Kenyan Religious Leaders’ Views on Same-Sex Sexuality and Gender Nonconformity: Religious Freedom versus Constitutional Rights

Religion plays an important role in framing the public discourse on sexuality, especially in countries where religion fully permeates social life. We explored the perspectives of Kenyan religious leaders on sexual and gender diversity in their country’s specific context. A total of 212 Catholic, Islamic, and Protestant leaders from urban centers and rural townships completed a self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for this study. The leaders’ perspectives were predominantly negative. Limited acceptance was conditional on sexual minorities not engaging in same-sex practices or seeing such practices as sinful. A substantial minority (37%) endorsed the use of violence for maintaining social values, especially regarding homosexuality and gender nonconformity. The majority of religious leaders agreed on the difference between civil law and religious doctrine. Human rights principles enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution were considered to be applicable to sexual and gender minorities. Decriminalization of same-sex sexuality was seen as against one’s religion. Perspectives were less negative if leaders were familiar with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Interventions that promote intergroup contact could be effective in changing religious leaders’ mind-sets and advancing human rights and health for sexual and gender minorities.     

Are Inter‐Minority Contacts Guided by the Same Mechanisms as Minority–Majority Contacts? A Comparative Study of Two Types of Inter‐Ethnic Ties in the Netherlands

Research on inter‐ethnic contacts in European countries has mainly focused on the interaction between ethnic minorities and the native majority. Our contribution is to examine inter‐minority contacts and compare them to minority–majority contacts. Drawing on a theory of preferences, opportunities, and third parties, we expected some determinants of contacts with natives to relate similarly and others differently to inter‐minority contacts. Using data on four non‐Western minorities in the Netherlands, we found that education, Dutch language proficiency, and outgroup size are positively associated with both inter‐minority and minority–majority contacts. Further, occupational status relates positively to contacts with natives and negatively to contacts with other minorities, whereas ingroup identification is positively associated with inter‐minority contacts and negatively with contacts with natives. These diverging findings underline the importance of studying interaction between minorities as a separate phenomenon.     

Ethnic segregation in context: Social discrimination among native Dutch pupils and their ethnic minority classmates

Social discrimination, defined as the relative preference for intra-ethnic over inter-ethnic relationships, was studied in pupils’ networks in Dutch secondary school classes. While native Dutch pupils (ethnic majority members) mainly named fellow majority members, ethnic minority members reported ties with as many majority as minority members. Considering the ethnic composition of the classroom, however, majority members discriminated less than minorities. No strong effect of classroom ethnic composition on social discrimination was found, whereas neighborhood composition was shown to clearly influence social discrimination: ethnic minority members were more, and majority members less inclined to discriminate in neighborhoods with more ethnic presence.     

Hispanic Americans: comparative considerations and the educational problems of children

This paper presents an overview of the diversity in character among the various Hispanic-American subgroups. The author compares the following subgroups historically and demographically: Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Mainland Puerto-Ricans, and "other" Hispanics. As a group, Hispanic-Americans lag far behind the majority population in any array of standard educational measurements. 40% of Hispanic-American students leave school before 10th grade. Children of "immigrant" minorities, such as Chinese, Japanese, and South and Central Americans, tend to do better in school than "caste-like" minorities, such as Black Americans, Mainland Puerto-Ricans and Mexican-Americans in the US. The author discusses several models which explain why Mexican and Puerto-Rican Americans fail in American schools at such high rates: 1) culture of poverty, 2) the various schools emphasizing "discontinuity" between the minority Hispanic and the majority culture, and 3) the psychosocial approach. Features which differentiate immigrants from caste-like minorities include 1) caste-like minorities were incorporated into the society against their will, whereas historically, immigrant minorities choose more or less freely to leave their country to enter a new social order; and 2) immigrants may anticipate or fantasize that in the future they will return home to enjoy the fruits of their hard work in the foreign land. 2 factors alleviate the longterm effects of the hardships and discrimination immigrants face: 1) the levels of discrimination became less evident as accents disappeared and names were Anglicized; immigrants develop a dual frame of reference, enabling them to evaluate their current reality against the reality of life back home; and 3) hard work in the new land will at the very least benefit the children in the future. Factors which veto the Mexican immigrant case as a heurstically "paradiomatic" immigrant minority include: 1) many Mexicans still resent the loss of 1/3 or Mexico's territories to Anglo colonists, 2) Americans still treat Mexican immigrants as a "case-like" minority despite the fact that they are immigrants, and 3) many of the "immigrants" lack official immigrant status.     

Status inequalities, perceived discrimination, and eudaimonic well-being: do the challenges of minority life hone purpose and growth?

Considerable prior research has investigated links between racial/ethnic status and diverse aspects of mental functioning (e.g. psychological disorders, quality of life, self-esteem), but little work has probed the connections between minority status and eudaimonic well-being. Derived from existential and humanistic perspectives, eudaimonia describes engagement in life challenges and is operationalized with assessments of purpose in life, personal growth, autonomy, environmental mastery, self-acceptance, and positive relations with others. Using Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a national survey of Americans aged 25-74, plus city-specific samples of African Americans in New York City and Mexican Americans in Chicago, minority status was found to be a positive predictor of eudaimonic well-being, underscoring themes of psychological strength in the face of race-related adversity. Perceived discrimination was found to be a negative predictor of eudaimonic well-being, although such effects were gender-specific: it was women, both majority and minority, with high levels of discrimination in their daily lives whose sense of growth, mastery, autonomy, and self-acceptance was compromised.     

Language as Both Human Capital and Ethnicity1

In this study, we estimate earnings differentials for knowledge of thirteen minority languages in Canada's three largest urban area. We find that conditional on knowledge of a majority language, knowledge of a minority language is associated with lower earnings. However, the negative differential diminishes for those languages with large local populations. This suggests a positive human capital effect which is for the most part swamped by a negative factor. We argue that this factor is a reflection of ethnicity operating either through ethnolinguistic labor market enclaves or labor market discrimination against minorities.     

Twentieth Century Wars: Some Short-Term Effects on Intergroup Relations in the United States*

There is a close correspondence between war and collective racial violence in the twentieth century United States. War stimulates minority group migration and often heightens the assertiveness of minorities. Both of these conditions may act to precipitate ethnic violence, though the form of that violence varies depending on social conditions. In popular wars following periods of economic scarcity and competition (e.g., World Wars I and II), minority population growth and heightened minority assertiveness may lead majority groups to feel threatened and act aggressively to protect their advantages. The result is often ethnic attack by the dominant group against minorities. Popular wars may also precipitate violence by creating a desire on the homefront for vicarious participation in overseas wars. The results of minority population growth and heightened assertiveness may be different in an unpopular war following a period of economic growth, especially if social upheaval is already occurring before the war (e.g., Vietnam). Under these conditions, minority population growth and minority assertiveness more often lead to minority group rebellions, and there may be little attempt at repression by dominant group civilians. Ethnic attack or collective repressive actions against minorities associated with “the enemy” are also common, especially in popular wars, but they are more likely to be directed at minorities who are already targets of prejudice and discrimination.     

THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERRACIAL CONTACT:

Blau's (1977) macrostructural theory builds on the assumption that social structure affects intergroup relations. This relationship depends upon the opportunity for intergroup contact. Previous tests of Blau's theory, however, treat opportunity as an unmeasured construct. P *, as a measure of opportunity for intergroup contact, not only enables a test of that assumption, but also merges general sociological principles with specific middle-range ones like those urban sociology develops.
Findings here modestly support Blau's opportunity for contact assumption. Serendipitously, the analysis demonstrates that heterogeneity asymmetrically influences opportunities for intergroup contact between groups of varying size. Because increasing heterogeneity presupposes an increase in the minority proportion and a decrease in the majority, it enhances majority and suppresses minority opportunities for intergroup contact. This suggests that Blau's hete ogeneity theorem, which assumes a symmetrical effect on contact, needs some qualification.     

