The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a film on homosexuality and a presentation by the Gay Alliance on attitude change toward homosexuality. A review of the literature indicated that a class which offers eduction on homosexuality results in a more positive attitude toward homosexuality. It was also found that participants are less tolerant toward homosexuality after viewing an explicit, erotic film of two hmosexuals. Participants were 58 male and 113 female students enrolled in one of three Introductory to Psychology classes. All were given the Kite Attitude Toward Homosexuality Scale and a demographic questionnaire during their usual class times. One week later a filmstrip on homosexuality was shown to one class and the Gay Alliance gave a presentation to a second class. The third class was not given any additional information on homosexuality. Two weeks later all participants completed the Kite Scale and the questionnaire again. A 2x3 Analysis of Covariance showed there was no significant difference between groups or gender. A stepwise multiple regression indicated the best predictor for attitude change was if the subject had read something other than a textbook on homosexuality. A stepwise multiple regression also found the best predictors of a positive attitude toward homosexuality was if the participant had a friend who was homosexual, if the participant was female, and if the participant had a relative who was homosexual. The explanation for the results found included a discussion on AIDS, the low number of male subjects in the two experimental groups, and the fact that there were some difficulties with the group which viewed the filmstrip.

One purpose of this primarily exploratory study was to explore whether differences in beliefs about the etiology of homosexuality exist between homosexuals and nonhomosexuals. Another purpose was to investigate whether differences exist between groups in the extent to which they feel that it is appropriate to manifest homosexual behaviors in public. Finally, this study examined the question of whether a relationship exists between one's perception of the cause of homosexuality and the degree to which that person felt it was appropriate to manifest homosexual behaviors.

This research is based on an ethnographic study conducted in 2008. The study took place in Ecuador's coastal province of Manabâi and investigates the lives of a community of transvestite males, known locally as travestâis. This research holds that the social space in which the travestâis live and work, in Puerto Lopez, is negotiated and maintained through a complex interchange of three key factors: the experience of mother's love, the local economy, and sexual desire. The social space itself is defined as a "binary passage." Most of the travestâis are employed as hairdressers, and they draw a wide range of clientele from Puerto Lopez and surrounding smaller villages. Yet, how is it that travestâis can lead open and productive lives in a region that highly values machismo? This research focuses on both the origins of the travestâis' social space and the means by which it is maintained through key discourses. / by Eve E. Brooks. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

"耽美"来源于日本，是以女性读者群为主要受众、描写男性与男性之间浪漫关系或性关系的文学或艺术作品，也被称为BL（Boy’s Love）。喜爱耽美的女性爱好者被称为"腐女"。耽美文化自1990 年代后期随着日本流行文化进入中国，至今已在中国网络空间中逐渐发展成为一个主要由女性网民所组成的，包含文本创作、阅读与交流的文化圈。与此同时，耽美文化的流行亦引发了中国当下种种对性与性别问题的思考。 / 本研究将耽美文化解译为"女性幻想男男之爱"的欲望结构，从精神分析幻想理论与酷儿理论的视角来考察中国网络中的耽美文化现象。论文所围绕的一个问题是，耽美文化与中国社会文化中的性/别话语产生了怎样的关系，以及如何从腐女的耽美幻想中搭建起与现实性/别政治的联系。研究首先分析了两类网络耽美小说文本，分别来看它们与1990年代以后的"男同性恋"身份话语，和2000年代以后对"中国古典文化"想象之间的吸收、挪用与再创造；其次以网络腐女圈的论坛讨论与配对狂欢为对象，研究网络耽美式恶搞对官方媒体、主流男性形象和异性恋规范的权威所潜在的颠覆性；最后以2011年一桩"腐女被抓案"新闻报道为契机，来观察耽美文化与网络淫秽色情审查的纠葛、冲突与可能的出路。 / 欲望幻想的流动性决定着它边界的模糊与开放，以及它承载、影响乃至侵扰"现实"秩序的功能。因此，作为一种女性的男性同性情欲幻想，本研究视耽美文化最引人注目的地方不在于其本身的出现与流行程度，而在于它与各种性/别话语的相互建构与矛盾冲突。此外，在对幻想文本、网络话语以及腐女群体的调查中，本研究也期待探索某种"酷儿"政治在中国网络文化中生产的可能性。 / Boy’s love (BL in short; danmei in Chinese) is a Japanese term for female-oriented fictional media, which focuses on love, sex and romance between beautiful androgynous boys or young men. Apart from the gay self-representations, BL is a genre of male homoeroticism by and for mostly heterosexual women. In China, the BL fans call themselves "Fu Nu", which means "rotten girl", to describe their enthusiasm for fantasizing male homosexuality. BL originated from Japanese amine, comic and game youth culture, and has since become a transnational phenomenon all over the world with a global fan base. As such, the phenomenon of boy’s love had already aroused a lot of discussions in relation to ideologies of gender and sexuality from different cultural and social perspectives. BL fandom in China’s culture context with its "Chinese characteristics" also deserves particular attention, when it opens up a fantastic space for Chinese woman to practice their sexuality beyond non-heterosexual norms. / However there is limited work that considers the queer sexuality of female BL fans in China, in relation to the queer texts and queer discourses they create. There is also little research that explores the capacity of boy’s love netizens to resist the on-going internet surveillance by the Chinese government of information deemed ‘sexually inappropriate’ and outside the heterosexual norm. Therefore there remains a paucity of studies that examine the political potentialities of anti-homophobic and queer discourses of sexuality as manoeuvred by the Chinese BL fan base that continue to populate online communities. Based on previous studies about the phenomenon of boy’s Love in China, this paper analyses the queer politics of the online BL fandom in terms of the interactions between BL and the other gender and sexuality discourses on the Chinese Internet. It will be argued that the online BL fandom opens up a virtual space for girls and young women to author practice their male homosexual fantasies. Moreover, it will be maintained that boy’s love appropriates the queerness from the different sides of cyber culture into its narrative fantasies, thus forming a queer continuum made up with the conflicts, complicities and political potentialities of the gender and sexuality on the Chinese internet. This paper concludes with an analysis of the ambiguous relation of BL with Chinese Internet censorship, and traces the capacities of boy’s love netizens in subverting and resisting government surveillance of what it terms ‘obscene’ information. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 周舒燕. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-162). / Abstracts also in English. / Zhou Shuyan.

