Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-90).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northeastern University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 306-324). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-147). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--California School of Professional Psychology, 1990. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-171).

Thesis (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership--University of Maine, 2005. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-151).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Calgary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-247).

Sport sociologists have longed defined sport as a heterosexist institution where gay and lesbian athletes are stigmatized. However, the number of active gay and lesbian athletes who have disclosed their sexual identities in sport is increasing, and therefore deserving of attention and investigation. The present study examines why intercollegiate lesbian athletes disclose their sexual identities, how they disclose their sexual identities, and the perceived consequences of sexual identity disclosure in sport. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 self-identified lesbian athletes who disclosed their sexual identities while participating in intercollegiate sport. Unlike most past literature on disclosure, the present study approaches disclosure as an interactional process that involves a discloser, an audience, and a context. Motivational factors leading to disclosure included wanting to be perceived as an honest and "normal" person, further self-acceptance, the desire for closer friendships with teammates, an unwillingness to hide their intimate or sexual relationships with teammates, and tolerant sporting environments. Athletes' perceived consequences of disclosure included a personal sense of relief, more self-confidence, positive responses from teammates, closer friendships with their teammates, and the creation of more supportive environments. Respondents most commonly utilized implicit and reactive methods of disclosure; however, in some cases the lesbian athletes relied on teammates to tell others about their sexual identities. Unlike past literature, the disclosure experiences, and the overall sporting experiences of the lesbian athletes in the present study, were positive. Explanations concerning their positive experiences included a self-fulfilling prophesy, the liberal mentality of the universities they attended, the large number of lesbians on their teams, the implicit nature of disclosure, and greater tolerance for gays and lesbians in sport. Overall, approaching disclosure as an interactional process provided a more inclusive and sociological understanding of the disclosure experiences of lesbian athletes in sport. Future research should consider utilizing such a framework to investigate the disclosure experiences of gay and lesbian athletes in high school and professional sports.

abstract: The long-term impacts of bullying, stress, sexual prejudice and stigma against members of the LGBTQ population are both worrisome and expansive. Bullying among adolescents is one of the clearest and most well documented risks to adolescent health(Nansel et al., 2004; Wilkins-Shurmer et al., 2003; Wolke, Woods, Bloomfield, & Karstadt, 2001) The present study examined the influence of sexual orientation to severity of bullying experience, coping strategies, emotion regulation and the interaction of gender role endorsements in relation to coping and emotion regulation strategy prediction. Extensive research exists to support high victimization experiences in LGBT individuals (Birkett et al., 2009; Robert H DuRant et al., n.d.; Kimmel & Mahler, 2003; Mishna et al., 2009) and separately, research also indicates support of gender role non conformity, social stress and long term coping skills (Galambos et al., 1990; Sánchez et al., 2010; Tolman, Striepe, & Harmon, 2003b). The goal of this study was to extend previous finding to find a relationship between the three variables: sexual orientation, victimization history, and non-traditional gender role endorse and utilizing those traits as predictors of future emotion regulation and coping strategies. The data suggests that as a whole LGBT identified individuals experience bullying at a significantly higher rate than their heterosexual counterparts. By utilizing gender role endorsement the relationship can be expanded to predict maladaptive emotion regulation skills, higher rates of perceived stress and increased fear of negative evaluation in lesbian women and gay men. The data was consistent for all hypotheses in the model: sexual identity significantly predicts higher bully score and atypical gender role endorsement is a moderator of victimization in LGBT individuals. The findings indicate high masculine endorsement in lesbians and high feminine endorsement in gay males can significantly predict victimization and maladaptive coping skills, emotion dysregulation, increased stress, and lack of emotional awareness. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Psychology 2012

This thesis explores the relationship between 1970s lesbian-feminist theory and praxis through analysis of the cultural production and lived experiences of Jean and Ruth Mountaingrove, two members of a loose-knit community of back-to-the-land lesbian-feminist separatists in southern Oregon. The Mountaingroves published several successful lesbian-feminist publications from the 1970s until the mid-1980s, as well as incorporating lesbian feminism into all aspects of their personal lives, in essence politicizing their whole lives. The interconnection between the Mountaingroves' personal, public, and professional lives illustrates some of the overarching changes lesbian-feminist theory initiated through the politicization of identity and isolation from men, as well as the boundary-making and contradictions that occurred when lesbian feminists attempted to integrate theory into their personal lives. Through the Mountaingroves' story we can see the fruitful unifying nature of lesbian-feminist theory and culture and the many paradoxes inherent in the politics of identity on public and private levels.