Landowners’ perspectives on the rural future and the role of forests across Europe

Contemporary changes in rural Europe have been characterised by the contrasting terms of rural modernisation and productivism versus restructuring and post-productivism. This study investigates how different categories of owners of farm and/or forestland in 16 case study areas in eight European countries perceive future development. Landowners’ prospects for change are investigated on both the locality and enterprise level. Special attention is given to the role of forestry as a potential future development perspective. The results reveal that both restructuring and modernisation perspectives are important to many landowners. Moreover, a polarisation seems to be developing between a minority of full-time farmers with progressive farming prospects and the vast majority of landowners with declining prospects or little dependency on primary production. More importantly, the research reveals a third employment perspective, which did not have any specific content apart from the social security of having employment opportunities in the locality. Also at the enterprise level, farmers anticipate both restructuring and modernisation practices, even on the very same property. The study proves that it is not only part-time, hobby and retired farmers that are engaged in “restructuring” activities, but also full-time farmers. As regards the role of forests, the majority of landowners do not interpret forests in an economic development context, but as green infrastructure important to the local quality of life. It can be concluded that forests are closely related to restructuring thinking among landowners. Future perspectives differ from one European rural area to another, dependent on local conditions and problems. More importantly, however, this research reveals that modernisation–restructuring thoughts and practices of landowners are manifold and heterogeneous in all types of rural areas across Europe.     

When friendship is stronger than prejudice. Role of intergroup friendships among adolescents in two distinct socio-cultural contexts of immigration

Despite the structural characteristics of international migration in most European countries, the persistence of prejudice and negative attitudes towards immigrants represents an unsolved problem that erodes social cohesion. European institutions continue to be concerned about the spread of xenophobia, especially among young generations. This article aims to shed light on the crucial role of intergroup friendships, considered a key factor in reducing the hostility toward immigrant groups. In particular, the aim is to verify the effects of intergroup friendships on prejudice, using data derived from an international survey carried out in France and Italy, two emblematic European countries as regarding the experience of international migration. 1,642 French and Italian adolescents, selected by a rationale choice sample, were involved: multivariate analysis confirmed the hypothesis that adolescents who hold intergroup friendships show lower levels of prejudice. The influence of the intergroup friendships on the decrease of intolerance is evident especially on socioeconomic and security issues while for the identity matters its effects are moderated by the country of residence of the participants. Considering these results, positive contacts among local and immigrant populations are recommended in order to reduce social fragmentation and foster social cohesion.     

Prevalence of ethnic intermarriage in Kunming: Social exchange or insignificance of ethnicity?

This paper examines the socioeconomic status matching patterns among minority – Han intermarried couples in urban China, using the 1 per cent census data of the 1990 Chinese census and marriage registration data of a multi-ethnic city in southwest China. It considers three main findings. First, ethnic minorities were commonly married out to the majority Han in the city, and ethnicity does not seem to be an important consideration in mate selection. Second, status mismatching is based on gender not ethnicity. That is, there was no exchange between Han ethnic status and minority socioeconomic status, which has often been found in the North American context. Third, given that the majority of children of minority – Han intermarriage identify as ethnic minority, the insignificance of ethnicity in mate selection does not necessarily imply the total openness of ethnic boundaries.     

