Bosley-Smith Emma R, Reczek Corinne
a Ohio State Sociology Department , Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
J Homosex. 2018;65(14):1985-2004. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2017.1423213. Epub 2018 Apr 3.
This qualitative study examines how mid-life gay and lesbian married individuals articulate their decision to marry. Using 2013 data from 30 mid-life couples in Massachusetts, this study challenges previous literature that conceptualized marriage as entirely positive or negative for same-sex individuals. Mid-life individuals' unique social and historical context influence their experiences of marriage, as mid-life individuals have witnessed the rise and feasibility of marriage equality, have formed relationships outside of the bounds of marriage, and have been in committed relationships long before they married. Using the framework of ambivalence, our findings provide three main contributions to the literature. First, we show that marital ambivalence is a common experience in our sample. Second, we detail how marital ambivalence is indicative of the age, life-course stage, and length of relationship for mid-life lesbian and gay individuals. Third, we explore ambivalence at the level of the relationship, not just as an individual experience. This study provides new insight into how sexuality shapes both intimate relationship dynamics as well as the effect of same-sex marriage on LGBT communities and identities.
这项定性研究考察了中年同性恋已婚者如何阐述他们的结婚决定。该研究使用了2013年来自马萨诸塞州30对中年夫妇的数据，对之前将婚姻概念化为对同性个体完全积极或消极的文献提出了挑战。中年个体独特的社会和历史背景影响着他们的婚姻体验，因为中年个体见证了婚姻平等的兴起和可行性，在婚姻范围之外建立了关系，并且在结婚之前就已经处于稳定的恋爱关系中。运用矛盾心理的框架，我们的研究结果为该文献做出了三项主要贡献。首先，我们表明婚姻矛盾心理在我们的样本中是一种常见的体验。其次，我们详细阐述了婚姻矛盾心理如何体现中年女同性恋和男同性恋个体的年龄、人生阶段和恋爱关系时长。第三，我们不仅在个体层面，还在关系层面探究矛盾心理。这项研究为性取向如何塑造亲密关系动态以及同性婚姻对 LGBT 群体和身份认同的影响提供了新的见解。
