Young men's rationales for non-exclusive gay sexualities.
Cult Health Sex
; 20(8): 929-944, 2018 08.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29171795
ABSTRACT
Recent evidence suggests it is useful to distinguish sexual identities among young men at the gay end of the spectrum because of group differences between primarily gay, mostly gay and gay orientations on several assessed physiological, behavioural and self-report measures. However, little is known about individuals' rationales for choosing sexuality labels beyond traditional gay or bisexual categories. We addressed this issue by interviewing 24 young men with a non-exclusive gay orientation about their sexual desires and histories, drawing on both qualitative and numeric data. Undertaking an inductive analysis, we found four distinct rationales for identification with a sexual orientation label sexual, romantic, intellectual and internalised homophobia. By examining what young men mean when they classify themselves as primarily gay, mostly gay or bisexual-leaning gay, this article provides data to understand these issues and proposes that greater focus should be placed on sexual identity for non-exclusive gay men. Although the sexual and affectional components of sexual orientation are meaningful, previous research has not sufficiently accounted for the importance of intellectual, cultural and romantic factors in non-exclusive sexual orientations. To address these issues, the use of in-depth interviews should be incorporated in future studies.
Key words
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Self Concept
/
Bisexuality
/
Homosexuality, Male
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Cult Health Sex
Journal subject:
CIENCIAS DO COMPORTAMENTO
/
CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
Year:
2018
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom