Definitions of sexual orientation are reflections of theoretical positions within the essentialist versus social constructionist debate. A cognitive sociological approach to analyzing the positions within this debate allows theorists and researchers to be aware of three distinct theoretical positions or thought communities: natural kinds thought community, social kinds thought community, and empty kinds thought community. Standard content analysis and grounded theory methods are used to analyze the principles, strategies, and practices each thought community uses to mark group membership into various sexual categories. The analysis reveals that each theoretical perspective is marking group membership differently.

In this dissertation I investigate how individuals group others into sexual orientation (SO) categories based on a target's known sexual behaviors and romantic interests. I hypothesize that individuals known to have any non-heterosexual sexual or romantic interests are more likely to be perceived as "gay" (and not "straight") even when there is clear evidence of heterosexual interests and behaviors as well. This phenomenon has been termed "heterosexual exclusivity" in this work. In the process, I examine relevant writings and research on SO, including works related to SO in history, the conceptualization and measurement of SO, determinants of and influences on SO, the essentialism and social constructionism debate with regard to SO, innate bisexuality, and bisexual erasure. Additionally, I give specific focus to how and why men are affected by, as well as perpetuate heterosexual exclusivity. In doing so, I examine writings and research on the role and construction of masculinity as well as homophobia and the overlap of the two. I hypothesize that adherence to traditional masculinity and increased homophobia are predictive of increased heterosexual exclusivity in men. I also hypothesize that men are more likely to be the primary agents and targets of heterosexual [exclusivity]. The results supported most of these hypotheses. / text

Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender young people face a landscape of prejudice and intolerance when first coming to terms with their identities. In these moments of confusion, they often turn to their parents for support, yet parents often lack the information and resources necessary to support their LGBT child. The outcomes project interviews LGBT people about their "coming out" experience, and presents their video interviews a multi-platform website. The interviews appear alongside written accounts that highlight common themes encountered in research. The website also links to well-sourced resources for parents coming to terms with a child's disclosure. By telling these stories in a context that encourages an empathetic response, The outcomes project aims to give parents the information and understanding they need to support their LGBT child. / text

Like many other people I have thought about the biblical understanding of homosexuality. Because of my previous study on sexual purity before marriage and the exegetical work done on key biblical passages for that study, I thought I understood where the real issues lay regarding the subject of homosexuality. This study is an attempt to contribute to the current discussion in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa on the topic of homosexuality. In bringing this study to its final format I have received the indispensable help of others. First and foremost I wish to express my gratitude to my promoter, Professor Fika J van Rensburg. I am indebted to him beyond what mere words could convey in terms of gratitude. Our academic relationship spans five years and has developed into a warm friendship. It has been to my matchless benefit to be associated with him. I have profited much from his biblical knowledge, scholarly experience and overall passion and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. I also want to thank Reverend Erlo Stegen of Mission Kwasizabantu for his support and spiritual guidance. It is very special to be associated with a person who preaches the Word of God unambiguously and who has given and dedicated his life to Christ and Christ alone. Through his dedication Mission Kwasizabantu had become a home to the spiritual homeless and a refuge for the spiritual weary. The Mission has also been my home since 1994. I would like to express appreciation to Dr Andre van Niekerk and the North-West University for the financial support to complete this study. It is my prayer that the critical reader of this thesis will acknowledge that the money was well invested. I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to my friend, Reverend Frits van der Menve, for proofreading the manuscript. A special word of thanks to the personnel of the Ferdinand Postma and Jan Lion Cachet Libraries for their help and assistance. All my requests were always met with a smile and helpful attitude. All work done for me was executed in a spirit of kindness and benevolence. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife Andra and my son Chris, whose lives are inextricably bound with my own and who shared in the sacrifices associated with this study. / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Darbe iškelta hipotezė, kad netradicinės seksualinės orientacijos asmenys turi taikių susirinkimų laisvę. Siekiant patvirtinti arba paneigti hipotezę, atlikta teorinė taikių susirinkimų laisvės ir seksualinės orientacijos koncepcijų analizė, nagrinėtos tarptautinės žmogaus teisių apsaugos dokumentų normos, reglamentuojančios taikių susirinkimų laisvę ir apžvelgtas šių normų aiškinimas teisminėje praktikoje. Apžvelgtas nediskriminacijos principo seksualinės orientacijos pagrindu įtvirtinimas tarptautinės žmogaus teisių apsaugos dokumentuose bei jo praktinio taikymo aspektas. Atlikta taikių susirinkimų laisvės ir nediskriminacijos principo seksualinės orientacijos pagrindu reglamentavimo apžvalga atskirų valstybių vidaus teisės aktuose. Analizuotos Lietuvos teisės aktų normos, reguliuojančios diskriminacijos seksualinės orientacijos pagrindu draudimą, pateikiami konkretūs pavyzdžiai bei aprašomas taikių susirinkimų laisvės reglamentavimas ir praktinis jos įgyvendinimas. / The hypothesis of the work is that the homosexuals have the freedom of peaceful assembly. The first part of the work describes the terms related to the freedom of peaceful assembly, the sorts of assemblies, main principles determining the proper regulation of this freedom and legal restrictions of the freedom of assembly. The aspects of sexual orientation are discussed and the brief history of homosexual movements is presented. The second part of the work analyzes the provisions of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, American Convention on Human Rights and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, regulating the prohibition of discrimination and freedom of peaceful assembly. Also there are analyzed the primary and secondary legal acts of the European Union, which form the EU policy on the protection of human rights. The third part of the work is dedicated to the analysis of the national legal base of the United States of America, Canada, South African Republic, Finland and Poland, which regulate the freedom of peaceful assembly and protection of homosexuals. The last part of the work reviews the Lithuanian legal norms regulating the prohibition of the discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, presents the concrete examples and describes the regulation of freedom of peaceful assembly and its practical implementation.

