This thesis examines the important role of female same-sex relationships in nineteenth-century literature and culture. Whilst drawing directly upon Sharon Marcus's recent book, Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England, a revisionary queer reading of inter-dependent same-sex female intimacy and mainstream middle-class heteronormative ideals, my own study extends the parameters of Marcus's work by focussing on alternative contexts and previously overlooked same-sex female relationships. This thesis argues that the culturally endorsed model of Victorian female homosociality identified by Marcus was subject to disruption and transformation both within and beyond the institutions of marriage and the family. It concludes that various forms (rather than one definitive model) of homosocial desire shaped nineteenth-century female bonding. In the first chapter I explore the unstable social status of working middle-class women, and identify instances of employer/employee female intimacy organised upon a disturbance or reversal of social hierarchy. In the second chapter I demonstrate how the ideal of female amity was inevitably undermined in the literary marketplace, and that whilst women writers were engaged in constructing and disseminating this ideal in their novels, they were also embroiled in a series of professional jealousies with one another which served to undo the very ideal they were promoting. In the second part of this chapter I highlight the pluralism of mainstream homoerotic femininity by examining Dinah Mulock Craik's fictional representation of homoerotic surveillance manifest in a culturally endorsed adolescent female gaze. In the third chapter I challenge Marcus's claim that well-known independent nineteenth-century lesbians were fully accommodated into mainstream 'respectable' society by demonstrating that some of these women informed Eliza Lynn Linton's homophobic portrait of radical feminist separatism. I also explore in this chapter Linton's fictional representation of sororal eroticism, and argue that (notwithstanding mother/daughter bonds) Linton, like many of her contemporaries, regarded sisterhood as the primary bond between women. I also evidence in this chapter that Linton's portrait of 'sororophobia' is comparable with cultural ideals regarding the important function that female friends had in facilitating one another's marriage.

