Siraj Asifa
J Lesbian Stud. 2018 Jan 2;22(1):43-53. doi: 10.1080/10894160.2017.1303284. Epub 2017 Apr 3.
Friendships have the potential to transform and reconfigure lives and improve one's health and mental well-being through mutual affection, understanding, care, and love. The social, cultural, and religious ostracism British Pakistani lesbians encounter in their lives means that their friendships, in particular with other lesbians, are crucial for fostering a sense of self-acceptance and personal enrichment. Friendship can provide a supportive network, refuge, and respite from a repressive social, cultural, and family environment, especially for those who feel ostracized and marginalized. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with two British Pakistani lesbian friends, the study investigates the relationship between friendship and sexual identity, exploring how each friend negotiated her own sexual identity in the context of the friendship and whether the friendship itself served as a catalyst for self-acceptance. The case study offers an intriguing account of the importance of friendship and the role it plays in mitigating the isolation and disconnectedness caused by societal homophobia.
友谊有潜力改变和重塑生活，并通过相互的喜爱、理解、关怀和爱来改善一个人的健康和心理健康。英国巴基斯坦女同性恋者在生活中遭遇的社会、文化和宗教排斥意味着她们的友谊，尤其是与其他女同性恋者的友谊，对于培养自我接纳感和个人充实感至关重要。友谊可以提供一个支持性的网络、避难所，并让人从压抑的社会、文化和家庭环境中得到喘息，特别是对于那些感到被排斥和边缘化的人来说。基于对两位英国巴基斯坦女同性恋朋友的深入、半结构化访谈，该研究调查了友谊与性身份之间的关系，探讨了每位朋友在友谊背景下如何协商自己的性身份，以及友谊本身是否成为自我接纳的催化剂。该案例研究有趣地说明了友谊的重要性以及它在减轻社会恐同症造成的孤立和脱节方面所起的作用。
