Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Northern British Columbia, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-60).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-143).

No description available.

Researchers examining clinically-relevant trends for sexual minority women have found evidence of psychological distress and greater utilization of mental health services compared to heterosexually-identified women. However, the results of many research studies with this population have methodological limitations surrounding recruitment of participants, cross-sectional methods, and participant report of clinical services utilized. Few researchers have sought to analyze actual clinical presentation, service utilization, or clinical outcome of sexual minority women in a treatment-setting. This study is an in-depth clinical analysis of 215 sexual minority woman who sought services at a large Midwestern university counseling center over a period of two years and nine months. The analyses conducted allowed for the initial clinical presentation, service utilization, and clinical outcome of sexual minority women to be described and compared to comparative samples of service-seeking female college students. Sexual minority women were found to have a greater incidence of prior suicidality and prior counseling compared to heterosexual women at the same agency. Sexual minority women also reported greater symptoms of social anxiety, eating concerns, and family distress than heterosexual women at the same agency. Of seven examined predictors of service utilization, sexual minority identity label, age, and academic term of service initiation differentiated brief and extended service utilization from moderate service utilization. Prior use of counseling, psychological distress, racial-ethnic minority status, and time in the semester of initiation of services were not significant predictors of service utilization. Implications and limitations of these findings are presented, and future directions for research and intervention are discussed.

Master of Arts / Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Nadezda Shapkina / Using a historical comparative analysis, this thesis explores the convergence and divergence of the gay and lesbian rights movement and the transgender rights movement. Historically, these movements have been closely related to each other. In the 1960s, the gay and lesbian rights movement and the transgender rights movement had very similar beginnings. However, the organizations that advocated for gay and lesbian rights marginalized the rights of transgender people, even though both movements were working against similar forms of oppression. While the gay and lesbian rights movement began to include transgender rights into organizations in the 1990s there were still indications that the needs of transgender people are not always met in the LGBT movement. The current steps in the LGBT movement have suggested an attempt to be more inclusive of the transgender rights movement, however there are still signs that the needs of more marginalized members of the LGBT movement are not being met. The thesis suggests an importance of coalition building in social movements to be more able to address intersecting forms of discrimination. It also explores how with diverging interests there is conflict in coalition building.

This thesis considers how the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities of Plymouth have performed and signified their own culture and identities during the period 1950 to 2012. Its source materials were largely generated by conducting oral history interviews with members of Plymouth’s LGB and T communities. This resulted in the creation of an archive which included thirty-seven interviews conducted with twenty-four individuals. These interviews, in conjunction with other uncovered archival memorabilia, now form a specific LGBT collection with Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. This PhD thesis interrogates this newly created community archive accession, using theories of performance as a tool, to consider how differing narratives and histories have been constructed, reproduced, contested and maintained. Pride, as a political concept in LGBT culture, is linked to the belief that individuals should maintain and display a sense of dignity in relation to their sexual orientation or gender role as a response to the stigmatisation traditionally associated with being LGB or T. This study tests the relevance of the concept of pride for the lived experience of LGBT communities in Plymouth, concluding that it needs to be understood within personal narratives rather than as primarily manifested in outward-facing forms of performance (such as a parade or a public event). Particularly significant in this regard is the “coming out narrative”. The thesis identifies spaces which, for various reasons, came to be accepted as safe places to accommodate sexual and gender differences in Plymouth in the 1950s and 60s. These strongly reflect Plymouth's location as a port, in combination with the fact that it has played host to each of the armed forces. It considers the impact of international public displays of gay pride from the Stonewall riots in the US through to performances as protest employed by groups such as Outrage! and legislation as Section 28 of the Local Government Act in the UK. The thesis concludes by considering the author’s role in, and wider impact of, the “Pride in Our Past” exhibition, which took place at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery (April-June 2012) as part of this research project.