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“Homonorm” is a collection of short stories that explores the gay male experience and challenges gender expectations. Through an exploration of form and content, each story serves to illuminate different issues in the gay community and in society. Where one story explores the issue of youth obsession with magical realism, the other tells the story of a gay artist’s sexual awakening and struggle with HIV and AIDS through a series of still-life photographs. This eclectic collection serves to break the stereotype of gay fiction and undo the gender norms for men through fantastical situations and a-typical forms of fiction to underscore the idea that life and community are varied and so too should be the representations of these two groups. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This research examined the representation of homosexual men in soap opera Generations. It reveals that while homosexual characters have been incorporated in the locally produced soap opera Generations, the representation of such characters is revealed as 'other’. This dissertation argued that the representation of homosexual men in soap opera Generations are categorized negatively often being seen to be morally degenerate consequently; the inclusion of homosexual men in Generations is often associated with negative stereotypes. This study argues that homosexual men in Generations are often represented as having problems to be solved. This include homosexual men being faced with secrecy, shame, guilt, homosexual violence, rejection and other negative stereotypes as represented in soap opera Generations. The research highlights the social constructions and gender stereotypes in mainstream media television which consider homosexuality as abnormal, unnatural and sickness. The secrecy of homosexuality implied by mainstream media television representation makes homosexuality to appear as something concealed and related to shame and regret. In addition, the dissertation also looks in-depth into categories of negative stereotypes where being a gay primarily realizes on the rigid gender schemas exploited by the mainstream media television to represent homosexual men as not men enough which appeared as natural rather than socially constructed. This study‟s theoretical frame work brought together the concepts of different area of enquiry such as negative representation of homosexuality, homophobia, secrecy, guilt, shame while using discourse analysis. The major areas addressing the coding includes the representation of homosexuality in the text, soap operas' (Generations) representation of homosexual men and the specific themes and objectives guiding each selected episode of Generations. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-Unversity of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This study seeks to evaluate how aspects of religion, culture, political context, education and class, amongst others, impact on the manner with which Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo residents make sense of media messages which explore issues of homosexuality, as encountered in the soap opera Generations. This is against the backdrop of Zimbabwean legislation, such as the Sexual Deviancy Act, which criminalises homosexuality and the state victimisation of gays and lesbians in this country. The inclusion of homosexual liberties was rejected by all political parties and both public and private media in the recent drafting of a new rule of law. The legislation, including gay rights exclusion in the new constitution, and state action has perpetuated an impression that Zimbabwe is a deeply homophobic society. As a starting point the study examines the claims of the media imperialism thesis which supposes an all-consuming power of western media and next examines Straubhaar’s thesis of ‘cultural proximity’ which argues that there is often a preference for regional media, which is proximate to viewers’ local culture, language and identity. The study explores the prominence of South Africa as a regional media player and that proximate identities with some cultures in that country have played a role in drawing some Bulawayo viewers to South African television, as they feel slighted by Zimbabwean media. Utilising qualitative research methods, the study explores whether or not the representation of gay images on this South African soap opera provides viewers with opportunities for ‘symbolic distancing’. The concept highlights that when people have insight into lifestyles that are different from their own, they use that as a resource to critically analyse their own lives and cultural understandings. The study evaluates if Bulawayo viewers’ sentiments towards homosexuality has been challenged and changed through their interface with the soap opera, Generations.

