'How Do I Know I Am Gay?': Understanding Sexual Orientation, Identity and Behavior Among Adolescents in an LGBT Youth Center.

Current research on sexual minority youth tends to be concentrated in the fields of public health, social work, and psychology with a focus on psycho-social health risks that often rely on sexuality as a fixed unit of analysis. A sociological understanding of the processes that drive an individual t...

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Publicado en:Sexuality & Culture Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 385 - 405
Autor principal: Robertson, Mary
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Jun2014
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: 'How Do I Know I Am Gay?': Understanding Sexual Orientation, Identity and Behavior Among Adolescents in an LGBT Youth Center.
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        au: Robertson, Mary
        affil: University of Colorado at Boulder, Denver USA
      su:
        LGBTQ+ youth
        Sexual psychology
        Public health
        Heteronormativity
        Youth centers
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        subj:
          LGBTQ+ youth
          Sexual psychology
          Public health
          Heteronormativity
          Youth centers
      keyword:
        Adolescent sexuality
        Compulsory heterosexuality
        LGBT youth
        Queer theory
        Sexual minority youth
        Sexuality
        Youth drop-in centers
      ab: Current research on sexual minority youth tends to be concentrated in the fields of public health, social work, and psychology with a focus on psycho-social health risks that often rely on sexuality as a fixed unit of analysis. A sociological understanding of the processes that drive an individual to identify as gay in the first place makes an important contribution to this existing body of literature, allowing an opportunity to understand not just how sexual minority youth are vulnerable, but why. Drawing on my ethnographic research with adolescent males who frequent a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth drop-in center, I demonstrate how sexuality gets constructed through four processes: violating compulsory heterosexuality, seeking an explanation, exploring sexuality, and negotiating identity. I will show how individuals make meaning of their sexual selves within the context of a patriarchal, heteronormative structural system, where symbols of homophobia and masculinity inform their identity development, and how that reiterates heteronormative development. I conclude by drawing attention to how the shifting boundaries of queerness should inform efforts to improve conditions for sexual minority youth and inform future research.
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    language: English
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