Young, Gay, and Suicidal

Dynamic Nominalism and the Process of Defining a Social Problem with Statistics

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5338292
AutoresTom Waidzunas (0000-0002-5943-0211, Northwestern University, autor correspondente)
Ano2012
Volume37
Fascículo2
Páginas199-225
Data de publicação2012-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243911402363
OpenAlexW2068136558
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas31
Referências citadas26

Since 1989, widely circulating statistics on gay teen suicide in the United States have acted as catalysts for institutional reforms, scientific research, and the creation of an identity category "gay youth." While one figure has been replicated scientifically, these numbers originated not from a scientific research study but as risk estimates developed by a social worker and published in a government document. Many people within the public took up these original numbers, attributing their author the status of scientific researcher. In effect, the numbers became "black boxed," often traveling without citation. Drawing on Ian Hacking's "dynamic nominalist" perspective, this article utilizes interviews with the author of these statistics and other key claimants, along with textual analysis, to trace the origins, uptake, and effects of these figures. While making vital policy contributions, the numbers have led to some ironic consequences including the fostering of gay youth identification with suicide as a potential correlate of their identity and the potential antigay redeployment of decontextualized numbers. They have also led to a reaction in the form of "resilience" narratives

Criminology · Epistemology · Hacker · Nominalism · Sociology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies