Inty, Connectedns, and Sexual Health the Gay Sna | SprgerLk

Contents:

• THE RELATN OF SOCIAL SUPPORT, NNECTEDNS, AND LLECTIVE SELF-TEEM TO THE PSYCHOLOGIL WELL-BEG OF LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL YOUTH
• INTY, CONNECTEDNS, AND SEXUAL HEALTH THE GAY SNA

THE RELATN OF SOCIAL SUPPORT, NNECTEDNS, AND LLECTIVE SELF-TEEM TO THE PSYCHOLOGIL WELL-BEG OF LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL YOUTH

The groups clu: Frontnners, tablished 1974, wh over 100 LGBT athletics clubs worldwi [31]; Var Voic, a biannual LGBT choir ftival [32]; the Bgham Cup, an annual ternatnal gby petn [28]; a plethora of LGBT film ftivals [33]; an Internatnal Theatre Ftival [34]; and the Gay Gam [35]. It’s the place to meet like-md people… was our love of food and we-matchg that was the nnectn… nnects me to the wir muny…I nnected wh beg gay (dg, 56)I’m part of this muny and feel clud and volved …bee there’s lots of different typ of like-md people there…It’s a thg that the muny really celebrat diversy that sense…I jt feel that I am accepted—’s wonrful, ’s so validatg (roller rby, 27)But the ma nnectn for everybody is the love of beg outdoors on mountas or hills…Sharg my enjoyment of the activy…there’s an on-par thg now—a shared thg together…A terie of like-md people n go and do more adventuro thgs…and there’s a thrill that (hikg, 53)Shared terts appeared to play an important role creatg social works and muny nnectns.

I found myself a suatn where I had no gay iends and was a nnectn that I missed…I figured the only way to really make iends who are also LGBT was to jo some sort of a club that had LGBT participants (MeetUp, 27)In this way, appears that is the terlkg of the tert and LGBT inty that creat the nnectn; there is a need for both, one whout the other would be sufficient. And pl is the fact that there’s always lots of actors who are gay, a lot of theatre makers who are gay; so ’s like I f right (theatre, 22)In this way, appears that while participants’ shared terts are to the foreont, the shared terts also provi opportuni for nnectn wh LGBT muni. For the first time my life I was socialisg wh all gay people…somethg jt, I don’t know if clicked, or if felt fortable…and I thought ‘Actually, this is pretty ol: I feel like I belong here, I feel at ease here, I feel fortable’ (gby, 31)While the LGBT group provid a sense of belongg, further elaboratn was provid:.

I’d scribe myself as…terted sports…yeah, I’m gay…but I wouldn’t want to be, and I don’t thk that should be, one of the first words that I’d choose to scribe myself (gby, 31)This narrative suggts that while there was no ‘need’ for a gay team, as sexual orientatn is only one form of inty enactment. I loved , I was gog every two weeks, never missed …’s not a vehicle for ‘g out’ and, a sense, I did e for ‘g out’… I was very, very nervo gog to my first meal and I’ve met a lot of people who have been very nervo…It has bee where I’ve met my bt iends and que a lot of acquatanc (dg, 56)When I found out there was a gay choir, seemed obv thg. It was my first experience of lots of gay people who weren’t jt the same age as me…I was immersed que quickly— was everythg that I wanted to be—a great way to the muny… wasn’t too much outsi my fort zone (choir, 32)While none of the sportg, creative or social groups was picted by participants as a support group when ‘g out’, may be that sharg terts acted as a ndu for those explorg and qutng their LGBT inty.

INTY, CONNECTEDNS, AND SEXUAL HEALTH THE GAY SNA

Some people don’t know any gay people, or don’t know they know any gay people or ’s this ‘other’ thg and they see as the stereotyp…We’re a choir who mostly happen to be gay (choir, 32)…and a choir sgg—pecially a relatively tradnal choir—is very non-threateng and que accsible and que different (choir, 36)The discsn above, mentng that the choir ‘mostly happen to be gay’ and ‘non-threateng’, suggts that others’ perceptns of LGBT people and social nnectedns beyond LGBT muni is also important. It is good to show up and have a prence, a visibily for LGBT people…If you see somebody reprentg the lbian and gay muny nng at the same event you’re nng at, that has to allow you to have some sense of belongg or affy or potential to be…not so alienated (athletics, 46)A lot of my iends have said to me that they felt like I did pave the way; that me ‘g out’ gave them the urage to afterwards…I thk young people now nsir to be homophobic…to be jt medieval. There’s still a lazy portrayal of gays the media…where beg gay is everythg about them or jt wh their mcg characteristics or they speak one way and they’re flamboyantly gay, which…do exist…But…anyone, regardls of their temperament or how they act, n be gay (theatre, 22)There were recurrg referenc to homonegativy and the prevalence of the “prumptn of heterosexualy”:.

’ When people assume I’m straight I nearly feel an obligatn…to tell them I’m gay…It’s the way of life to be straight (gby, 31)Perhaps, due to such experienc of homonegativy, heteronormativy and genred assumptns, some rponnts felt was important for their wellbeg to be volved wh an LGBT sportg, creative or social group [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35]. The prent study extend the rearch on the mental health of lbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth by ttg the relatnship of social support, social nnectedns, and llective self-teem to psychologil well-beg a sample of 218 LGB youth.

Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC3143245NIHMSID: NIHMS279097AbstractTheory and rearch agree that nnectedns to the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muny is an important nstct to acunt for unrstandg issu related to health and well-beg among gay and bisexual men.