Cultural Variation in Lesbian Bereavement Experiences in Ohio

Abstract

When a lesbian woman dies, her survivors may not be recognized by health care providers who have limited knowledge of lesbian culture. The objective of this research was to learn about the experiences of lesbian survivors in the context of lesbian culture in Ohio. The three research questions were as follows: (1) Who are the bereaved lesbian survivors when a lesbian woman dies? (2) What are the experiences of these survivors? and (3) What aspects of lesbian culture are evident in the bereavement experiences of these survivors? An emergent ethnographic design was used to learn more about the cultural experiences of bereaved lesbian survivors in the state of Ohio. The design included participant observation, field notes, key informants, artifacts, audiotaped in-person and telephone interviews, demographic data, and kinship network diagrams. Seventeen self-identified survivors were located by networking and advertising in Ohio, and interviewed first in person and then for follow-up by telephone. Cultural data were analyzed using field note coding and data summary charts for themes which emerged from the literature and the experiences of survivors. This article discusses cultural variations on lesbian bereavement experiences in Ohio, using the imagery of four villages: The Big Village, the Womyn's Land, the Rainbow Village, and the Carnival Village.