Assimilated or the boundary of Whiteness expanded? A boundary model of group belonging

In 19th century U.S., European ethnics were considered dark-skinned and working-class. By the 1950s, they were re-categorized as White Americans. Assimilation theory suggests that Europeans' intergroup interactions such as socioeconomic attainments and intermarriage with Anglo-Saxon Whites led to their assimilation and racial re-categorization. The theory anticipates that class mobility translates into re-categorization into Whiteness such that non-Europeans' upward mobility will also propel them into Whiteness. Despite non-Europeans' successful intergroup interactions, their assimilation and belonging is still up for debate. If both Europeans and non-Europeans have participated in similar rates of intergroup interactions, which other factor has determined their differential assimilation outcomes? In response, we conceptualize a boundary model for understanding group belonging. To do so, we distinguish between symbolic and phenotype or somatic race. The former provides and attaches meanings to soma. This boundary model comprises the combined effects of individuals' intergroup interactions and majority groups' symbolic racial boundary expansion-contraction. Assimilation outcome occurs only when majority groups' boundary expands to recognize intergroup interactions as meaningful and to include newcomers as racial group insiders. We revisit the case of European ethnics to show that the symbolic boundary of Whiteness expanded to re-categorize them as assimilated Whites. Accordingly, we formulate four hypotheses about the possibilities of re-categorizing groups in and out of a master category such as Whiteness.     

Marital Status and Perceived Discrimination Among Transgender People

Despite calls for increased attention to the experiences of transgender people, scientific understanding of the stigma and discrimination this population experiences is limited. The authors integrate minority stress and marital advantage perspectives to assess marital status differences in transgender‐related perceived discrimination among transgender people in multiple life domains: the workplace, family, health care, and public accommodations. They analyze one of the first and most comprehensive large‐scale samples of transgender people in the United States (N = 4,286), the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. They find that married transgender respondents tend to report lower levels of perceived discrimination than their cohabiting and previously married transgender counterparts. Married transgender respondents do not, however, report lower levels of perceived discrimination than their never married counterparts, once all covariates are accounted for. These marital status differences appear primarily among transwomen but not transmen. Economic resources account for some, but not all, of these differences.     

Dimensions of life satisfaction: Immigrant and ethnic minorities

The article investigates the dimensions of life satisfaction of immigrant and ethnic minorities comparing them with the majority population. It constructs a theoretical framework, taking into account both pecuniary and non‐pecuniary dimensions of welfare. This study is based on the data of the Social Survey, administered by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Immigrants in this study are regarded as a migrant minority and Israeli‐born Arab citizens as an ethnic minority. The results reveal significant life satisfaction gaps between the groups, which can be partially explained by the value of work per se and the value of leisure activities. Applying the Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition technique, the study revealed that the gap in life satisfaction could be attributed both to the differences in pecuniary and non‐pecuniary resources for each group, and to different returns on resources. Policy targeted on increasing the economic possibilities of minority groups would decrease the life satisfaction gaps.     

INTERPERSONAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HMONG AMERICANS: Parallels and Variation in Microlevel Racial inequality

Different racial and ethnic minorities are commonly compared across various measures of macrolevel inequality but have thus far not been compared with respect to microlevel inequality. Using data from interviews with forty-eight Hmong Americans, this article systematically extends Feagin's (1991) analysis of interpersonal discrimination against African Americans to the experiences of everyday racism among a group of foreignborn Asian Americans. Hmong Americans report all of the forms of interpersonal discrimination that Feagin documents for African Americans, suggesting that minorities face a common inequality structure in public face-to-face encounters. Nativism and limited English proficiency, two factors that Feagin did not identify as affecting African Americans, are also important components of interpersonal discrimination against Hmong Americans. These additional dimensions of interpersonal discrimination against suggest that macrolevel patterns of racial and ethnic inequality can lead to variation in microlevel inequality.     

Intergroup Encounters Between Jewish and Arab Students in Israel: Towards an interactionist approach1

The paper examines the relationship between self and society from an interactionist approach, within the context of intergroup encounters. One of the main dilemmas found in intergroup encounters is the tension that exists between the salience of the group identity versus personal and interpersonal dimensions. We suggest applying an interactionist approach to dealing with this debate, which emphasizes the situation in which the contact takes place. From this approach, the use of different types of intergroup encounters is discussed by comparing two types of workshops in which Jewish and Arab Israeli students met to work on the Israeli-Arab political conflict. The research questions are analyzed in regard to topics that are central to the Jewish-Arab conflict, such as the Holocaust and Al-Nakba (the Arab epithet for the 1948 war). This paper was written before the present crisis (2000/2002) in Jewish-Palestinian relations .     

