Gay Friends Research Articles

CSI 1595: The Case of the Stiletto Kid

CSI 1595: The Case of the Stiletto Kid Jeffrey Kahan (bio) At the end of the last millennium, Gary Taylor argued that Shakespeare’s cultural influence was in steep decline. As an example, he noted that Shakespeare Studies was no longer the epicenter within the academy of bibliographical research: “the internecine battles of Shakespeare editing may be as vicious as ever, but their victors do not command as much cultural authority as they once did” (199). Further, Taylor stated that whatever “flood of counter-examples”—Shakespeare on video, CD-ROM, and the internet; a growing interest in hypertext; bestselling books such as Harold Bloom’s The Invention of the Human; or even award-winning popular films—did not amount to much: “different critics might cite counterexamples, but the technique of refutation would remain the same: a statistical claim is countered by citing individual cases that contradict it. Such refutations are illogical, because the statistical claim has already included the evidence of the alleged counter-examples” (198). Yet, if we are going to talk statistics, Taylor need only have looked at the number of “hits” on a website to see that, statistically speaking, what is popular or important outside academia outweighs what goes on within it. Today, that objection is all the more obvious: when one considers, for instance, that the Second City adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, “Sassy Gay Friend,” has been viewed over 7.8 million times, it follows that Shakespeare is alive and well, with the only real points of contention centering on who and what is “Shakespeare” and how the works should be valued and evaluated. A new generation of academics is fast embracing remediation. Thomas Leitch, for example, argues that course work should be revised to “get beyond passive receptivity to texts toward an active engagement with them” (15). He notes that “this [creative] alternative … does not approach adaptations as either transcriptions of canonical classics or attempts to create new classics but rather [serves] as illustrations of the incessant process of rewriting as critical reading” (16). Christy Desmet, who has tirelessly championed new media forms of Shakespeare, has called on “students as well as Shakespeareans” to embrace the “usefulness of talking back to Shakespeare” (11). Likewise, Stephen O’Neill argues that we should encourage “knowledge constructors,” “do-it-yourself responses to the plays,” “experiential learning” and “learning-by-doing” (218). James R. Andreas contends that our traditional assignments are not only stodgy, they are, moreover, limited to one form of learning assessment, the traditional [End Page 268] essay. He prefers “more lively and entertaining ways to communicate than simply ‘writing down.’” (31). In the same vein, Mary T. Christel and Christine Heckel-Oliver suggest that students might role-play parts of Shakespeare, which can lead “to various kinds of creative drama or improvisation” (21). Even a traditional critic like J. L. Styan has recently argued that assessment exercises on Shakespeare should somehow be an “appropriate extension of the creative act of performance” (4). Along with critical approval, remediation is in lock-step with aspects of the new common core standards, which seek “to prepare students for life outside the classroom.” The new standards, specifically, “include critical-thinking skills and the ability to closely and attentively read texts in a way that will help them understand and enjoy complex works of literature. . . . The standards also lay out a vision of what it means to be a literate person who is prepared for success in the 21st century” (ELA-Literacy). The intuition that 21st-century learners need a different set of skills from those presently offered is also endorsed by a 2012 report by the CFR (Council of Foreign Relations), chaired by Joel L. Klein and Condoleezza Rice, which embraces “creative analysis or imaginative problem solving” (47). But how to balance creativity with traditional academic discourses? In the following pages, instead of offering a panacea, I shall merely be discussing ways in which I have reformulated one assignment in my Shakespeare class. I fully admit that what I am offering here might not work for all levels of academia or suit the skillsets and preferences of all teachers. Details, I recognize, can bedevil, and my details...

