African-American Lesbian Identity Management and Identity Development in the Context of Family and Community

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is gaining attention in family studies literature as a cultural specific context to understand lesbian, gay, and bisexual visibility in African-American families and communities. This policy suggests that sexual minorities are accepted within African-American families and communities as long as they do not label themselves or acknowledge publicly that they engage in same-sex relationships. The narratives of two African-American lesbians (aged 26 and 27 years) are chronicled in the present study to reveal their lesbian identity development, lesbian identity management, and how they defined and navigated Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They encountered challenges and successes in a quest to find communities that would embrace and affirm their multiple marginalized identities. Their stories are offered as a point of entry to further inquiry concerning African-American lesbian visibility and identity proclamation within African-American families and communities.     

Active duty military personnel presenting for care at a Gay Men's Health Clinic

Under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" Department of Defense policy, gay men and women are allowed to serve in the military, but they are not allowed to disclose their sexual orientation. This study was performed to determine the incidence of active duty military personnel seeking care at a Gay Men's Health Clinic. Nine percent of the clients, who had served between June and August 2002, were active duty U.S. Navy sailors. They all expressed fears of being discharged from the military when asked why they did not access military healthcare. The "DADTDPDH" policy breeds distrust between men who have sex with men (MSM) service-members and their healthcare provider and this ensures inadequate healthcare.     

Negotiating multiple identities: how African-American gay and bisexual men persist at a predominantly White institution

This consensual qualitative research (CQR) study explores factors contributing to the persistence of African-American gay and bisexual men at a predominately White institution (PWI). Eight participants consistently noted that involvement with an African-American community was crucial to navigating the challenges of attending a PWI. Participants reported that their racial identity was more salient than their sexual orientation in creating social support, and they described feeling uncomfortable using lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) resources. Implications, including education about sexual orientation within African-American campus communities, LGBT outreach to communities of color, and continued institutional support for African-American campus organizations, are discussed.     

Student degree program and attitudes toward gays and lesbians in the military: is there a connection?

Individuals routinely experience discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since the implementation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 1994, over 13,000 military personnel have been discharged from the U.S. military on the basis of sexual orientation. As helping professionals, social workers will often provide services to returning gay and lesbian veterans. Therefore, social work programs must ensure that students develop positive attitudes toward and understanding of the needs presented by this population. Little is known about whether a specific degree program can be a predictor of student attitude toward gay and lesbian individuals in the military. Eighty-nine graduate students completed the Attitudes Toward Homosexuals in the Military (ATHM) scale, and scores were compared between two graduate degree programs: Social Work and Business Administration. A statistically significant relationship was found between degree program and ATHM scores. Implications for policy, practice and research related to gay and lesbian veterans are discussed.     

Staying in the Hood: Black Lesbian and Transgender Women and Identity Management in North Philadelphia

ABSTRACT

The concept Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell regarding Black LGBT sexuality in Black communities has been an acceptable form of identity management for Black LGBT people. In other words, Black LGBT people are accepted as long as they are not vocal about their sexuality. However, this is changing with the issue of gay marriage, which is creating a space where Black LGBT people are more open about their gender identity and sexuality in heterosexual Black spaces. This new form of openness allows Black LGBT people to “stay in” their communities, as opposed to coming out. In this article I examine how Black LGBT women in North Philadelphia stay in their communities: being politically active regarding LGBT issues, disengaging from LGBT issues, passing, and educating straight Black people about issues affecting the Black LGBT community. I conclude with implications of staying in and intersectionality among Black heterosexual and LGBT women fighting for social change.     

Student Degree Program and Attitudes Toward Gays and Lesbians in the Military: Is There a Connection?

Individuals routinely experience discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since the implementation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 1994, over 13,000 military personnel have been discharged from the U.S. military on the basis of sexual orientation. As helping professionals, social workers will often provide services to returning gay and lesbian veterans. Therefore, social work programs must ensure that students develop positive attitudes toward and understanding of the needs presented by this population. Little is known about whether a specific degree program can be a predictor of student attitude toward gay and lesbian individuals in the military. Eighty-nine graduate students completed the Attitudes Toward Homosexuals in the Military (ATHM) scale, and scores were compared between two graduate degree programs: Social Work and Business Administration. A statistically significant relationship was found between degree program and ATHM scores. Implications for policy, practice and research related to gay and lesbian veterans are discussed.     