This thesis is a participatory research study that was conducted amongst twenty-two, 15 to 20-year-old youth with disabilities in the Umgungundlovu district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of the thesis was to investigate how Zulu-speaking youth with physical and sensory impairments bring into discourse issues surrounding love, relationships, sex and HIV & AIDS in the construction of their sexual identities. As part of this process, three youth with disabilities were trained as co-researchers. In this context, a further aim of this thesis was to make evident what youth with disabilities learn through undertaking sexuality research. Using a post-structural framework, with particular emphasis on queer theory, a key argument of this thesis is that power emerges through the networks of relations in the study. This thesis also troubles the linear discourse of empowerment and the relationships between adults and young people in sexuality and HIV & AIDS research. The thesis adopted a qualitative methodology and used a participatory research design. Data was collected through the use of focus group discussions, individual interviews and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques such as drawings and timelines. The co-researchers were responsible for carrying out the focus group discussions and individual interviews with other disabled youth, as well as being involved in some aspects of the data analysis of this thesis. Data were analysed using a multi-levelled process that combined both content analysis and discourse analysis. The findings make evident that youth with disabilities are sexual beings who continually re-construct their sexual identities in the context of the discourses available to them. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that, in constructing their sexual identities, youth with disabilities do so within the intersectionality of complementary and contentious discourses of gender, culture, modernity, ableism and adultism. In relation to the co-researchers, it was found that being part of the study provided a dialogical space allowing them to develop new self-positions, which they were able to apply to their personal lives outside the research arena. The thesis recommends the training of youth with disabilities as peer educators in sexuality and HIV & AIDS pedagogy. It also strongly argues for the need to review current teacher education curriculum in South Africa in order to take cognisance of the sexuality of youth with disabilities and their vulnerability to HIV & AIDS. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Magister Legum - LLM

