Some of the denial and fear that accompanies homosexuality and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) can be dealt with by discussing the following three issues: the AIDS epidemic, the problems of gay and lesbian community college students, and finally, the teaching of literature--especially poetry. Exploring both poetry and the AIDS…

Stereotyped impressions of male homosexuals and the underlying importance of sexuality in social attraction and perceptions were investigated. Male (N=80) and female (N=80) college students responded to either an attractive or an unattractive photo of a male stimulus person, who was identified to half of the subjects as a homosexual. Compared to…

This research investigates the development of conflict between sexual minority identity and religious identity in sexual minority youth, examining religion as both a risk factor and a protective factor. Intrinsic religion was expected to predict self reported conflict between religious and sexual minority identity. Retrospectively reported…

Initial efforts to study the prevalence of homophobia targeted specific groups such as college students, health care workers, social workers, and others. Some of the specific correlates of homophobia, including gender, previous contact with gay people, the quality of that contact, religious affiliation, and the degree of religious practice are…

This paper presents personal thoughts about addressing a seventh-grade civics class on the gay civil rights movement, a subject generally considered an adult issue. The situation manifests the dilemma as to whether talking to young adolescents about gay issues is in fact recruiting them, or planting dangerous thoughts in their minds. In…

The "lived reality" of secondary schooling for ten young gay men and the impact of this "reality" upon their emerging sexual identities is explored in this study. Two semi-structured interviews were held with each participant which allowed for the exploration of peer group culture, social and sexual activities, teachers, curriculum, counselors and…

In 1989, some Springfield, Missouri residents demanded cancellation of the Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) theater department's production of Larry Kramer's play, "The Normal Heart," which they alleged to be obscene. Opponents purchased newspaper advertisements which charged that the publicly funded production promoted a…

This paper describes an elective course in twentieth century lesbian novels, designed for women, that explored the cultural dimensions of lesbianism. It traces the development of the course from the time of its proposal to the departmental curriculum committee to its conclusion at the end of the spring sememster, discusses the publicity and…

This study attempted to develop psychometric properties of the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS), an instrument used to assess the awareness, skills, and knowledge of counselors working with the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population. A sample of 287 undergraduates, master-level and doctoral-level students, and counseling…

This paper discusses the gendering of self of a young boy who has two males as parents, from the view point of his female psychotherapist. During the 2 years of psychotherapy, the young boy was preoccupied with the need to create a kind of mother. He referred to his female caretaker as "Real Mommy" whom he loved and to his…

The high school experiences of gay young men, the management of these experiences, and the relationships of these experiences and their management with organizational and personal factors provide the focus of this study of a small, carefully selected sample of gay young men who attended public high schools in the state of Washington. An…

The role of adolescent sexual behavior in educational attainment has been overlooked. Homosexual and heterosexual men were interviewed to test for a correlation between adolescent sexual activeness and educational attainment, as well as any link between childhood masculine sex roles and early sexual activity. Approximately 1,000 volunteers,…

Using metaphors drawn from news stories to chart the progression, a study documented the change of meaning of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) as reflected in the news during a 15-month period beginning July 1, 1985. More than 3,200 news stories about AIDS from four wire services were examined for metaphoric content, and 300 AIDS-related…

During the past 15 years, a variety of studies conducted mostly in the industrial North and Far West, have sought to determine the attitudes and feelings of various populations toward homosexual men, lesbians, and homosexuality. These studies often reported the relationships between attitudes and personality traits or demographic variables. During…

Historical, sociological, or dramatistical methodologies can be used to study social movements; however, the dramatistical approach is most useful in a course on the rhetoric of the gay liberation. More suited to examining a completed period, the historical approach has difficulty capturing a contemporary movement. Sociological methodology, which…