In Cameroon, as in many other African countries, there is a law prohibiting same-sex relationships. The relevant provision, Article 347bis of the Cameroonian Penal Code (Law No 65-LF-24 of 12 November and Law No 67-LF-1 of 12 June 1967), states as follows: “Whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same-sex shall be punished with imprisonment for from six months to five years and fine from 20 000 to 200 000 francs.” This study assesses the law criminalizing same-sex relationships in Cameroon as being discriminatory and encouraging a homophobic society and as contributing to the stigmatization and marginalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Both State and non-State actors in Cameroon do not accept the practice of homosexuality due to the conservative nature of traditional cultural values and religious beliefs. Consequently, presumed LGBT people are frequently harassed, persecuted and arbitrarily arrested on suspicion of their sexual identity. Moreover, the rejection and denial of LGBT people make them live in fear and hiding. It also exposes them to the greatest risk of HIV infection. It is argued in this study that the criminalisation of consensual same-sex conducts violates the rights to privacy, equality, fair trial, human dignity and the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Cameroon Constitution and the various international human rights instruments that Cameroon has ratified. It also deprives LGBT people of their rights to education and health merely on the basis of them being who they are. The finding from this study indicates that the law alone is not enough to make a social change. Perspective and inputs from other disciplines such as Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Science of Education need to enhance the arguments for the decriminalisation of same-sex conduct. This study also shows the harmful impact that the law criminalising same-sex behaviour has on LGBT people as well as the society as a whole. Thus, it is very important for the Cameroonian government to take the first step towards decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in order to respect its obligation to respect, promote, protect and fulfil everyone‟s human rights without distinction of any, according to its international commitments and agreements. The government should also take a great and dynamic initiative regarding the educational aspect because education is a vital key for significant progress and change. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The study used a survey design to ascertain the levels of knowledge and attitudes of special education and non-special education preservice and inservice teachers towards students with different sexual orientations. The results of this study are based on 408 responses from preservice and inservice teachers enrolled at seven institutions of higher education within North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia offering teacher training programs in regular and/or special education. Two previously developed instruments were used to measure dependent variables in this study. Koch's modified version of The Knowledge about Homosexuality Questionnaire developep by Harris, Nightengale & Owen was used to measure the dependent variable of the preservice and inservice teacher's knowledge about homosexuality. Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men (ATLG) measured the dependent variable of attitudes towards homosexuals. The study found no significant differences reported mean scores for knowledge or attitude of homosexuality among the teacher groups surveyed: (a) special education preservice teachers, (b) non-special education preservice teachers, (c) special education inservice teachers, and (d) non-special education inservice teachers. Neither gender nor age were found to be factors in measures of knowledge or attitude of preservice or inservice teachers. Receiving prior instruction in serving the needs of GLBT students, or with a focus GLBT issues, contributed to higher levels of knowledge and more positive attitudes. This research identified current levels of knowledge and attitudes of preservice and inservice teachers towards GLBT youth, and this information may help outline areas of possible changes necessary in teacher preparation programs, research, and policy.

Contemporary music analysts have generally downplayed the relevance of composer intent, a dismissal which ignores the potential for an enhanced expressive context afforded by composers' own assessments and also contributes to the silencing of already othered voices, such as in the case of queer and trans composers. Allowing the trans composer a voice in the reading of their work affirms the integral part of the trans experience that is self-determination. Over time, this project to tell trans stories evolved into a series of vignette-like analyses of trans composers’ works in which I use a methodology that incorporates the voices of living composers while building on and modifying the work of music theorists and queer theorists, and moving queer musicology towards a new trans musicology that includes non-binary genders. This thesis demonstrates my theoretical framework using interviews of six transgender composers to supplement my analyses of their works. By analyzing the work with the added context of the composer’s statements about their own music, my analyses paint more nuanced and complete pictures of the work that reinvest music analysis with the trans voice behind the composition.

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore and describe how two gay male parents transitioned to parenthood. The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) theoretical model was used as the theoretical framework for understanding the experiences of the two participants in the study. The study also used an interpretivist paradigm and explorative case study design. The participants were purposely selected, and the data were generated by means of a semi-structured interview. The findings indicate that the participants experienced similar resistance from their families of origin after ‘coming out’ to them. The ability of one of the participants to become a parent was questioned. The participants in the study, like most couples, considered various factors such as their financial situation and their medical aid benefits before they decided to become parents. They also had to consider their pathway to parenthood, which in their case was adoption. The participants faced many challenges during the adoption process such as finding a country that allowed gay men to adopt, having limited adoption options due to changes in the law, and trying to get paternity leave. They reported that as parents they felt marginalised by the school system and also by having to deal with insensitive and uncomfortable questions from members of society about their family identity. Their children also experienced bullying at school. They were, however, able to establish a strong family and felt fulfilled in their role as parents. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted