Due to a lack of understanding lesbian and gay lived experiences in counseling, the counseling field is also lacking understanding of the lesbian and gay experiences in counseling that lead to premature termination. Without the knowledge of personal understanding of these experiences, it is difficult to also understand how to retain lesbian and gay clients, provide appropriate counselor training, and even explore cultural humility. The term cultural humility represents the implicit and explicit impact that culture has on the counselor and challenges assumptions made by the practitioner as well as assumptions about client culture (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015). The experiences of the lesbian and gay population are not well documented and are lacking in the research. Utilizing Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) and the hermeneutic phenomenology of Van Manen (2016), this research study explored insight about lesbian and gay adult lived experiences who have terminated counseling prematurely. Hand coding was used to explore the narratives of 6 participants that generated 4 major themes and 11 subordinate themes. Themes included therapeutic alliance, interpersonal interference, ethical boundaries, cultural humility/cultural misunderstanding, and cultural invalidation. The results of this study gave a voice to the participants' challenges in counseling and offered awareness into what helped retain the participants and what might have implicated early termination. A better understanding of these experiences may equip counselors and counselors in training about the lesbian and gay adult population in counseling, how to retain them, and give clues to understanding ongoing cultural dissonance in counseling.

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What is happening on the dance floor at the gay and lesbian dance parties? What are lesbians and gay men doing when they dance? This thesis presents a project in performance research that takes as its locus on investigation the dance parties that have been produced annually by gay and lesbian organisations in Sydney since the early 1980s. In particular, it focuses on the largest of these dance parties, Mardi Gras Party and Sleaze Ball, during a period of research from 1994 to 1998. Harnessing these resources, the thesis aims at investigating how dance parties sustain an ongoing salience for gay men and lesbians in Sydney. On the basis of ethnographic research, performance documentation, and movement analysis, the investigation pursues an analytical trajectory across the making of dance parties within a subcultural scene, to the doing of dance parties as performance events, and then onto the dance floor as a site for performative practice. Responding to a persistent debate about straights at the parties, the anlayses register the salience of dancing as an etiquette of doing dance party as it is done, as a queer kinaesthesia sustained on the dance floor, and as an occasional community danced into existence. The thesis attests to the pertinence of analysing movement. It analyses the mobility of practice, rather than its textual residue; the kinaesthesia of performative identities, rather than their morphological contours; and the choregraphy of community, rather than its substantive contents. Recognising that queer theory too has an interest in movement, in proliferating metaphors for the mobility of queer identifications and desires, the thesis argues in conclusion that such metaphors represent imaginative flights of fancy to the extent that they fail to grasp the corporeality of queer kinaesthesia / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Lesbian-identified women are choosing to become parents in increasing numbers. This 'lesbian baby boom' has implications for midwives and their practice. The purpose of this study was to gain insight and understanding of planned pregnancy from a lesbian perspective, in order to facilitate the provision of appropriate care for lesbian mothers and their families.The methodology used for the study was radical hermeneutics informed by lesbian feminism and queer poststructuralism. Purposive sampling identified ten lesbian-identified mothers and conversational interviews with the participants yielded rich data about the phenomenon of inquiry. Thematic analysis of the data was foregrounded by a discussion of the socio-political context.A number of findings emerged from the study. Careful pre-conceptual planning reflected a highly responsible approach to parenting. The women's partners felt uncertain about their parenting role and experienced a lack of acknowledgement by the wider community. Despite legal access to assisted fertility, the participants usually sought an involved father for their child. Lesbian mothers expressed a preference for a lesbian midwife and all experienced homophobic attitudes from healthcare professionals. Queer families included mothers and their partners, fathers and their partners, children, families-of-origin, and close friends.Recommendations from the study include the provision of safe and supportive workplaces for lesbian-identified midwives, the use of inclusive language such as partner and parent, acknowledgement of the woman's partner as a co-parent, midwifery resources featuring same-sex parents and midwifery education covering diverse family forms.

Many researchers and academics argue that there is a significant disparity in the rates of attempted and successful suicide between the GLBT and the heterosexual community. Anecdotal evidence has also suggested this for well over a century. There appears to be several unique phenomena that intersect to place this minority at greater risk of suicidality. Heteronormativity, heterosexism, homophobia, rejection, bullying, violence, isolation, negative self-image and discrimination have all been implicated as significant contributing factors in increased suicidality within GLBT youth. It is the intersection of these issues as they relate to the GLBT youth that this thesis seeks to investigate with the view to inform progressive and sensitive social work practice in the future. / Honours thesis

<p>The aim of this essay is to answer the question of how – in what ways – Jeanette Wintersons Written on the Body and Sarah Waters’ Tipping the Velvet are queer texts. My method is that of a thematic analysis, focusing on words and phenomenon related to definitions of the multi facetted term “queer”. The analysis covers themes of lesbian focus, performativity, performance, speech-acts, and heteronormative and queer relationships. My results are presented in a dialogue between the novels themes and queer theory, foremost represented by Judith Butler. My conclusion is that the literary texts are indeed queer, in several ways, and that both of them, although different, serve important queer purposes.</p>

This study explored lesbian identity development and the relationship between Oregon State University campus climate as reported by 35 lesbian students. Identity development was measured by using Cass's (1984b) Stage Allocation Measure (SAM) which is a self-select tool for determining stage of lesbian identity development. The SAM was then used to create a three stage identity development model. Herek's (1986) Sexual Orientation Survey (SOS) was used to examine the campus climate as experienced by lesbian students. Findings showed that 63% of the participants felt it was important to disclose their sexual orientation to members of OSU's campus. Yet, 69% of the respondents did not feel comfortable doing so. Also, 51% of the respondents reported fearing for their safety, and because of this, 47% of all respondents modified their behavior. The results of this study indicate there are additional factors that contribute to these findings. For example, 89% of the participants reported hearing disparaging remarks; 94% felt the possibility of harassment, violence or physical attacks was likely; and 91% believed discrimination and unequal treatment towards lesbian, gay or bisexual persons at OSU was very likely. These findings were reported by equal numbers of individuals in each stage of their identity development. The results of this study indicate that lesbian students at OSU suffer from similar negative experiences as students who attended Emory University (1987), Pennsylvania State University (1987), Rutgers University (1987) and Yale University (1986) where the SOS was also used to measure campus climate. Recommendations for changes at Oregon State were creation of a "safe zone" and programs for retention of lesbian students, increasing visibility of the President's Commission on Hate Related Activities, and making the OSU community a safe place for women administrators and faculty role models to come out. Additional research was also recommended to examine the OSU campus climate as experienced by gay male students and lesbian and gay faculty members. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-174).

This single case study was created to investigate one lesbian parented family's experiences in family, social, and educational systems to gain perspective on their overall happiness. In depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with two lesbian parents currently raising three children. After data collection and analysis, the researcher constructed six findings based on the primary research questions. The study determined that regardless of minor discrimination in the systems, the parents and their children have positive experiences in their family, social, and educational systems. The parents also offered ideas about political and social changes that would improve their lives. Overall, the study determined that regardless of negative experiences based on their sexual orientation, the parents believe that all members of the family are happy and proud of their family unit. / School of Education / Community Counseling / MS / Thesis