Helping Your Facility Adjust to a Rainbow World

Helping Your Facility Adjust to a Rainbow World

Between a Gay and a Straight Place: Bisexual Individuals’ Experiences with Monosexism

Bisexual people experience monosexism, the privileging of sexual attraction to one sex or gender, from heterosexual, gay, and lesbian communities. The current study of 745 bisexual-identified participants explored their experiences of monosexism with heterosexual family members, heterosexual friends, gay family members, and gay friends. Results indicated that bisexual individuals reported significantly more discrimination from the heterosexual community in comparison to the gay or lesbian community, although the effect size was small. Acceptance of bisexuality from family and acceptance of bisexuality from friends were negative predictors of antibisexual discrimination. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Social Support and the Mental Health of Older Gay Men: Findings From a National Community-Based Survey.

This study examines different types and sources of social support in relation to psychological distress levels among older Australian gay men. A national community-based survey was conducted involving 242 gay-identified men aged 50 years and older. In univariable regressions, psychological distress was less likely if men were receiving emotional support, practical support, or had a sense of belonging, and also if they had a greater number of close friends and received some or a lot of support from family and gay friends but not from straight friends. Of all these factors, a multivariable regression showed that receiving emotional support was the only significant independent factor. Emotional support appears to play a greater role in the mental health of older gay men than many other types and sources of support. Ensuring access to emotional support may need to be considered when promoting healthier aging among gay men.

Sex, Spirit and the Artist in the Films of Felix de Rooy

it MAy AppeAR soMewhAt sensAtionAList to Discuss the woRk of Curacao filmmaker Felix de Rooy under a title such as Sex and Spirit, but his trilogy suggests that these are the two perspectives through which de Rooy interrogates the nature of his own identity as an artist from the Dutch Antilles and as a postcolonial subject.The three films, Desiree (1981), Almacita di Desolato (1985) and Ava and Gabriel: A Love Story (1990), have in common a female protagonist who is suppressed, repressed or who is attempting to surface from under sexual repression. That the primary subjects are female is in itself significant given that the Caribbean has long privileged the male as the primary mover in the destiny of the region. The fact that de Rooy is openly gay and that Norman de Palm, his partner at the time, is co-producer and screenwriter in the second and third films of the trilogy suggests immediately that both artists are seeking to move beyond categorisation and that they see dominant ideas of masculinity as something in need of interrogation and rethinking. It is also significant that de Palm is a clinical psychologist, and his influence is evident in all three films.1There is no doubt that religion plays an important role in the repressive structures that cause Desiree, in the film of that name, to become cracked up. Religious bigotry also pushes a community (obviously reluctant to do so) to exert punitive measures on the priestess Solem when she becomes pregnant, thus causing her to go into exile. In Ava and Gabriel, religious bigotry conspires with racism and homophobia to destroy the painter Gabriel, to ostracise Ava and to bring their homosexual friend to the point of near death. But both Almacita di Desolato and Ava and Gabriel also situate their narratives in a time past, and through story structures provide insight into what the filmmakers seem to perceive to be the deep cause of the thread of madness that runs through all three films.Almacita has its original focus on what appears at the onset to be a runaway from a place called San Christophe, a name that resonates with Haiti. The film throughout its discourse references a rich land, external markets, trade with foreign lands and the exploitation of the land's resources, and also suggests that the riches of the soil have led to insurrection and internal strife. This, combined with costuming, hints that the film is loosely set at the time of the Haitian revolution.The story also weaves a mythic tapestry and sets itself up as a dialogue between the past and the physical effects on the present, through the repetition of the line history is engraved in skin. But the film is also a mythic retelling since it speaks of the intercourse between gods (or the devil) and humans through which the gift of fertility is given to both woman and land; and also involves the promise of a saviour, the child Almacita (the little soul) who as the product of the Alma Sola (force of evil) and the priestess and protector Solem (force of goodness) will unify the conflicting elements of good and evil,2 after Solem has defeated the devil to redeem her child and by extension her land. There is, then, prophecy, trial and fulfilment, and this mythic story structure binds the society together, and through unified belief both heals and enables the community to move beyond the confines of its insularity.What accomplishes this, and indeed the project is similar in Ava and Gabriel, is an interrogation of the force that spirit exerts on the communal psyche and of the way in which the force field of spirit survives in memory and through lineage and is passed down from one generation to the next. Ideas of procreation and generational transmission are linked to ideas of spirit and spirituality from the earliest film, Desiree, which de Rooy produced as a student at New York University.3The idea of children as a force for change and continuity is further delineated at the very beginning of Ava and Gabriel, where the young girl child from Almacita reappears. …

House Member Proposes Federal Action to Ban Conversion Therapy for LGBT Youth

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government NewsFull AccessHouse Member Proposes Federal Action to Ban Conversion Therapy for LGBT YouthVabren WattsVabren WattsSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:11 May 2015https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2015.5b9AbstractLast month, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) introduced the Stop Harming Our Kids (SHOK) Resolution, which calls on states to ban conversion therapy aiming to “repair” youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). “Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is not a disease to be cured or a mental illness that requires treatment,” said Speier during a press conference. “This backward ‘therapy’ has been rejected for over 40 years as scientifically invalid by the American Psychiatric Association and other mental health groups.” Spier called conversion therapies a form of mental and physical torture that poses serious health risks for American youth.Under the SHOK Resolution, states are called “to protect minors from efforts that promote or promise to change sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, on the premise that homosexuality is a mental illness or developmental disorder that can or should be cured,” according to a press release from Speier’s office.The resolution was introduced five days after the April 8 call by the Obama Administration to end conversion “therapy” in response to a petition calling for action on whitehouse.gov signed by more than 120,000 Americans (Psychiatric News, May 1). The petition was prompted by the recent death of a transgender youth by suicide following what she reported were efforts by her therapist to convert her back into a boy. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) stands with Samuel Brinton, cochair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ #BornPerfect campaign, as he describes his experience with conversion therapy during childhood.Vabren Watts“Conversion therapy is a set of dangerous practices that falsely claim to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” Samuel Brinton, cochair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ #BornPerfect campaign and a survivor of conversion therapy, said at the press conference. “When I was 10 years old, a licensed psychotherapist tried and failed to change something that I never chose. He told me that I was sick and God hated me and that the government had exterminated all other gay people. I believed him .”Brinton told the audience that he was subjected to practices such as the “ice block,” a technique in which blocks of ice were placed on his hands while being shown pictures of men being affectionate with one another. The only relief from the ice occurred when pictures of a man and woman were shown. Brinton described also enduring other practices in which he was stuck with needles in his fingers and underwent rounds of electric shock.“These practices create, rather than cure, physical and mental health conditions,” said Brinton, who told the audience that he had attempted suicide years later as a result of the mental and physical abuse stemming from therapy. “Way too many children are subjected to conversion therapy,” said David Stacy, M.A., government affairs director of the Human Rights Campaign, in addressing the audience. “The message is clear: no kid should be harmed. Some parents are thinking that they are trying to help their kids, but they need to be educated on the detrimental and long-term effects of these types of therapy.”Other LGBT advocacy groups at the press conference in support of the SHOK Resolution included PFLAG (formerly known as Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Trevor Project, which calls for public education on the falsehoods surrounding the outcomes of conversion therapies for LGBT individuals. ■The text of the SHOK Resolution can be accessed here. ISSUES NewArchived

Understanding Gay Community Subcultures: Implications for HIV Prevention.

Gay and bisexual men (GBM) who participate in gay community subcultures have different profiles, including differing risk behaviors. We examined men's participation in gay community subcultures, and its association with risk behavior. In a cross-sectional survey, 849 GBM provided information about men in their personal networks. We devised measures of their participation in five subcultural groupings and explored their associations with sexual behavior. We identified five subcultural groupings: sexually adventurous; bear tribes; alternative queer; party scene; and sexually conservative. Higher scores on the sexually adventurous measure was associated with being older, having more gay friends, being HIV-positive, and being more sexually active. It was also independently associated with unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners (AOR 1.82; 95% CI 1.20-2.76; p=0.005). HIV prevention strategies need to account for the different subcultural groupings in which GBM participate. Measures of engagement with gay subcultures are useful indicators of differential rates of risk behavior and modes of participation in gay community life. Men in more sexually adventurous subcultures are more likely to engage in sexual risk behavior.

The Role of Selection Effects in the Contact Hypothesis: Results from a U.S. National Survey on Sexual Prejudice.

Empirical research has documented that contact with lesbians and gays is associated with more positive feelings toward and greater support for legal rights for them, but we know less about whether these effects extend to informal aspects of same-sex relationships, such as reactions to public displays of affection. Furthermore, many studies have assumed that contact influences levels of sexual prejudice; however, the possibility of selection effects, in which less sexually prejudiced people have contact, and more sexually prejudiced people do not, raises some doubts about this assumption. We used original data from a nationally representative sample of heterosexuals to determine whether those reporting contact with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender friend or relative exhibited less sexual prejudice toward lesbian and gay couples than those without contact. This study examined the effect of contact on attitudes toward formal rights and a relatively unexplored dimension, informal privileges. We estimated the effect of having contact using traditional (ordinary least squares regression) methods before accounting for selection effects using propensity score matching. After accounting for selection effects, we found no significant differences between the attitudes of those who had contact and those who did not, for either formal or informal measures. Thus, selection effects appeared to play a pivotal role in confounding the link between contact and sexual prejudice, and future studies should exercise caution in interpreting results that do not account for such selection effects.

A Comparison of Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Among Students of Helping Professions in Crete, Greece: The Cases of Social Work, Psychology, Medicine, and Nursing

This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek’s ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students’ attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned. Implications for curriculum design and teaching methods are discussed.

Barr and Citlau's "Compassion without Compromise: How the Gospel Frees Us to Love Our Gay Friends Without Losing the Truth" (Book Review)

Barr and Citlau's "Compassion without Compromise: How the Gospel Frees Us to Love Our Gay Friends Without Losing the Truth" (Book Review)

Sense of Belonging to Specific Communities and Depressive Symptoms Among Australian Gay Men

Sense of belonging to the general and broader gay communities has been shown to be beneficial for gay men’s mental health. This research investigated the interrelations between sense of belonging to three forms of gay community (the broader gay community, gay groups, and gay friends), sense of belonging to the general community, and depressive symptoms by examining a path model. A community sample of 177 gay men, aged 18 to 79 years, completed the Sense of Belonging Instrument–Psychological subscale, the Centre for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale, and the Sense of Belonging within Gay Communities Scale. The model provided excellent fit to the data in which sense of belonging to the general community mediated the relationships between a sense of belonging to gay groups and with gay friends and depressive symptoms. Results imply that enhancing gay men’s sense of belonging to gay groups and with gay friends is likely to be associated with fewer depressive symptoms, by virtue of their enhanced sense of belonging to the general community.

Measurement of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in students of health sciences from northeast mexico

The aims of this paper were to describe the distribution of the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay men scale (ATLG; Herek, 1984), estimate the percentages of rejection, and provide evidence regarding its concurrent validity. An incidental sample of 452 undergraduate students of health sciences was collected. The distribution of ATLG total score fitted to a normal distribution. The percentage of rejection was 18% (including 3% extreme rejection). The correlation between the ATLG total score and a homophobia scale was positive and with a large effect size. Male participants showed higher scores of open rejection toward gay men than female participants. The means of ATLG total score were higher in heterosexuals than non-heterosexuals, and in persons not having homosexual friends or relatives than in persons who did have, and in students who had started their couple sexual life than in those who had not. Hence, validity evidences were found. It is recommended the use of ATLG scale in Mexico.

