments to LGBT rights in Nigeria and how they can be addressed. Secondary data from verifiable sources and primary data from semi-structured, formal, open ended interviews with individuals deeply informed of the discourse in Nigeria was used for the research. Data retrieved was analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurrent themes from the interview transcripts before a comprehensive discussion and triangulation of both primary and secondary data was conducted. The research found that religious beliefs and the existence of LGBT knowledge gaps are the major impediments to LGBT rights in Nigeria. The research findings suggests that closing these LGBT knowledge gaps through enlightenment will over time repress the strong religious and ideological views held against LGBTs. With the decline of these views, the research suggests that LGBT rights will naturally emerge. The study also developed three testable hypotheses for future studies.

This study was designed to examine the effects of identifying as a butch, androgynous, or femme lesbian on self-esteem, internalized homophobia, and passing behaviors. It was hypothesized that butch lesbians would have higher self-esteem, lower internalized homophobia, and fewer passing behaviors than femme lesbians, with androgynous lesbians falling between the butch and femme groups. Self-esteem was measuring using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Internalized homophobia was assessed by the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale. Passing behaviors were addressed through questions in the demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by conducting an ANOVA analysis. Results indicated that butch lesbians have the lowest internalized homophobia and the lowest amount of passing behaviors; androgynous lesbians have a highest self esteem. Implications of this study for research and practice are discussed.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306 / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examined the relationship between the attitudes of counselors toward gays and lesbians and their ratings of this population, as compared to the heterosexual population, in terms of mental health. Participants (N=92) were masters and doctoral level graduate students at a midsized midwestern university. Counselors who were more prejudiced toward gay and lesbian targets rated them as less mentally healthy than heterosexual targets. Counselors who were less homophobic did not differ significantly from more homophobic participants in terms of their ratings of mental health. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and future avenues of research are suggested. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The present study examined the viability of a model of biased language use (e.g., Maass et al., 1989; Maass et al., 1996) as a measure of anti-lesbian prejudice among heterosexual women. As a matter of methodological and psychometric exploration, four alternative methods of scoring linguistic abstraction were employed.One hundred eighty-one female university undergraduates provided abstraction ratings for a series of seven fictitious news clippings, adapted from von Hippel et al. (1997), four of which depicted either heterosexual or lesbian women engaging in behaviors that were either socially favorable or unfavorable and lesbian stereotypic or counterstereotypic. Participants also completed a "Memory Test" devised for this study, a demographic questionnaire, and the ATL Subscale of the ATLG (Herek, 1988, 1994).The prediction that the linguistic expectancy bias (LEB; e.g., Maass, 1999) would be observed in the present intergroup context was not supported. The overall pattern of results suggested some stability across scoring methods. A number of implications of the findings are considered, with a focus on methodological concerns and applications to practice. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Violence against gay men occurs every day. Stories can be found in newspapers, magazines, and on the World Wide Web reporting these incidences, yet there has been little research done from a qualitative perspective that explores the impact of violence on the lives of gay men. How do gay men make sense of the experience and the affects that violence perpetuated against them has on their lives? This research project examines the experiences of gay men that have been victims of various levels of violence directed at them as a result of their sexual orientation and identity as gay men. Using a qualitative approach, six gay men were interviewed and shared their experiences through personal interviews. The data collected within the interviews was then analyzed using Grounded Theory as the methodology. As there has been little research done on the impact that gay bashing has on gay men’s lives, the main objective of the research was to explore the experience of gay bashing with gay men that have been victims of such violence and gain a better understanding of the issues related to this experience. This research will add to the knowledge base around the experiences of sexual minority men and provide information for social workers, medical practitioners, law enforcement agencies, teachers and other service providers that will encounter gay men that are victims of violence. It provides valuable information that can be used to shape policy and practice to better assist gay men that are victims of violence. It also provides a voice to the many men whose stories are never heard and whose experiences are often discounted.