This study explored the peer perceptions of adolescent heterosexual males and their homosexual counterparts who had not disclosed their feelings of erotic same-sex attraction to their classmates. The study focused on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a conservative Christian denomination with clear doctrinal prohibitions against homosexual behavior. The handwritten messages from peers found in the senior high school yearbooks of 30 heterosexual and 30 same-sex attracted adolescent men were content analyzed to examine similarities and differences in the themes that emerged from the data.
The results indicated that there is a difference in the kind of activities that are common in the lives of these heterosexual and same-sex attracted males. The same-sex attracted men received messages predominately from female peers concerning their talent and themes connected with the arts. The heterosexual men received more of their messages from male peers addressing the topics of sports, recreation, and invitations to engage in shared activities. The research raises questions about the well being of young men who may not identify with most of the dominant images of masculinity available to them. The absence of an adequate cultural script for same-sex attracted youth who must reconcile their sexual feelings with the beliefs of their conservative religious traditions is discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-3532 |
| Date | 01 May 2003 |
| Creators | Pruden, David C. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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