Sexuality-driven political participation refers to the political engagement of people of sexual minorities. While progress has been made in understanding the motivation behind their political participation, this study seeks to address the limitations of the existing literature which are designed explicitly to work in democratic contexts where engagement can bear fruit and for mostly quantitative inquiries which imply homogeneity and fail to map out the heterogeneity in the meanings of sexual minorities’ political participation. To fill these gaps, this thesis aims to answer the following question: how do sexual minorities make sense of their political participation in an increasingly undemocratic context? To explore the plurality of meanings that sexual minorities attach to their political participation in a context where democracy is under threat and homophobia is persistent, I conducted in-depth individual interviews and focus groups with 16 politically active LGBT+ citizens in Hungary. Through qualitative meaning-centred content analysis and with the help of deductively developed analytical lenses, I found that while existing theories can explain to a great degree the meanings that sexual minorities attached to their political participation in increasingly undemocratic contexts, this thesis also sheds light on the multifaceted drivers of political engagement. This includes not solely social identity and discrimination but also a broader pursuit of justice, civil liberties, democracy, and empathy. Overall, the paper makes an important contribution to a more in-depth understanding of the political participation of LGBT+ citizens, highlighting the complex and multifaceted motivations behind their engagement.

Homophobia was suggested to be one of the primary causes of oppression among women (Griffin 1987, Ireland 1993). Female -- athletes were historically coupled with lesbian identities due to their involvement in the traditionally male domain of sport. As increasing numbers of women attempt to transcend specific socially defined boundaries, it was suggested that the phenomenon of homophobia would function to help maintain conventional sex role socialization practices and to inhibit the advancement of the female athlete (Griffin 1987; 1988, Bennet 1988) . This study specifically addressed homophobia in women's intercollegiate athletics. The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which homophobia exists among, and towards, female intercollegiate coaches. In depth interviews addressing this issue were conducted with seven female coaches and administrators from one NCAA Division IA university athletic program. The interviews resulted in the formation of nine categories relative to the presence of homophobia in women's intercollegiate athletics. These categories were hiring, recruiting, personal image, public image, coach-athlete relationship, abuse of power, intimidation and control, gender equity and roots and reasons. The greatest effects of homophobia appeared in the categories of hiring and recruiting followed by public image and intimidation and control. NOTE: Both archival copies of the manuscript were missing pages 47 and 49.

[pt] Este estudo objetiva mapear e analisar os casos de violências contra a diversidade sexual e de gênero registrados através de Boletins de Ocorrências (B.Os.) em delegacias da Secretaria de Segurança Pública do Estado de Sergipe (SSP/SE) entre os anos de 2015 e 2018, verificando de que forma esses tipos de violência se apresentam na realidade sergipana, como são notificados e encaminhados pela Polícia Civil. O mapeamento foi realizado no sistema da intranet da SSP/SE com a utilização de 32 palavras-chave que serviram como fonte de busca, onde foram encontradas 5.100 denúncias oficiais notificadas em 71 delegacias (especializadas e não especializadas) da SSP/SE. Após o processo de triagem e filtragem dos dados, foram selecionados 305 B.Os. com violências de caráter homofóbico, transfóbico e homotransfóbico. O caminho metodológico utilizado pautou-se em uma análise quali-quantitativa, descritiva e documental centrada teoricamente nos conceitos de habitus, campo e capital de Pierre Bourdieu e em autores que discutem violência homotransfóbica, segurança pública e diversidade sexual e de gênero. Como resultados, observa-se que a maioria das denúncias aqui analisadas foi notificada em delegacias especializadas, apresentando 9 tipos diferenciados de opressão interseccionais, a saber: sexismo, aporofobia, racismo, sorofobia, gordofobia, preconceito contra pessoas com deficiência, ageísmo e xenofobia. Na grande maioria dos casos, a violência é reincidente de diversas tipologias e provoca graves consequências em suas vítimas e noticiantes não vítimas, atingindo a todos os agentes sociais, independentemente de sua orientação sexual, identidade de gênero características sexuais e/ou expressões de gênero. A homotransfobia é reproduzida socialmente através do habitus cis-heteronormativo sócio-historicamente construído, só podendo ser desconstruída quando vista como um problema de caráter social que demanda de todos o papel de protagonistas neste processo, demonstrando a necessidade de mudanças para muito além do que se pode operar, a partir de políticas de segurança pública. / [en] This study aims to map and analyze cases of targeted and gender diversified violence recorded through the police reports of the State Public Security Service (SSP/SE) of the State of Sergipe between the years of 2015 and 2018, verifying how these types of violence present themselves in Sergipe s reality and how they are notified and forwarded by the civil police. The mapping was carried out on the SSP / SE intranet system with the use of 32 keywords that served as a search source, where 5100 official complaints were found in 71 SSP / SE police stations (specialized and non-specialized). After sorting and filtering the data, 305 police reports with homophobic, transphobic and homotransphobic character were selected. The methodological approach used was based on a qualitative-quantitative, descriptive and documentary analysis theoretically centered on the concepts of habitus, field and capital by Pierre Bourdieu and on authors who discuss homotransphobic violence, public security and sexual and gender diversity. As a result, it was observed that most of the complaints here analyzed were notified in specialized police stations, presenting 9 different types of intersectional oppression as: sexism, aporophobia, racism, serophobia, fatphobia, ableism, ageism and xenophobia. In the vast majority of cases, violence is recurrent, occurs in several different forms and causes serious consequences for its victims and non-victim denouncers, affecting all social agents regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or sexual characteristics. Homotransphobia is socially reproduced through the sociohistorically constructed cisheteronormative habitus, which can only be deconstructed when viewed as a social problem which demands everyone s role as protagonists in this process, demonstrating the need for changes far beyond of what can be operated from public security policies.

