Liminal identities

Caribbean men who have sex with men in London, UK

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15098698
AutoresMoji Anderson (University of the West Indies, autor de correspondencia), Gillian Elam (University College London), Sarah Gerver (0000-0003-0510-7782, King's College School), Ijeoma Solarin (0000-0002-2045-3053, King's College School), Kevin Fenton (0000-0002-0528-6349, National Center for HIV/AIDS Viral Hepatitis STD and TB Prevention), Philippa Easterbrook (0000-0002-2603-5418, King's College London), Phillippa Easterbrook
Año2009
Volumen11
Número3
Páginas315-330
Fecha de publicación2009-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691050802702433
PMID19296309
OpenAlexW2151488487
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas30

Accounts by 10 Caribbean men who have sex with men living in the UK reveal them to be liminal beings with unstable and unresolved identities. They are between social states: aware they are not heterosexual and not publicly recognised, or in some cases self-accepted, as homosexual. Caribbean-born respondents especially suffer from homophobia, expressing regret and disappointment at their sexuality. They may also experience cognitive dissonance - as they are aware of their conflict with the heteronormative order - they cannot resolve. Religion contributes to homophobia and cognitive dissonance particularly for Caribbean-born men, some of whom may believe a fundamental conflict exists between Christianity and homosexuality. Heterosexism and homophobia contribute to and reinforce their liminal state, by preventing transition to publicly recognised homosexual status. Respondents may engage in private and public, internal and external, overt and covert policing of their and other gay men's behaviour: through strategic pretence at heterosexuality and/or condemnation of men engaging in behaviour identifiable as stereotypically homosexual, for example. Narratives point to the need to complexify the conventional understanding of Jamaican heterosexism to explain reported variations in the degree of anti-homosexual hostility in the country

Cognitive dissonance · Disappointment · Heterosexism · Homosexuality · Human sexuality · Liminality · Sociology · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology