Experiences of the Orthodox Community Among Orthodox Jewish Gay Men

Sense of community includes elements such as sense of belonging, mutual interdependence, trust, shared goals and values, and shared history. It is associated with benefits for both the members and the community and is believed to be stronger in religious minority groups. This qualitative study describes the experiences of the Jewish Orthodox community among Orthodox Jewish gay men. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 men about their experiences of being gay in their Orthodox communities. A content analysis revealed four themes: community as a home, community as a comprehensive provider, community as a strict behavior regulator, and community as punitive toward gay men. Findings suggest that Orthodox Jewish gay men have mixed feelings about their community; being satisfied with a community that provides for all their needs, but also living in constant fear of the negative consequences they and their families may endure if their homosexuality will be revealed. Recommendations for social work practice are provided.     

Homosexually Active Latino Men:

This paper presents a critical overview of the literature on homosexual conduct and identity among Latino men both in Latin America and in the United States. The relationships between homosexually active Latino men and their families, the various Latino national origin communities, and gay communities are also considered. Latino perspectives are contrasted with the dominant North American gay understandings of homosexuality in terms of individual identity and political activism. The unique problems of this population are also discussed with an emphasis on the social and cultural resources available to homosexually active Latinos and social work practitioners who serve them. Recommendations for social work practice and further research are offered.     

Increasingly Gay Self-Representations of Male-Male Sexual Experiences in Thailand

Abstract

With Thailand's economic development, urbanization (especially the rapid growth of Bangkok), growing contact between Thais and non-Thais, an increased availability of representations of ho-mogender homosexuality (i.e., masculine men being sexually penetrated), and international AIDS discourse, male homosexuality not structured by differences in age, gender or class has become more apparent. Three sets of stories and letters sent by Thai men to Thai gay magazines show a decline in a gender-stratified conception and enactment of homosexuality in Thailand, paralleling the heterogender-to-gay transformation of homosexuality elsewhere in the world. The highly developed commercial venues for males who have sex with males in Bangkok are little mentioned in these texts and suggest the need for the development of other kinds of community infrastructure such as telephone advice lines (providing information about the basic mechanics of safe sex and other aspects of male-male relationships). Males who have sex with males in Bangkok, in particular, need a community center in which to discuss issues of power, gender, and sexuality.     

Negative Consequences

Abstract

This article reports the results of a qualitative study of self-identified HIV-Negative gay/bisexual men living in urban gay communities. The study explored the effects of living through nearly two decades of the AIDS pandemic. Most researchers have focused on those who are HIV-Positive. Those whose serostatus is HIV-Negative are rarely included, but are greatly affected by this disease. An increasing number of these men, especially younger men, are seroconverting. Forty-seven gay men returned a questionnaire asking about feelings on being HIV-Negative, dealing with grief, sexual practices, and relationship and caregiver issues. Many HIV-Negative gay men reported psychological problems such as depression and unresolved grief. Therapists and AIDS prevention educators need to attend to the special needs of this overlooked population.     

Negotiating Stigma: Lessons From the Life Stories of Gay Men

Gay men, like lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons, must negotiate their sexual orientation due to the socially constructed negative view of homosexuality in our culture. Stigma is experienced in various ways according to the meaning that the individual applies to it. This study gleans lessons from the life stories of 15 gay men who recognized the stigma of homosexuality and devised strategies to cope with it. An important finding was that mentors, acting as “cultural brokers,” played a significant role in helping to cope with stigma. The intent of this study is to add to the literature regarding mechanisms that social workers can employ to help gay men cope with stigmatization.     