Same-sex experiences are more prevalent than is thought. Individuals often engage in same-sex behaviours in order to understand their same-sex attractions, which may result in the incorrect integration of a homosexual or bisexual sexual identity. Same-sex behaviour may also lead to feelings of guilt and shame, and can result in confusion regarding sexual identity, which could ultimately influence the successful integration of a sexual identity (a key developmental task during adolescence) and subsequent stages of an individual’s life. This study investigated how young males experienced their sexual identity after having same-sex experiences. In order to better understand these experiences, this study also looked at sexual identity and its development from a psychosocial approach. In addition, this study also took a phenomenological approach into account to better understand how young males understand their same-sex experiences within their socio-cultural context. The qualitative research method was used because it aims to understand how people make sense of their everyday lives and foregrounds participants’ perceptions and experiences. When researching human behaviour, context and behaviour cannot be separated and therefore a phenomenological design was used. The population included five young males who lived in the Boland and Northern suburbs of the Western Cape and who have had same-sex experiences. The participants were selected utilizing the non-probability (convenient purposive) sampling technique, however, the sampling procedure also made use of snowball sampling. Biographically, the participants were between the ages of 18 and 24, and had different sexual orientations. The participants included black and white students who spoke Afrikaans or English, and originated from different provinces in South Africa. Data were collected through a two-part semi-structured interview. The first interview focused on questions about the participants’ sexual preference and identity, same-sex experiences and support system. During the second interview participants were asked to make a collage representing how they viewed their sexual identity with regards to the same-sex experiences they have had. This interview also focused on member checking. The collages and member checking served as forms of triangulation. Data were transcribed and analysed by means of a content analysis that focused on four main categories. These categories corresponded to four main questions that formed part of the first interview. The researcher concluded that each participant experienced his sexual identity and same-sex encounters differently and that none of them experienced the development of their sexual identity as ‘natural’ or as something that was present from birth. They all experienced confusion and conflict about their sexual preference because it was in contrast to their sociocultural context. Same-sex experiences were the result of confusion but also caused confusion and this confusion was mostly experienced in the earlier life stages. More research is needed on the heterosexual identity development of heterosexual identified individuals who have same-sex experiences, so that these individuals can also be accommodated within a sexuality. The development of programmes for therapeutic and/or educational purposes, that focus on the sexual identity and sexual identity development of adolescents, must also be considered in future research. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Vis daugiau pasaulio valstybių įteisina tos pačios lyties asmenų santuokas arba partnerystes, homoseksualioms poroms leidžiama ir įsivaikinti. Tai neigiamai paveikia visą visuomenę, bet labiausiai – vaikus, šeimą ir santuoką. Šio licenciato baigiamojo darbo tikslas – atskleisti tos pačios lyties asmenų sąjungų iššūkius santuokos ir šeimos institutams. Pirmojoje darbo dalyje pateikiamas Katalikų Bažnyčios mokymas homoseksualumo klausimu, randamas Šventajame Rašte, Katalikų Bažnyčios katekizme ir Tikėjimo mokslo kongregacijos išleistuose dokumentuose. Antrojoje dalyje atskleidžiama santuokos bei šeimos prigimtis ir esminiai bruožai – kas yra santuoka, kas jos autorius, jos tikslai ir gėriai; taip pat paaiškinama, kodėl tos pačios lyties asmenų sąjunga nėra ir negali būti santuoka. Trečiojoje darbo dalyje pagrindžiama tos pačios lyties asmenų sąjungų įteisinimo keliama grėsmė santuokai, šeimai ir krikščioniškajai civilizacijai, parodoma, kokios pražūtingos yra šio įteisinimo pasekmės. Darbo rezultatai – padarytos išvados, kad homoseksualiõs sąjungos jokiu būdu negalima sulyginti su santuoka ir kad tokių sąjungų įteisinimui negalima pritarti. Tos pačios lyties sąjungos visiškai nepanašios į santuoką: jos nėra nei asmenis jungiančios, nei prokreacinės. Santuoka yra malonės bei šventumo šaltinis abiem sutuoktiniams ir visai šeimai, o tos pačios lyties sąjungos tokios nėra. Tos pačios lyties asmenų sąjungų įteisinimas atneš daug blogų pasekmių. Bus keičiamas žmonių supratimas apie... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / More and more countries in the world legally recognize same-sex marriages or civil partnerships and allow homosexual couples to adopt children. This has a negative impact on society as a whole, but especially on children, family and marriage. The objective of the research is therefore to reveal the challenges of same-sex unions to the institutions of marriage and family. In the first part of this master's thesis the Magisterium of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality is presented. It is found in Scripture, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in the documents published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the second part of the thesis the nature and essential characteristics of marriage and family are revealed: what is marriage, who is its author, what are its objectives and goods; it is also explained why the same-sex union is not and can not be marriage. In the third part of the thesis the danger of legal recognition of same-sex unions to marriage, family and the Christian civilization is reasoned, it is shown that the consequences of this legal recognition are disastrous. The results of the research are the following conclusions: homosexual union in any case can not be compared with the marriage and therefore it is not appropriate to support the legal recognition of such unions. The same-sex unions are entirely different from marriage: they are neither unitive nor procreative. Marriage is a source of grace and holiness for both spouses... [to full text]