Clinical psychology’s relevance and future viability depend on its ability to render services that are relevant and sensitive to multicultural and minority issues. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are one such group that professional psychology – both in South Africa and abroad - has identified as having unique treatment needs for which psychologists require specialised knowledge and skills in order to render appropriate treatment. Competence to treat non-heterosexual patients has been framed in terms of a gay affirmative paradigm which has as its basic tenet the recognition that same-gender orientation is not pathological but rather a healthy alternative to heterosexuality. From this perspective being “gay friendly” or “gay accepting” is not enough. To implement a gay affirmative approach in practice, practitioners must have resolved their possible prejudice and heterosexist bias and have the requisite knowledge of concerns unique to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals to be able to apply their skills in a culturally sensitive manner. Although more American post-graduate psychology programmes are addressing sexual diversity, their failure to produce psychologists who feel competent to treat lesbian/gay or bisexual individuals has highlighted the need to develop effective training strategies based on empirical nvestigation. The dearth of comparable data about local South African psychology training prompted this inquiry which had four broad aims namely, (i) to establish to what extent trainees’ prior training had equipped them with the knowledge, awareness, and skills to approach their work with non-heterosexual patients in a gay affirmative manner, and (ii) to implement and (iii) to evaluate to what extent a brief structured training programme is effective in engaging the trainees; in increasing knowledge, in raising awareness, and in changing specific attitudes and imparting specific skills required for treating lesbian and gay patients.; and (iv) what, if any, recommendations should be made for the future with respect to training of sychologists in this area? The field of sexual orientation research has been expanded to include issues pertaining to bisexual, transgendered and intersexed people, but serious time constraints meant that issues pertaining to these groups could not be addressed in depth. Although the exclusion of these groups is problematic and may be seen as reinforcing their invisibility, it was decided to focus primarily on gay and lesbian issues s an introduction to same-sex orientation. It is envisaged that bisexual and transgender issues would be dealt with in depth in more advanced training. Nine trainee psychologists employed at hospitals in the greater Cape Town area volunteered to participate in the programme which comprised a series of two-hour experiential workshops offered once a week over six weeks. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The first stage entailed gathering information to better understand trainees’ existing level of competence. Individual interviews were conducted prior to the course to obtain data about their attitudes and perceptions regarding the need for such specialised training, and how qualified they considered themselves to be to treat LGB patients, and their experience in this regard. For the purpose of the over-all analysis information was also gathered about pertinent personal and social characteristics of the trainees, as well as their contact with lesbian/gay persons. In addition, an attitude survey and the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Counselling Self-efficacy Scale (LGB-CSI) were administered to obtain benchmarks against which change could be measured. The second stage involved the implementation of the educational programme and gathering information about trainees’ responses to its various components. This stage concentrated on discovering how individual trainees reacted to material on lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues and how they used the programme to improve their self-awareness and skills. The results indicate that local psychology training might not address same-gender orientation adequately, thus reinforcing trainees’ belief that sexual orientation is irrelevant, and that their generalist training equips them to work with gay/lesbian/bisexual patients. While the training strengthened existing positive attitudes, it was less effective in changing blatant antigay prejudice. However, both quantitative and qualitative data suggest that the programme increased individuals’ awareness and insight into their previously unrecognised heterosexist biases and created greater understanding of the effects of stigmatisation on sexual minority individuals. In addition, the training increased trainee’s sense of competence to provide affirmative treatment as evidenced by the significant differences between the pre- and post-training mean scores on the Relationship, Knowledge, and Advocacy Scales and between the mid- and post-training means scores on the Assessment and Awareness Scales of the LGB-CSI. Despite the limited generalisability of these findings on account of possible sampling bias, the need and value of such training was confirmed by trainees’ recommendation that this programme should be a mandatory offering in the first year of clinical psychology training.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / The South African constitution makes provision for the rights of gays and lesbians, and has legalized same-sex relationships. However, many people, including students in same-sex relationships continue to be harassed and maltreated. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of first entering students towards same-sex relationships at the University of Limpopo. A sample of 100 students (first entering students= 50, final level students = 50; with ages ranging from eighteen to forty five years), with a total number of twenty five (25) students drawn each of the four faculties at the university were selected using a convenience sampling method. Data was collected using the Homophobia Scale comprising of 25 close-ended questions which focus on behavioural, affective and cognitive attitudes towards gays and lesbians. Data were analysed using nominal data analysis and interpreted using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. The study results revealed that fifty two percent (52%) of first entering students at the University of Limpopo have negative attitudes towards same-sex relationships with seventy four percent (74%) of first-entering students having no knowledge regarding same-sex relationships. Seventy three percent (73%) of participants behave negatively towards people in same-sex relationships. The study is concluded by recommending that more similar studies that include larger sample of students from different universities and different racial backgrounds be conducted. The results of the study have implications for the University of Limpopo in when it comes to understanding and promoting knowledge about same-sex relationships.