Gender Gaps in Public Opinion about Lesbians and Gay Men

Using data from a 1999 national RDD survey (N = 1,335), thisarticle examines gender gaps in heterosexuals' attitudes towardlesbians, gay men, and a variety of topics related to homosexuality.Attitudes toward lesbians differed from attitudes toward gaymen in several areas, and significant differences were observedbetween male and female heterosexual respondents. Survey participantsgenerally were more likely to regard gay men as mentally ill,supported adoption rights for lesbians more than for gay men,and had more negative personal reactions to gay men than tolesbians. Overall, heterosexual women were more supportive thanmen of employment protection and adoption rights for gay people,more willing to extend employee benefits to same-sex couples,and less likely to hold stereotypical beliefs about gay people.Heterosexual men's negative reactions to gay men were at theroot of these gender differences. Of all respondent-by-targetcombinations, heterosexual men were the least supportive ofrecognition of same-sex relationships and adoption rights forgay men, most likely to believe that gay men are mentally illand molest children, and most negative in their affective reactionsto gay men. Heterosexual men's response patterns were affectedby item order, suggesting possible gender differences in thecognitive organization of attitudes toward gay men and lesbians.The findings demonstrate the importance of differentiating lesbiansfrom gay men as attitude targets in survey research.     

Black heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in the United States

Although the direction and intensity of Black heterosexuals’ attitudes toward homosexuality have been topics for considerable speculation, empirical data from representative samples previously have not been available. In the current article we report findings from a two‐wave telephone survey with a national probability sample of 391 Black heterosexual adults. Results indicated that negative attitudes toward homosexuality are widespread but do not appear to be more prevalent among Blacks than among Whites. Gender differences in Black heterosexuals’ attitudes (men's attitudes toward gay men were more negative than their attitudes toward lesbians or women's attitudes toward gay men) appeared to result primarily from men's greater tendency to regard male homosexuality as unnatural. The single most important predictor of attitudes was the attribution of choice to sexual orientation: Respondents who believed that homosexuality is beyond an individual's control expressed significantly more favorable attitudes toward gay men and lesbians than did respondents who regarded homosexuality as a choice. Consistent with previous research in predominantly White samples, respondents were more likely to express favorable attitudes if they were highly educated, unmarried, politically liberal, registered to vote and not religious, and if they included Blacks in their concept of gay men. In addition, respondents reported more favorable attitudes if they had experienced personal contact with gay men or lesbians, but this was not a significant predictor of attitudes when other variables were statistically controlled. Possible differences between Blacks’ and Whites’ social constructions of sexual orientation are discussed.     

Lesbian Blood Drives as Community-Building Activism in the 1980s

As gay men began voluntarily withdrawing from blood donation in the early 1980s, lesbians in community with gay men in several U.S. cities organized drives to replenish the blood supply. These drives were sometimes the continuation of previously established drives by gay–lesbian organizations or faith communities, sometimes new initiatives in response to HIV/AIDS. However, after the initial publicity, mention of lesbian blood drives in print is both scarce and brief. Focusing on drives organized from 1983 to 1992 by a group known as San Diego Blood Sisters, this article is an initial step in documenting lesbian blood drives to inform and enrich conversations about histories of responses to HIV/AIDS, theoretical discussions of how community connections in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer spectrum are enacted and understood, and emerging research on intersections of gender and sexuality as they are expressed through blood donorship.     

Experience of Older Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV/AIDS

Although HIV/AIDS definitely impacts gay and bisexual men of all ages, the impact on people in their later years has not been actively investigated. This exploratory study obtained detailed narratives from 14 adults between the ages of 51-72, all of whom were infected with HIV. Ten of the participants were potentially infected through male to male sexual contact. The subjects reported living with HIV for substantial periods with an average of 13 years of life since diagnosis, estimating a duration of HIV seropositivity from 1-20 years. Most had significant health problems, which may be related to aging, in addition to a number of HIV-related symptoms. They expressed community identification as people living with HIV; some were highly identified as gay men, while other were closeted or in denial regarding their same-sex activity. Half felt to some extent bisexual, and described relationships with wives or other women. Although many participants maintained active social lives, others expressed feelings of loneliness and isolation. This group was minimally active sexually and several of the participants expressed reservations about safer sex, especially condom usage. A strong theme was the sense of having lived a full life, which may help the individual cope with his diagnosis. The findings suggest the need to examine the diversity among older gay and bisexual men living with HIV, how these experiences vary by race and ethnicity, and identification of issues related to prevention and services.     