Exploring How National Politics Influences the Outcome of Intergroup Contact among Muslim Minority Members

This article adds to the existing research in intergroup contact among ethnic minority members by hypothesizing that national political debate has the capacity to enhance the positive outcomes of cross‐group interaction. Analyses show that the capacity of intergroup contact to reduce prejudice toward majority members is disproportionately stronger among Muslims than among non‐Muslim minority members. Specifically, at the time of data collection, the two categories—Muslims and majority members—were highly salient in the public debate, whereas the non‐Muslim minority member category was not primed as a contrast to the majority culture. The political debate most likely stimulated Muslims to generalize their positive contact experiences to the entire majority group. The analysis contributes to the theoretical refinement of the so‐called categorization model by focusing on politically induced reactions among contacted ethnic minority members toward majority members. The analysis utilizes a tailor‐made national sample (fielded during the Mohammad Cartoon Crisis in 2006) among ethnic minority members in Denmark (N  = 3,272).     

Constructing border ethnic identities along the frontier of Central and Eastern Europe

The analysis is based on an empirical sociological study (interplay of European, National and Regional Identities: nations between states along the new eastern borders of the European Union Project) aimed at exploring the various aspects of people’s diaspora affiliations and their ethnic and national identity on the Eastern borderland of Europe. We surveyed ethnic minority groups in eight countries along the frontier of Central Eastern Europe. With the ethnic minorities having a similar ethnic status along the border, we demonstrated how ethnic minorities ‘deal’ with their minority status in their ‘host’ country. The analysis reconstructs the image of the ethnic minority at the societal level. We model personal and collective ethnic identities as a stock of knowledge based on cognitive and affective components, and test them along the different ethnic dyads. The paper shows how successive generations are able to transfer the pattern of ethnic identity within the family, and also how language use practices and personal networks play a role in preserving personal ethnic identity.     

The Intersection of Multiple Minority Identities: Perspectives of White Lesbian Couples Adopting Racial/Ethnic Minority Children

In order to analyse the salience of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and adoptive status for lesbian adoptive parents, this study examined the challenges and strengths described by 20 White lesbian couples (40 women) who were adopting racial/ethnic minority children from within the United States. Data from two time points (pre‐ and post‐adoptive placement) were analysed qualitatively. Results indicated that the majority of women voiced concerns about raising racial/ethnic minority children in a ‘White privileged’ society. Many women reported facing a lack of understanding from others and were aware of multiple layers of stigma. However, having faced discrimination themselves as sexual minorities, many also perceived themselves as possessing unique strengths (e.g., experience coping with stigma). Many women expressed feeling that by drawing on support from their communities as well as their own awareness of and experience with diversity issues, they could prepare their children for the challenges they might face.     

Region,Social Identities,and Disclosure Practices as Predictors of Heterosexist Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities in the United States

Exposure to heterosexist discrimination may vary by a person's place of residency. Utilizing a minority stress perspective, an online survey of self‐identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals (n = 285) examined whether rural and small town inhabitants experienced greater exposure to six types of enacted stigma. After comparing the frequency of enacted stigma by community type, findings demonstrated that rural LGBs reported experiencing more homophobic statements, property damage, and employment discrimination than urban LGBs. Small town LGBs also encountered additional amounts of housing discrimination and were more often chased by strangers compared with urban sexual minorities. Finally, disclosure practices and hierarchies based on race and social class also influenced exposure to discrimination. The importance of spatial factors often intensified when respondents disclosed their sexual identity more publicly. When exploring racial and class differences, affluent sexual minorities experienced less employment discrimination and white sexual minorities were less likely to experience several forms of heterosexist events (especially being punched and kicked).