Professor Petcock, or How the Academy Turns on Queer Studies

As an intellectually out lesbian faculty member, the author is keenly aware of her ornamental function vis-a-vis lesbian/gay and straight colleagues alike. Academically cast as a kind of regulating valve, she, through her work in gay and lesbian literature, ostensibly opens up the possibilities for diesel research throughout the university. Yet, her status as Professor Petcock—the dyke with intellectual and other equipment—belies institutional willingness to allow queer research, together with opportunities for political and social change within the university, to evaporate, evanesce.     

两名女同性恋者的女性主义情结——论《红果丛林》的女性主义主题

丽塔.梅.布朗(1944-)的《红果丛林》记录了一名女同性恋者的成长历程。她刻画了一个积极、乐观的反叛人物,彻底颠覆了以往小说中女同性恋的负面形象。为此,该书被诸多学者看作是同性恋文学的代表作品。但经过仔细分析不难发现,该书还从多个角度阐释了女性主义理论。利用女性主义理论从家庭、婚姻和就业三个方面分析该书作者和主人公为打破父权社会中性别角色对女性的束缚而做出的努力。     

Under the Rainbow Flag: Webbing Global Gay Identities

This essay analyzes contemporary global and local constructions of gay identities on World Wide Web sites. The authors rely on core cultural symbol analysis and visual imagery content analysis in their rhetorical-critical examination of texts and images. Three heavily trafficked, U.S.-domained Web sites are analyzed first, acknowledging the hegemonic positioning of U.S. cultural space as a physical, ideological, and cyber realm that enables the coming out process but also a realm in which cultural imperialism and commodification of other experiences reign. By comparing and contrasting the analyses of these sites with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender sites originating in Mainland China, Japan, and Germany, the authors document both the transformative and empowering aspects of transnational identity constructions and the dynamics of localized constructions that take part in, support, negotiate, and resist such global constructions.     

Observed and Reported Psychological and Physical Aggression in Young, At-Risk Couples

The occurrence of observed and reported physical and psychological aggression was examined for young, at-risk mostly unmarried couples using reports from both partners and observational data. It was predicted that males higher in antisocial behavior would be more likely to have an antisocial partner and that antisocial behavior would predict aggression toward the partner. The prevalence of reported physical aggression was comparable to that found for prior studies and was generally higher for the young women than the young men. Observed aggression was significantly associated with reported aggression, and psychological aggression was associated with physical aggression. Assortative partnering by antisocial behavior was found. The young man's aggression toward his partner was predicted particularly by his antisocial behavior, whereas that of the young woman was predicted by depressive symptoms and low self-esteem. Relationship satisfaction was associated with the occurrence of psychological aggression but not of physical aggression.     

Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Aging into the Twenty-First Century: An Overview and Introduction

This paper provides an introduction and overview for the papers in the special issue of this Journal devoted to the latter half of life among gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals. Key issues are highlighted in terms of their impact on gay, lesbian, and bisexual cultural communities: the impact of the large aging population of baby boomers; the significance of age as a social organizer; and the areas of research included in this special issue (intimacy and relationships, HIV and AIDS among elders, and the identities and needs of those growing into middle and later life).     

A Nietzschean Perspective on Church Affiliation and Self-Esteem Among Same-Sex-Attracted Members of the Mormon Church

The conflict between self-identity and religious doctrine is underinvestigated in lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons. This article examines the association between religious affiliation and self-esteem in a sample of 150 same-sex-attracted current and former members of the Mormon Church and proposes a Nietzschean perspective for clinical social work in this population. Cross-sectional data were collected through a Web-based 18-item survey composed of the Mormon Affiliation Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Analysis methods included univariate analysis using a Dunnett C post hoc test and Pearson correlation. We found a slightly positive association between ceasing church affiliation and improved self-esteem. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.     

Parents' Experience of Feeling Socially Supported as Adolescents Come Out as Lesbian and Gay: A Phenomenological Study

Discovering that an adolescent is lesbian or gay is often experienced as a family crisis. Feeling bereft of social support during times of such emotional upheaval and transition may precipitate states of despondency for parents, placing both children and parents at risk. While social support has been discussed as a key mediating agent for psychosocial stress in many areas of parenting, there has been minimal focus on parents of lesbian and gay youth. This phenomenological study explores eight parents' experience of feeling socially supported as they approach living with their adolescents' coming-out. The emergent, thematic structures comprised two dimensions of experience: those prompting social isolation and those creating social reconnection. Translating this knowledge into practice innovations offers ideas for relevant and responsive outreach.     

Integrating Couple Teamwork Conversations Into Child Welfare Practice

This article summarizes the importance of and challenges to addressing couple teamwork issues in the child welfare population. Although there is substantial evidence to support the importance of healthy adult relationships for child well-being and the prevention of child maltreatment, there are a number of barriers to addressing these couple relationships in child welfare. These barriers include diverse family configurations and uncertain relationship commitments, the individual presentation of maltreatment, and worker discomfort with these issues. Additionally, there are few relationship programs designed specifically for low income individuals, and a number of policy and environmental constraints affect couple relationships in this population. However, building upon a comprehensive practice model for child welfare known as Solution Based Casework, this article describes casework skills to initiate and maintain couple teamwork conversations. These initiation skills include assessing patterns in everyday life, building partnerships with families, normalizing and externalizing problems, and tracking interactional sequences related to parent teamwork. The maintenance skills described include maintaining a common language, utilizing family team meetings, recognizing small steps of change, keeping treatment providers on track, and making the most of setbacks. These practical guidelines will assist child welfare professionals with building couple teamwork for child protection.     

The Experience of Remarried Couples in Blended Families

This study examines the effect of the previous marriage on remarried couples within the context of a blended family. Fifteen couples in stepfamilies married from 1 to 38 years were interviewed. Qualitative analysis, using constructivist grounded theory, revealed four significant themes: (a) Most couples exhibited caution when considering marrying their spouse. (b) Differing loyalties caused stepparents to feel their needs came last and the biological parents to feel caught in the middle. (c) Antagonism toward the ex-spouse brought couples together but also resulted in their feeling powerless and frustrated. (d) Role confusion created frustration for the stepparents and guilt for their spouses. Self-psychology was the theory used to analyze the results, and implications for treatment are discussed.     

Internalized homophobia and depression in lesbian women: The protective role of pride

This study sought to examine the association between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms in lesbian women, and establish whether such a relationship was mediated by collective self-esteem, self-esteem, and self-disclosure. Participants were 225 self-identified lesbian women in the community. Structural equation modeling was used to demonstrate that an underlying construct, labeled pride, reflected participants’ levels of self-esteem, collective self-esteem, and self-disclosure. Internalized homophobia was moderately and negatively predictive of pride, and pride was strongly and negatively predictive of depression. Results highlight the potentially protective role of pride in the prevention of depression among lesbian women.