That’s Gay! Gay as a Slur Among College Students

1. Robert Postic[1][1] 2. Elizabeth Prough[2][2] 1. 1The University of Findlay, OH, USA 2. 2Madonna University, Livonia, MI, USA 1. Robert Postic, The University of Findlay, 1000 North Main, Findlay, OH 45840, USA. Email: postic{at}findlay.edu In recent years, the use of the word “gay” as a synonym for dumb or lame or stupid has become prevalent in our culture. Because of this, it is clear that many individuals do not consider the word to be a slur and are not offended by its use. Using an original data set ( N = 790) collected from four Midwestern universities in the winter of 2011-2012, this article examines the characteristics of those college students who perceive the word gay to be a slur or who are offended. We find that those individuals who report having more gay friends are more likely to take offense at the use of the word gay as a slur even after controls are instituted. We also find that, contrary to expectations, attendance at religious services appears to have a direct relationship, with more frequent attenders more likely to express offense at the use of gay as a slur. Egalitarianism also emerged as a significant predictor. We offer suggestions as to why some college students perceive the word to be a slur while a majority of college students do not. [1]: #aff-1 [2]: #aff-2

Escala de Actitudes hacia Lesbianas y Hombres Homosexuales (ATLG) 2

Este artículo tiene como objetivos describir la distribución de la Escala de Actitudes hacia Lesbianas y Hombres Homosexuales (ATLG; Herek, 1984) y aportar evidencias de validez. Se levantó una muestra incidental de 356 estudiantes. La distribución de la puntuación total se ajustó a una curva normal. Su correlación con la escala de homofobia (EHF; Moral & Martínez-Sulvarán, 2010) fue .76. Mostró la diferencia entre hombres y mujeres, entre personas que se definen heterosexuales y las que se definen no heterosexuales, y dentro de las personas heterosexuales entre las que tienen amigos o allegados homosexuales y las que no; lo que aporta pruebas de validez. Se recomienda su uso en México.

“The Contact Hypothesis” and Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Parenting

“The contact hypothesis” refers to the value of heterosexuals’ interpersonal contact with gay men and lesbians in lowering negative attitudes toward them. With the increasing number of same-sex parented families worldwide, in spite of a generalized lack of appropriate social and legal protection, the issue of attitudes toward gay and lesbian parents gains special relevance. A sample of 1690 Portuguese heterosexual individuals were asked about their interpersonal contact experiences with gay men and lesbians, their attitudes toward them and toward same-sex parenting. Results revealed that women and non-religious participants were significantly more likely to have gay and lesbian acquaintances and friends, feel more comfortable in their company, and hold less negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, and gay and lesbian parenting. A path analysis model revealed that interpersonal contact experiences were not directly linked to attitudes toward same-sex families, but were mediated by homonegativity and comfort with gay men and lesbians. These findings extend previous knowledge about the value of interpersonal contact, by highlighting the roles of homonegativity and positive affect as mediators of contact experiences on attitudes toward same-sex parented families.

Introduction: The Gender and Queer Politics of Translation: New Approaches

Introduction: The Gender and Queer Politics of Translation: New Approaches

The DIY Archive

My phone buzzes in my pocket. The screen tells me that the call is coming into the Rainbow History Project’s (RHP) phone number. I’m at my day job, but I pick it up anyway. We have no office space, no physical location, so all calls have to be routed to an RHP board member, and I am the nominee. A woman’s voice, throaty and enthusiastic, is on the other end. She tells me she is a former president of the Washington, DC, chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). She has also done a lot of work through a local hospital on the subject of gender nonconforming children. She will shortly be moving to a new house, downsizing. She does not know what PFLAG and related materials she has on hand, and she won’t know until she starts to pack. But she would like to donate the materials to an organization that can archive them and make them available. Would RHP appreciate this donation? Even before she has finished talking, the wheels of my mind are cranked and turning. Other than a couple of oral histories, and a few papers related to a DC gay youth group, RHP has little material about the LGBT youth experience in and around Washington. PFLAG is a historically important organization, and its papers would help us flesh out the story of local LGBT history, rendering visible a constituent group now underserved in our archive. From these perspectives, of course we’d love the materials. Our storage unit, though, is full to bursting, and she doesn’t know how many papers she has to donate. Can we fit them into a corner in storage? If not, is there a board member’s house or apartment where we could store the files temporarily? Furthermore, who is going to help the donor sort through her materials and pick