The purpose of this research was to explore social hardships of non-gay identifying, [behaviorally] bisexual, and “other” marginal LGBTQ+ men who are sexually intimate with men in a heteronormative and [toxic] masculine world. Relatedly, hegemonic masculinity dominates the patriarch through regulating behavioral norms that often stigmatize and discriminate opposing traits, ideologies, or groups, such as LGBTQ+. This has been known to affect and mediate health outcomes and “outness.” Therefore, this study explored how minority stressors impact self-concept, mental health, well-being, and motivations to disclose and/or conceal. Data collection involved survey and interview formats (mixed-methods cross-sectional design) that assessed internalized homophobia, conformity to masculine norms, subjective masculinity stress, disclosure, and concealment in relation to lifestyle and social context. While all variables had expected linear associations, not all were causal. Those who conformed to masculine norms significantly experienced internalized stigma/homophobia. Hence, it can be hypothesized that participants who conformed sought to conceal stigma under pressure of heteronormative culture and the patriarch. However, subjective masculinity stress was nonsignificant, exemplifying hegemonic influence as more defining to their self-concept than their own. Further, minority stress constructs (masculine norms, internalized stigma/homophobia, and subjective masculinity stress), when age, regional location, and faith were controlled, significantly predicted less disclosure and more concealment in social contexts. This reinforces the power of modern patriarchy/masculine norms/minority stress and its adverse effects on mental health, well-being, and outness in marginalized populations of LGBTQ+. Relatedly, qualitative data validated these quantitative findings but generally over the lifecycle of “coming out” as opposed to respondents’ current growth and development in outness, mental health, and well-being. However, to further affirm such quantitative findings, both survey and interview data did report distress regarding modern day masculinity and its ill standards that place unrealistic expectations on men, which continue to create disparities among and between many communities and humanity.

In this thesis, I seek to answer the question of what constitutes a tenable form of sexual citizenship for lesbian-, bisexual- and gay citizens by deploying two models of citizenship which have permeated scholarly and public discourse: the “liberal” and the “republican” model. This is done in conjunction with critical engagement with two political philosophers, and their conceptualization of citizenship. They are (1) The capabilities approach by Martha Nussbaum and (2) cosmopolitan federalism as presented by Seyla Benhabib. This thesis uses three primary questions: (1) On what basis are members of the polity chosen? (2) On what basis are the members of the polity able to participate politically? (3) How does the conceptualized model of citizenship account for social- and civil rights pertaining to sexual difference? These questions furthermore establish the basis for the analysis of the models.  In order to assess the answers that the different model provide, this thesis utilizes two analytic variables articulated in terms of lack of rights and disenfranchisement which will throughout this thesis act as underpinnings. These variables are predicated on reflecting two mechanisms of exclusions of lesbigay citizens, the claim being that the rejoinders to them are used to assess and constitute to a tenable sexual citizenship.

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This dissertation describes efforts to facilitate participation in deconstructing gay discourse in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). Gay discourse is challenged through the sharing of gay Christians' stories. While serving on the task team on homosexuality of the General Synod of the DRC a DVD on which gay people share their stories was produced and employed in order to facilitate participation. In reflecting on my research journey I have learnt that participation, prejudice, dogma and context as dimensions of gay discourse lie on a continuum. These dimensions, and the two extreme positions on the continuum: radical exclusion/antagonist and radical inclusion/protagonist, are represented in my model of deconstructing gay discourse. In the process of discourse change, various positions on the continuum become possible. Shifts happened in the task team and General Synod (DRC), resulting in a more gay inclusive decision on the position of gay people in the DRC. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This dissertation describes efforts to facilitate participation in deconstructing gay discourse in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). Gay discourse is challenged through the sharing of gay Christians' stories. While serving on the task team on homosexuality of the General Synod of the DRC a DVD on which gay people share their stories was produced and employed in order to facilitate participation. In reflecting on my research journey I have learnt that participation, prejudice, dogma and context as dimensions of gay discourse lie on a continuum. These dimensions, and the two extreme positions on the continuum: radical exclusion/antagonist and radical inclusion/protagonist, are represented in my model of deconstructing gay discourse. In the process of discourse change, various positions on the continuum become possible. Shifts happened in the task team and General Synod (DRC), resulting in a more gay inclusive decision on the position of gay people in the DRC. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The present study explored factors affecting vulnerability to depression among gay men and lesbian women in metropolitan Gauteng, South Africa. Risk factors consistently cited in the literature on depression among gay men and lesbian women, namely self-esteem, social integration, hate speech, physical victimisation, fear of victimisation and alcohol and drug abuse, were examined to determine their ability to predict vulnerability to depression. Data was collected from 385 participants who self-identified as lesbian or gay, using a purposive quota sampling technique to ensure representation across age, gender, race and socio-economic status lines. Participants were selected through gay and lesbian organisations, support groups, counselling centres, the gay and lesbian Pride Parade, an online questionnaire, and via snowballing techniques. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-esteem and hate speech were the only significant predictors of vulnerability to depression. The regression model accounted for 21.7% of the variance in vulnerability to depression scores. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)