Beyond A Lesbian Space? An Investigation on The Intergenerational Discourse Surrounding Lesbian Public Social Places in Amsterdam

This article investigates intergenerational discourse on public lesbian social spaces within Amsterdam, Netherlands. The author seeks to address how lesbian women from different generations talk about lesbian social spaces in Amsterdam through anthropological ethnographic research and semistructured interviews with 20 lesbian women who have or currently are attending these places. The author also addresses the gradual decline of lesbian specific spaces in the city and the current belief that lesbian women are beyond having a public social space that services only the lesbian community. The rise in popularity of mixed gay- and lesbian-friendly bars and girl circuit parties will be identified as a key area where generational tensions and discourse are being played out. Issues pertaining to generational disagreements over lesbian identity, visibility, and space will be addressed.     

Coming out to parents: perceptions of family relations, perceived resources, and identity expression as predictors of identity disclosure for gay and lesbian adolescents

This paper examines perceptions of family relations, identity expression, and pro-lesbian/gay resources as factors influencing coming out to parents. One hundred seventy-two adolescents responded to a survey originating from a clinical support group for lesbian and gay youth. Findings indicate that weak family relations significantly detract from coming out to parents indirectly through identity expression and perceived resources. Excluding the effects of family relations, adolescents perceiving supportive resources and expressing their lesbian/gay identity were more likely to come out to parents.     

Who is mommy tonight? Lesbian parenting issues

Developing an identity as mother and establishing what it means to mother is a task not defined by sexual orientation. Both heterosexual and homosexual women encounter role models and the dictates of society when mothering (Nelson, 1996). The present study explores how 18 lesbian adoptive parents, 49 lesbian parents who formed their families biologically, and 44 heterosexual adoptive parents experience and perceive their parenting role, how they respond when their children seek them or their partner for particular nurturing, and how the parents negotiate the cultural expectation of a primary caregiver. Lesbian couples were more equal in their division of childcare than heterosexual parents, and lesbian adoptive parents were the most egalitarian. In all types of dual parent families, parents were sought by their child for different activities. In heterosexual adoptive and lesbian biological families, the child's parental preference was rarely a source of conflict between partners. Lesbian adoptive parents were more likely to report that this preference caused occasional conflict. Reasons for this conflict are discussed in light of societal expectations of women and the role of mother.     

A critical examination of stage theories of lesbian identity development

A general stage theory of lesbian identity development was compiled on the basis of six theories of lesbian or gay identity development. The general theory and the six specific theories were then examined empirically, using repeated interviews with 14 women who were currently experiencing changes with respect to their sexual orientation. The data conformed to the general stage theory to a large degree, especially at early stages of development, but marked discrepancies were also found. Order and timing of events varied among these women, and for some lesbian identity did not represent a final stage of development. It was found that the process of lesbian identity development, or sexual orientation change in general, was very sensitive to the social/historical context.     

“Negotiating Fairness”: A Study on How Lesbian Family Members Evaluate,Construct, and Maintain “Fairness” with the Division of Household Labor

In this article, I examine how dual-earner lesbian families construct and evaluate an equal division of household labor through their perceptions of “fairness.” Through 22 interviews of dual-earner lesbian families (a total of 44 subjects), I identify that lesbian partners use social comparisons with heterosexual families with whom they have contact, as well as their former heterosexual and homosexual families as an important link to justify what they believe to be a fair division of household labor. Childhood socialization and parental models, however, were not shown to adequately explain how members of a lesbian family construct a perception of equality concerning household division of labor.     

The lesbian community: an anthropological approach

Visible lesbian communities, a recent social development in the United States, have received relatively little research attention. This article defines the "lesbian community," as distinct from both the lesbian population and the lesbian subculture. The important features of the lesbian community are the social networks of lesbians, their group identity, shared subcultural values, and the institutional base, the organizations and places where community members can interact. One lesbian community is described and directions for future research suggested.     