Gay marriages and communities of sexual orientation

This article focuses on gay male couples as they exist within friendship networks of other gay men. By comparing homosexual men who are part of a gay community with those who are less integrated into a gay community, we attempt to show that the sexual liaisons of the former are more “marriage-like.” Gays committed to a community of other homosexual men were found to live more often with their lovers, be more sexually faithful to their lovers, and to have more emotionally intimate relationships. Also, they were found more likely to associate with other gay couples. Commitment to a gay community was not found to be associated with length of a liaison, and it seemed that when respondents defined emotional intimacy in terms of sexual exclusiveness there may have been a tendency for disruption of relationships. The gay community validates the sexual liaisons of gay men in the same way that the heterosexual world validates the pairings of heterosexuals and transforms their subinstitutional sexual liaisons into the institution of marriage.     

Queer country: Rural lesbian and gay lives

Studies of rural life and lifestyles have yet to seriously address issues of sexuality. This paper outlines some of the experiences of lesbians and gay men who live in the countryside. It begins by tracing the history of the relationship between homosexuality and rurality in fiction and film, paying particular attention to the role of rural utopias in the lesbian and gay imagination. The paper then goes on to consider the structural difficulties experienced by those gay men and women who are born and raised in rural areas, and the lifestyles of those who choose to move to country locations in an attempt to create alternative communes. The paper ends with discussion of the ethics researching ‘rural others’.     

Coming Out Issues of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health Professionals in Voluntary and Involuntary Settings

Abstract

Mental health professionals are increasingly called upon to provide consultation and treatment in settings different from the traditional outpatient and hospital inpatient settings. This paper provides an overview of the unique problems posed when considering self-disclosure by gay or lesbian mental health professionals working with institutionalized populations. A review of literature concerning self-disclosure to patients in outpatient settings is provided and applied to institutionalized settings. Benefits of, as well as cautionary notes regarding, self-disclosure of homosexuality by mental health staff are reviewed.     

Coming out and coming back: Rural gay migration and the city

This research focuses on the complex meaning and role of the city in American and French rural gay men’s imaginary and life experience. It explores how gay men who grew up in the country build their sense of self through back-and-forth movement from rural to urban spaces. Therefore, it questions traditional gay migration studies, which have often equated gay migration and rural–urban migration, positing a unidirectional pattern. After contextualizing rural male homosexuality, this paper presents four life itineraries which highlight the central role the city has for rural gay men when exploring their same-sex desires and attractions. Based on the analysis of their life narratives, we show that for most of them, their coming out, their first same-sex experience, and coming to terms with their sexuality happens “far from home” in a city or a college town. However, this research suggests that the city has a more ambivalent role for rural gay men. While the city exists as a space of social practices where alternative sexualities can be experienced and explored, at the same time for many rural gay men the city remains substantially unattractive. In their view, the perceived “effeminizing power” of the city questions and challenges their attraction for this space. Therefore, the experience of the city becomes both liberating and disciplinary – liberating because it allows the exploration of their same-sex desires and attractions, disciplinary because it (re)presents a gay identity in which they find no resonance. Thus this research indicates that rural gay migration to the urban spaces, which is key to identity formation, includes not only departure to the city but also a necessary return to the country to maintain rural gay men’s understanding of themselves.     

Tita Aida and Emerging Communities of Gay Men:

This article describes and analyzes the development of two gay men's organizations in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The members, who are predominantly salaried professionals, represent an emerging subculture among "men who have sex with men," self-identifying as gay. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, while eliciting different responses from the two organizations, is described as pivotal in challenging the groups' ethos about sexual identity, behavioral change, and community organizing. The potentials, as well as limitations, for further development of these groups are discussed.     

