I am interested in the process of "coming out." There are a lot of things I could focus on there, including coming out issues for adolescents or minors, coming out in college, after college but still young, coming out in mid-life, coming out while in a heterosexual marriage (or shortly thereafter).
Bullying of those perceived to be gay is another hot topic. This seems to happen mostly to young men and the transgender, I haven't seen anything about overt bullying of lesbians though I may be misinformed.
Whatever my focus, I will need to read a shit-load of academic articles on that topic. Therefore, the topic needs to be discussed in professional/academic journals. No, I haven't looked in the databases to see what's there. Articles should be fairly recent, I think within the past five years, though the time limit my be different. I'll need to ask my advising professor. The exception to that would be seminal articles, those from longer ago that have brought significant new ideas to the field. I'll find those by reading the more recent articles, because the recent stuff will refer to the older significant works.
The format of this course work is article review/annotated bibliography. I won't be giving my personal opinions or anything interesting like that. My professor will teach me how to read articles for the content I need and how she wants me to write the annotated bibliography for each article. I'm not entirely clear yet on what needs to be done, but it is past time for me to begin looking for articles. Which necessitates having some idea what my topic is.
So what do you think? Give me your opinions about what kind of glbt research I should look into.
10 comments:
Alas, I can't think of anything; I will get back to you later.
Hmmm sounds interesting. The bully aspect would have the most recent article probably. I did one of my speeches on that and had tons of info. "Coming Out" issues in midlife/during marriage would be good too - many articles. Hmmm maybe you could do it on the coming out issues at different life stages? You could end it with a section of comparing the benefits/problems. That way your info would be endless. I have seen of late some articles about GLBT SENIORS coming out and issues they face but not sure if there would be enough info. Hmmm there are many possibilities lol. This would be my choice: A) issues coming out at different life stages . . .B) issues at midlife
Good luck on this looking forward to hearing what you decide to do and how it comes out.
I would agree with Tobey. Not sure how much is out there, but with the Baby Boomers now officially starting to retire there should be an upswing in articles on the aging GLBT population...
Good post! A couple of topics I have always thought about are: 1. 'fitting in'....you 'come out' and then you have to fit in somewhere. Some choose to fit in with the gay scene and others choose to stay and attempt to 'blend' in with mainstream culture. We chose the latter after realizing it wasn't a good fit for us in the former. I feel difficulties arise with both choices.So, what leads individuals to choose one over the other.
2.What are the latest medical explanations for people being born with the predisposition of being attracted to the same sex. The majority aren't. So what happens in the embryonic development stages that causes certain 'different' changes to occur.
Anyway, a couple of things I have often pondered. Whatever you decide to research will be looked forward to on this end! Good luck Java.
Great ideas, Jim. I hadn't considered the coming out/fitting in dilemma.
Simon LeVay has a new book out that explores the latest research on the medical explanation for sexual orientation. The title of the book is "Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation." According to the reviews on Amazon, it is relatively easy for the non-scientist to read. I have the book in my "saved items" folder. :)
How about researching some aspect of the high rate of homeless GLBT teens?
I was considering this topic for my seminar paper too! I think I will go with something with a biological slant though. You should let me read your paper once you finish because it will most definitely be interesting.
loves, Tiggy
the thing that interests me the most is the shame and the lying that lgbt people do- both to themselves and to their loved ones- and the damage that behavior creates. my belief is that there is more than just superficial destruction and that many people have more difficult lives because of this- even after "coming out". there are repressed angers and shame that never get fully healed.
a favorite book ... the velvet rage by alan downs...
hwo about young adult fiction literature aimed at GLBT teens?
in my 3rd year i started (and never finished) a research essay on lesbian relationship violence. it was interesting, but i was having a lot of trouble finding relevant articles. i wanted to know how the standard cycle of domestic violence fits in with lesbian violence since neither of the partners are men. part of it was also how the treatment model would need to be changed for lesbian domestic couples because of there being no xy chromosome in the mix.
of course, after i changed the subject of my essay, finished my paper and had started a new semester i found an adequate number of relevant articles to have done the paper.
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