The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 21;19(13):7575. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19137575.
The Jewish ultra-Orthodox community enforces strict rules concerning its members' way of life and demands that their identities be consistent with that of this conservative community. However, such congruence does not exist for ultra-Orthodox women who identify as lesbians. Drawing on social representation theory, this study examines the unique family structures that lesbian ultra-Orthodox women in Israel have adopted to accommodate their conflicting identities. The study employed a qualitative multiple case study design, conducting in-depth interviews with seven ultra-Orthodox lesbian women, and adopted a phenomenological approach to learn about their lived experience. The women had all married young in arranged marriages and all had children. Four of them were still married, while the other three were divorced. In all cases, however, their lesbian identity was kept hidden. The findings reveal the unique family structures these women created that allowed them to maintain their religious way of life on the surface, while remaining committed to their sexual identity in secret. The study extends the social representation theory and promotes an understanding of the multifaceted identity of ultra-Orthodox lesbian women. The findings can aid in designing interventions that can help such women cope with the secret aspects of their life.
犹太教极端正统派社区对其成员的生活方式实施严格规定，并要求他们的身份与保守社区保持一致。然而，对于认同女同性恋者的极端正统派女性来说，这种一致性并不存在。本研究运用社会表象理论，考察了以色列女同性恋极端正统派女性为适应冲突身份而采用的独特家庭结构。该研究采用了定性的多案例研究设计，对 7 名极端正统派女同性恋者进行了深入访谈，并采用现象学方法了解她们的生活经历。这些女性都在包办婚姻中早早结婚，并且都有孩子。其中有 4 人仍已婚，而另外 3 人已离婚。然而，在所有情况下，她们的女同性恋身份都被隐瞒了。研究结果揭示了这些女性所创造的独特家庭结构，使她们能够在表面上维持他们的宗教生活方式，同时秘密地坚持自己的性身份。该研究扩展了社会表象理论，并促进了对极端正统派女同性恋者多方面身份的理解。研究结果可以帮助设计干预措施，帮助这些女性应对生活中秘密的方面。