Modelos predictivos de actitud hacia homosexualidad en hombres heterosexuales

The aims of this paper were to predict membership to a group of attitude of acceptance or ambiguity-rejection toward homosexuality, and describe the attitude levels. The Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay men (ATLG) scale was applied to a non-probability sample of 239 single heterosexual men. All of them were students of health sciences. 15% expressed rejection (including 4% extreme) based on the ATLG total score. Rejection toward gay men (28% including 7% extreme) was higher than toward lesbians (9% including 2.5% extreme). Not having homosexual friends and having adscription to Christian or Catholic religions were significant predictors of belonging to the group with an ambiguity-rejection attitude. It is concluded that the percentage of rejection toward homosexuality is significant. For this reason it is encouraged to implement workshops for promoting an acceptance attitude, and consider these risk variables in their design.

Moderators of the Relationship Between Masculinity and Sexual Prejudice in Men: Friendship, Gender Self-Esteem, Same-Sex Attraction, and Religious Fundamentalism

Masculinity has been found to predict the sexual prejudice of heterosexual men against gay men. The present study investigated the role of four variables as moderators of the relationships between two masculinity constructs (endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and gender role conflict) and sexual prejudice in men. The hypothesized moderators were: direct and indirect friendships with gay men, gender self-esteem, acknowledged same-sex attraction, and religious fundamentalism. A total of 383 men completed 8 scales plus a demographic questionnaire. Direct friendship strengthened the positive relationship between masculinity ideology and sexual prejudice, contrary to hypothesis. This finding could mean that high masculinity ideology scores reduced the likelihood that a man with many gay friends would let go of his prejudice. Direct friendship did not moderate the relationship between gender role conflict and sexual prejudice nor did indirect friendship moderate either relationship; however, both forms of friendship predicted prejudice, as hypothesized. Gender self-esteem strengthened the positive relationships between both masculinity variables and sexual prejudice as hypothesized. Same-sex attraction weakened the relationship between gender role conflict and sexual prejudice as hypothesized, but contrary to hypothesis did not moderate the relationship between masculinity ideology and sexual prejudice. Religious fundamentalism predicted prejudice, but showed no significant moderation. The results were discussed in terms of limitations and suggestions for future research and application. In conclusion, this line of investigation appears promising and should be continued and the present findings can be utilized in anti-prejudice social marketing campaigns and in counseling.

Contraste de una estructura trifactorial para escala de actitudes hacia lesbianas y hombres homosexuales (ATLG)

Este artículo tiene como objetivos contrastar el modelo tridimensional de Moral y Valle (2011), para la escala ATLG y aportar pruebas de su validez. Se aplicaron las escalas ATLG (Herek, 1984), de homonegatividad internalizada (HNI-16; Moral & Valle, 2013) y homofobia (HFK-10; Klamen, Grossman, & Kopacz, 1999) a una muestra no probabilística de 231 estudiantes mexicanos de Ciencias de la Salud (121 mujeres y 103 hombres). Se contrastaron tres modelos por Mínimos Cuadrados Generalizados (GLS): de un factor, dos factores correlacionados y tres factores jerarquizados a uno general. Los modelos de dos factores correlacionados y de tres factores jerarquizados tuvieron una bondad de ajuste equivalente y significativamente mayor que la del modelo unidimensional. No obstante, los datos reflejaron unidimensionalidad con base en tres argumentos: 1) los valores de correlación y coeficientes de regresión de los factores de primer orden fueron muy altos; 2) el análisis paralelo de Horn indicó que el número de factores es uno, por lo que la varianza explicada por un segundo o tercer factor se debería al azar; y 3) la bondad de ajuste del modelo unidimensional fue aceptable y muy semejante a la de los otros dos modelos. Las correlaciones de la puntuación total de la ATLG con las de HNI-16 y HFK-10 fueron altas y significativas. La orientación sexual autodefinida y tener amigos homosexuales tuvieron un efecto mediano sobre la ATLG. Se concluye que la ATLG es unidimensional y posee evidencias de validez. Se sugiere una forma simplificada de 5 ítems.