People engage in sex for a wide variety of reasons and these reasons can differ depending on the individual, his or her partner, and on the context of the sexual encounter. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine how sexual attraction and sexual orientation, of both self and partner, affect an individual’s reasons to engage in sex, or sexual motivation. Three studies were conducted to explore these effects from both the individual’s and the partner’s perspective. In Study 1, individual attitudes toward having casual sex, dating, and being in a committed relationship with a bisexual partner of the other gender were examined in a sample of 720 men and women. Participants reported negative attitudes toward having these relationships and more negative attitudes were reported as the commitment level of the considered relationship increased. Women also reported more negative attitudes and greater insecurity toward relationships than men. In Study 2, the psychometric properties of a comprehensive research tool, the Why Have Sex? (YSEX?) questionnaire to use in Study 3 for the study of sexual motivation were evaluated in a sample of 146 women with same-sex attraction. Overall, the reliability of this scale was excellent for casual sex motivations and motivations for sex in committed relationships with female partners. In Study 3, motivations for sex and the effects of relationship context, sexual attraction, and the gender of one’s partner were explored in a sample of 510 women including women with same-sex attraction and women with exclusively heterosexual attraction. Results of this study showed that relationship context had the largest effect on sexual motivation; physical motivations were more strongly endorsed for casual sex while emotional motivations were more strongly endorsed for sex in committed relationships. No effect of sexual attraction was reported. Further, no effect of gender of partner was reported by sexual minority women. The results of this dissertation have important implications for the study of sexual motivation, specifically as it relates to sexual attraction and orientation. Motivations for sex are likely to be affected by an individual’s attitudes and perceptions of his or her partner’s sexual orientation and associated stereotypes. In addition, the type of sexual relationship and associated level of commitment had strong, differential effects on sexual motivation. This is a novel finding as the context of the sexual relationship has not previously been considered with respect to individual motivations for sex. Henceforth, studies on sexual motivation need to be more contextualized and include more comprehensive assessments of individuals to increase the validity of findings and demonstrate the complex variation of human sexual motivation.

There is an increasing movement recognizing LGBT rights in the international arena. In China, “tongzhi” (a Chinese term for LGBT) still face massive discrimination due mainly to the Chinese government’s repressive indifference policy. This thesis follows Kees Waaldijk’s developmental pattern theory of the recognition of gay rights, starting from decriminalisation, anti-discrimination, and reaching partnership legislation. It examines this theoretic pattern in relation to the development of sexual minority rights in the United Nations (UN), European and Canadian human rights law systems. Although every jurisdiction has its own unique aspects, each basically followed Waaldijk’s pattern. The thesis concludes that the application of privacy, equality and non-discrimination principles have helped sexual minorities to achieve equal rights in a variety of fields. The thesis further examines whether the experiences within these three human rights systems can be adopted in the Chinese context. Since the UN laws are soft laws, they will help influence legal reform for tongzhi rights in China but will not be a decisive factor. With regard to the regional human rights model, unlike Council of Europe and the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is unlikely to push the development of human rights in China due to the lack of a strong tie between China and ASEAN member states. The Canadian experience is inspiring but will not be easily duplicated due to the lack of democratic institutions and the absence of an effective judicial review system and judicial independence in China. It is anticipated that the Waaldijk pattern cannot be reproduced in the Chinese context. China will take a top-down reform route in terms of the tongzhi rights development. The central authorities will likely adjust relevant policies to the tongzhi group once a crisis has generated sufficient social pressure that would influence the central authorities to consider changing their repressive indifference policy. Same-sex marriage law is anticipated to be the first tongzhi human right legislation in China due to the Chinese traditional culture of tolerance, the support found among academics, and the current political environment.

This study compares same-sex friendships, cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships in young adulthood in terms of the negative effects of various conflict issues, the different conflict management strategies and relationship maintenance strategies employed in these relationships, as well as the perceived rewards and costs, the integration of the networks, and perceived overall quality. The main purpose is to investigate cross-sex friendships and discern its similarities to and differences from romantic relationships and same-sex friendships, as well as the gender differences that emerge. Data is collected by means of questionnaires, from a sample of 298 Middle East Technical University Students. Cross-sex friendships were rated as the poorest relationship in terms of quality, rewards/costs, or the frequency of maintenance behaviors and conflict occurred at very low levels in these friendships. Women employed more relationship maintenance strategies in their same- and cross-sex friendships compared to men. In addition, men preferred the dominating and women the accommodating strategies of conflict management in their same-sex friendships. It was concluded that same-sex friendships remain to be the accepted and approved form of friendship among this sample of Turkish young adults and cross-sex friendships were distant and inferior to the other two relationships. Finally, there were some differences across these relationships as to what predicted relational quality, yet in general the rewards and maintenance strategies predicted quality better than costs and conflict behaviors

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-86).

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-124). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2--8. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-213). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A. in communication)--Washington State University, 2005. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 5, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-41).