Like many other people I have thought about the biblical understanding of homosexuality. Because of my previous study on sexual purity before marriage and the exegetical work done on key biblical passages for that study, I thought I understood where the real issues lay regarding the subject of homosexuality. This study is an attempt to contribute to the current discussion in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa on the topic of homosexuality. In bringing this study to its final format I have received the indispensable help of others. First and foremost I wish to express my gratitude to my promoter, Professor Fika J van Rensburg. I am indebted to him beyond what mere words could convey in terms of gratitude. Our academic relationship spans five years and has developed into a warm friendship. It has been to my matchless benefit to be associated with him. I have profited much from his biblical knowledge, scholarly experience and overall passion and love for the Lord Jesus Christ. I also want to thank Reverend Erlo Stegen of Mission Kwasizabantu for his support and spiritual guidance. It is very special to be associated with a person who preaches the Word of God unambiguously and who has given and dedicated his life to Christ and Christ alone. Through his dedication Mission Kwasizabantu had become a home to the spiritual homeless and a refuge for the spiritual weary. The Mission has also been my home since 1994. I would like to express appreciation to Dr Andre van Niekerk and the North-West University for the financial support to complete this study. It is my prayer that the critical reader of this thesis will acknowledge that the money was well invested. I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to my friend, Reverend Frits van der Menve, for proofreading the manuscript. A special word of thanks to the personnel of the Ferdinand Postma and Jan Lion Cachet Libraries for their help and assistance. All my requests were always met with a smile and helpful attitude. All work done for me was executed in a spirit of kindness and benevolence. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife Andra and my son Chris, whose lives are inextricably bound with my own and who shared in the sacrifices associated with this study. / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

This study explores how Christian MLM in Lusaka-Zambia understand their sexual orientation and the imago Dei amidst the general teachings of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, Zambia Episcopal Conference and the Council of Churches in Zambia on same-sex orientation and the imago Dei. A plethora of literature about same-sex orientation and the imago Dei reveals that the heterosexism is generally regarded as the authentic image of God while same-sex orientation continues to be regarded as an affront to the image of God. Hence the need to merge the two terms “same-sex orientation” and “imago Dei” in order to deconstruct and reconstruct how sexuality and God are understood within prevailing theologies, using emerging theologies from Zambian Christian Men who Love other Men. This study is framed within postcolonial and queer theories. Focus group discussions were audio-taped and transcribed and field notes taken. Themes are determined, analyzed and interpreted using recurring and unanimously held incipient voices of Christian MLM. Study participants’ views bring to fore that they understand their sexual orientation as being inborn and that they are wonderfully and fearfully created in the image of God. They also view themselves as being the image of God since they love other men, thereby, exhibiting God’s qualities which are love, justice and mercy. The study also found that Christian MLM do not feel welcome in affluent churches, unlike in churches on the outskirts, due to anti-same-sex messages preached in affluent churches. Furthermore, the study discovered that the churches use the Biblical creation accounts to condemn the practice of same-sex orientation and regard persons of same-sex orientation as sinful, satanic and sick. The study concludes that Christian MLM are created in the image of God, and hence recommends revisiting the theology of complementarity and an inculcation of hermeneutics of love in understanding sexuality and God. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Background: Research suggests sexual minority women have higher rates of substance use and mental health problems than straight women. Specifically, past studies have shown alcohol consumption and dependence rates are higher among sexual minority women, in addition to use of some drugs. Similarly, research shows mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide rates are elevated among sexual minority women. These differences in mental health and substance use characteristics by sexual orientation may be explained by the negative health effects of social marginalization and the common use of drinking establishments for sexual minorities. Objective: The objective of this thesis is to compare substance use and mental health characteristics between lesbian/bisexual women and straight women, including: a) demographic variables; b) alcohol and drug consumption and dependence; c) the social context of substance use (i.e., use with others, motivations to use and locations of use); and, d) mental health characteristics. Methods: Data were obtained from a sample of residential treatment clients in treatment for primarily alcohol and/or cocaine problems. Respondents were asked to fill out self-administered questionnaires, which included details on demographics, substance use, mental health and the social context of use, as well as information on sexual orientation and gender identity. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine differences by sexual orientation. Results: Some sexual orientation differences were found regarding alcohol consumption and dependence during bivariate analysis. In logistic regression results, methamphetamine use was significantly (p<.01) elevated among bisexual women and tranquilizers use was elevated among lesbian and bisexual women when compared to straight women. Bivariate analysis revealed lesbian and bisexual women reported higher levels on motivations to use, but this difference was not significant in multivariate regression results. After regression adjustments, lesbian and bisexual women had higher levels of anxiety and higher rates of suicide attempts. Lastly, lesbian and bisexual women reported substance use with sex workers and sex clients more often than straight women, but no other differences in location and motivations to use were seen in the regression results. Conclusion: Among this sample of residential treatment clients, some mental health and substance use characteristic differences were found. These finding can assist in determining the best treatment practices for sexual minority women. / Graduate / 0347