Relational Health and Masculine Gender-Role Conflict in the Friendships and Community Relationships of Bisexual,Gay, and Straight Men

This study examined how men's masculine gender-role conflict and the importance men placed on interpersonal relationships in defining their self-identities predicted their relational health experiences in same-sex, dyadic friendships and community relationships. Using an Internet sample of 283 self-identified bisexual, gay, and straight men, results of hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that for men across sexual orientations, the more importance men placed on interpersonal relationships with other men, the greater the degree of relational health they experienced in dyadic friendships. Additionally, for bisexual and gay men in dyadic friendships with other men, gender-role conflict was inversely related to the relational health of their friendships. In the domain of community relationships, the importance that bisexual and straight men placed on interpersonal relationships in defining their self-identities and levels of gender-role conflict predicted relational health experiences. For gay men, however, feelings of masculine gender-role conflict, alone, predicted poorer relational health in community relationships. Study limitations, clinical implications for practice, and future research directions are discussed.     

Aging with HIV: Historical and Intra-Community Differences in Experience of Aging with HIV

Gay men living with HIV/AIDS face a complex of health issues, including those associated with the aging process, long-term HIV infection (25 years or more), and side effects from Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART). If aging can increase marginalization, this is more likely for the aging HIV positive gay man, who is already marginalized for being queer and living with a stigmatizing disease. This article presents findings from a study of a long-running HIV support group. It locates the members, all gay men living with HIV, in a specific historical and political context to explore how feelings of loss and the struggle to sustain community affect long-term survivors and other older HIV+ gay men. We identify specific challenges presented by aging for men who contracted HIV early in the epidemic, contrasting them with those faced by men infected with the virus later in life. While both groups appear to struggle with a vision of what life could have been, had AIDS not forced loss and change, they also celebrate the community their shared plight has enabled.     

Attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men in Germany

Attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men were assessed in a national representative sample of 2,006 self-identified heterosexual women and men living in Germany. Replicating previous findings, younger people held more favorable attitudes than older people; women held more favorable attitudes than men; and men held more favorable attitudes toward female than male homosexuality, whereas women did not differentiate. However, women held more favorable attitudes toward homosexuals than toward bisexuals, whereas men did not differentiate. Knowing a homosexual person was an important predictor of attitudes, as was political party preference. Both same-sex and opposite-sex sexual attraction were substantially related with attitudes. Our findings support the notion that attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men are related but distinct constructs.     

Attitudes toward lesbians,gay men,bisexual women,and bisexual men in Germany

Attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men were assessed in a national representative sample of 2,006 self‐identified heterosexual women and men living in Germany. Replicating previous findings, younger people held more favorable attitudes than older people; women held more favorable attitudes than men; and men held more favorable attitudes toward female than male homosexuality, whereas women did not differentiate. However, women held more favorable attitudes toward homosexuals than toward bisexuals, whereas men did not differentiate. Knowing a homosexual person was an important predictor of attitudes, as was political party preference. Both same‐sex and opposite‐sex sexual attraction were substantially related with attitudes. Our findings support the notion that attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men are related but distinct constructs.     

Three Korean perspectives on U.S. internet public diplomacy

This study identifies perspectives of relationships publics have about countries other than their own and examines whether publics engaged through social media-based public diplomacy programs demonstrate different relationship perspectives. Q methodology and survey research were used to investigate these issues. Data come from South Korean adult internet users, including members of Café USA, an online community run by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Three relationship perspectives were identified: outcome-based, sincerity-based, and access-based. Compared with other groups, Café USA members put more emphasis on sincerity in their relationships with the United States. The results of this study indicate that individuals’ subjectivity should be considered as far more contextualized and nuanced than has been the case in previous research on national image or country reputation.     

Walking the Tightrope:

In societies where homosexuality is legally proscribed, gays and lesbians rely on private and informal networks for mutual self-help, information dissemination, sociability, and the sharing of gay goods. This is particularly the case in Singapore where an authoritarian and paternalistic state is actively involved in the marriage and procreation of its citizens, and is hostile to homosexuality. In the era of AIDS, a new social movement has developed in ways that de jure seek to educate the public about AIDS but de facto serve the needs of the larger gay community. The dual roles of Action For AIDS are fraught with tensions, ambivalence and problems, but represent a strategic response to the social and political conditions in which the organization is located.