Homosexuality among Teachers in Western Visayas, Philippines: Attitudes and Experiences

Abstract

The prevalence of homosexuality seems much the same in almost all cultures.This study determined the attitudes of male teachers towards homosexualityand described the lived experiences of those who engaged in a homosexualrelationship in Western Visayas, Philippines. The researchers anchored thisquantitative-qualitative research on interpersonal congruency theory which statesthat stability and change in person’s behavior is a function of stability and changein their relations with others. The study used the researcher-made questionnairebased on the work of Boxill et al. (2012). It employed frequency count, mean,t-test, and Analysis of Variance on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)software. It conducted a personal interview with the participants in a casual andconversational manner. Results show that the respondents’ attitudes towardshomosexuality were “High” for being positive, “Low” for being negative and “Moderate” for being subjective. There was no significant difference noted intheir attitudes when grouped according to age, marital status, highest educationalattainment, employment status, length of teaching service, type of school, typeof dwelling, and religion. Further, the participants’ attitudes and experiences onengagement in a homosexual relationship were for pleasure and self-fulfilment. KEYWORDS - Social Science, education, homosexuality, male teachers, attitudes andexperiences, descriptive design, Philippines