Internalized homophobia and lesbian identity

This paper presents suggestions for therapists working with women who are having difficulty accepting their attractions to other women, lesbian behavior and identity, or both, with the goal of promoting self-acceptance and reducing internalized homophobia. After a discussion of the therapeutic relationship, several coping strategies which have been used successfully by many women are described and therapeutic applications are offered. These strategies include cognitive restructuring, avoiding a negative identity, adopting an identity label, self-disclosure, meeting other lesbians, and habituation to lesbianism. Finally, behavioral indications of success or failure to achieve the goal of self-acceptance are presented.     

Once-Married African-American Lesbians and Bisexual Women: Identity Development and the Coming-Out Process

This study explored identity development and the coming-out process of once-married African-American lesbians and bisexual women. Participants (n?=?12) were all African-American and identified as lesbian or bisexual and had been legally married at least once. Data was collected via interviews using open-ended questions that addressed issues concerning sexual development and awareness and coming out as lesbian or bisexual. Data was then transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the grounded theory method. Hence, reemerging significant themes were observed and categorized. A total of seven significant themes were discerned from the data presented. The implications for treatment with this population were also discussed.     

Homosexual Discretion and Good Taste: Two Rules That Govern Homosexual Sociability Space in Santiago de Chile

Homosexual sociability space in Santiago is not socially homogenous. Beyond non-heterosexual identities segmentation (gay, lesbian, queer, BDSM, etc.), the present article proposes a reflection observing certain social distinctions or differences that come into play to create a hierarchy among gay and lesbian individuals within that space. Using a qualitative approximation, we analyze the discourse of homosexual men and women about ways to display homosexuality in different places in the city, as well as some sociability practices used in homosexual venues. The resulting social hierarchy is understood through two central subjective rules: discretion and good taste, dynamic mechanisms that perpetuate the distance among groups within the same sociability space, and to some extent reproduce the city’s class structure. Given that material means to privatize and sophisticate homosexual expression are unequally distributed in Santiago, the resulting differentiated social networks end up configuring the visibility strategies of homosexual identity played out in the city in the last years.     

Growing up gay or lesbian in a multicultural context

This study is an investigation of the influence of ethnicity on the relationships of gay and lesbian young people and their families. A framework for conceptualizing the influence of culture is presented. Modes of family responses are described and the conflicts involved in maintaining an ethnic identity, and a gay or lesbian identity, are discussed. Implications for researchers and practitioners are identified.     

Lesbian shame: its relationship to identity integration and attachment

Using self-report measures, this survey study explored the relationship between internalized shame and both lesbian identity integration and attachment styles. Compared to other research, this U.S. sample of 317 highly educated, mid-life, mostly European-American self-identitied lesbians reported higher levels of internalized shame, lesbian identity integration, and dismissing attachment. As predicted, shame scores decreased as lesbian identity integration increased. Likewise, high levels of secure attachment were associated with less shame while high levels of fearful and preoccupied attachment were associated with greater shame. Contrary to prediction, high levels of dismissing attachment were associated with greater shame. These results suggest the pervasive effects of shame even for a sample of educationally and occupationally successful lesbians.     

Bury Your Gays and Social Media Fan Response: Television,LGBTQ Representation,and Communitarian Ethics

Although visibility has increased, there are still television tropes used that can have potentially harmful effects on LGBTQ persons seeking identification through television characters. This essay explores the representation of women-loving women (WLW) on television and how fans respond via social media with regard to their identity and representation. Specifically, by examining the fan culture through a communitarian ethics lens (with an emphasis on duty and mutuality), fans are explored before and after a lesbian character’s death and how their responses created a social movement regarding the current television environment’s treatment of WLW characters. Media anthropology and virtual ethnographic observations on Twitter and Tumblr were used to answer how fans were responding to WLW representation via social media and how they engaged with communitarian ethics. Implications and criticisms are discussed.