RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, USA.
Cult Health Sex. 2013;15(5):570-82. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2013.775345.
This qualitative study sought to explore sexual identity development among men who have sex with men in Beirut, Lebanon; the stigma experienced by these men; and how their psychological well-being and social engagement are shaped by how they cope with this stigma. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 men who have sex with men and content analysis was used to identify emergent themes. While many men reported feeling very comfortable with their sexual orientation and had disclosed their sexual orientation to family, most men struggled at least somewhat with their sexuality, often because of perceived stigma from others and internal religious conflict about the immorality of homosexuality. Most participants described experiencing verbal harassment or ridicule or being treated as different or lesser than in social relationships with friends or family. Mechanisms for coping with stigma included social avoidance (trying to pass as heterosexual and limiting interaction with men who have sex with men to the internet) or withdrawal from relationships in an attempt to limit exposure to stigma. Findings suggest that effective coping with both internal and external sexual stigma is central to the psychological well-being and social engagement of men who have sex with men in Beirut, much as has been found in Western gay communities.
这项定性研究旨在探索在黎巴嫩贝鲁特与男性发生性行为的男男性接触者的性认同发展、这些男性所经历的污名，以及他们如何应对这种污名，从而塑造他们的心理健康和社会参与度。对 31 名男男性接触者进行了半结构化访谈，并采用内容分析法确定了新出现的主题。虽然许多男性报告说对自己的性取向非常满意，并向家人透露了自己的性取向，但大多数男性至少在某种程度上对自己的性取向感到挣扎，这通常是因为他们认为自己受到了来自他人的污名和内心对同性恋不道德的宗教冲突的影响。大多数参与者描述说，他们在与朋友或家人的社会关系中经历过言语骚扰或嘲笑，或者被视为不同或不如人。应对污名的机制包括社会回避（试图表现得像异性恋者，并限制与男男性接触者的互动仅限于互联网）或从关系中退出，试图限制接触污名。研究结果表明，有效地应对内部和外部的性污名，是贝鲁特男男性接触者心理健康和社会参与的核心，就像在西方同性恋社区中发现的那样。
