Gay Men's Experiences of Alaskan Society in Their Coupled Relationships Markie Louise Christianson Blumer Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2008 Gay men's experiences of Alaskan society in their coupled relationships Markie Louise Christianson Blumer Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Social Psychology Commons, and the Social Psychology and Interaction Commons Recommended Citation Blumer, Markie Louise Christianson, "Gay men's experiences of Alaskan society in their coupled relationships" (2008). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 15669. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/15669 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gay men's experiences of Alaskan society in their coupled relationships by Markie Louise Christianson Blumer A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Human Development and Family Studies (Marriage and Family Therapy) Program of Study Committee: Megan J. Murphy, Major Professor Warren J. Blumenfeld Sedahlia Jasper Crase Carolyn E. Cutrona Ronald Werner-Wilson Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2008 Copyright © Markie Louise Christianson Blumer, 2008. All rights reserved. UMI Number: 3307096 UMI Microform 3307096 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 ii Dedicated to my brother, Brennan Darrel Christianson November 8, 1978 – November 5, 2006 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi ABSTRACT ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 6 CHAPTER 3. METHODS 55 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS 98 TABLE 1. DEMOGRAPHICS OF COUPLE RELATIONSHIPS 158 TABLE 2. DEMOGRAPHICS OF PARTICIPANTS 159 TABLE 3. DEMOGRAPHICS OF PARTICIPANTS’ PARTNERS 160 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION 161 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION 198 REFERENCES CITED 200 APPENDIX A 223 APPENDIX B 230 APPENDIX C 231 APPENDIX D 232 APPENDIX E 233 APPENDIX F 235 APPENDIX G 237 APPENDIX H 242 APPENDIX I 243 iv BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 246 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographics of couple relationships 158 Table 2. Demographics of participants 159 Table 3. Demographics of participants’ partners 160 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to start by first expressing my heartfelt thanks to the participants in this study, for without them this work would not have been possible. Their being a part of this project and in the overall way they live their lives are truly examples of courage—courage in the face of what is predominately an oppressive society. Such courage is commendable and something I admire greatly. The appreciation and respect that I have for each and every one of the individuals in this study is immeasurable and goes beyond my ability to put into words. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to my Major Professor, Megan J. Murphy, for being supportive of this research endeavor and of sexual minority persons in general. Through your ongoing encouragement of this work, efforts in this project and its completion surpassed even my own expectations. I have appreciated your guidance and your actions as my mentor, not only in the context of this study, but throughout my doctoral student career. Overall, your ability to foster a sense of empowerment has helped facilitate my success and it is this ability that I hope to model as I teach, supervise and guide others in the future. Genuine gratitude is also extended to the other members of my Program of Study Committee, namely Warren J. Blumenfeld, Sedahlia Jasper Crase, Carolyn E. Cutrona, and Ronald Werner-Wilson for their role in challenging me to go beyond my prior limited knowledge base during the proposal of this project and in the work that followed. The expert position offered by each of you, made this project one of being much more well-rounded and interdisciplinary than it would have been without the collective and individual presence of you all. vii Thanks also go out to the University of Alaska at Anchorage (UAA) Psychology Department Faculty, as well as my departmental student assistants, all of whom have been a huge source of support not only during this research project, but also in my emerging career in academia. Through the departmental colloquium, a venue for dissemination of this work to the university public has been possible, which has been invaluable to the research process, as well as to members of both the gay and dominant communities in Alaska. Appreciation is also expressed to the UAA Behavioral Health Research and Services Department, specifically Ely Bair, who spent many hours transcribing, in a manner of high quality and accuracy, the voluminous body of a total of 378 pages of participant interviews that were accrued throughout the interviewing process of this project. My sincere thanks also go out to those who acted as my peer reviewers for this project, specifically Mary Sue Green, Shannon Crowley-Watson and Megan J. Murphy. Through the feedback I received from each of you it was clear that the themes that had emerged were evident to not only me but to others—such validity was re-assuring and constructive. Additionally, each of you challenged me to re-examine myself as the research instrument with careful attention to my researcher bias and my way of interpreting the words of the participants. The overall critique offered through the peer reviewing process was invaluable and information garnered was an example of the truly irreplaceable nature of each of the members. Lastly, I want to thank my family and friends for their continual words of encouragement throughout my schooling, including the time spent during the process of this study. On more than one occasion I have felt on the brink of exhaustion and it was in these viii moments where the words offered from each of you made it possible for me to continue. I would not be where I am or who I am today without you all. Specifically, in terms of thanking family, I want to express my appreciation for my brother, Brennan Christianson, for his impeccable use of the English language, including his excellence in writing, particularly in terms of grammar, as well as his editing skills, which over the years served to better my literary capability. Additionally, I thank my brother for acting as a role model for myself and others through his actions as an ally and advocate for members of the sexual minority community. My sincere love and appreciation goes out to my partner, Timothy Michael Christianson Blumer, for his love and unremitting support from the start of this project to its end. Your encouragement has gone without parallel—your actions, thoughts, words, and expressed emotions have all been ones of continual support and I know they will continue to be so. Finally, I thank my son, Leif Brenmark Christianson Blumer, for the hope that he brings to me, my family, and humanity; for with every new life there is a chance to make a difference. Son, I thank you for the difference you have made already and for the difference that you will make in our future—remember, “take what’s inside you and make big bold choices and for those who can’t speak for themselves use bold voices” (Curtis, 2006, p. 25-26). ix ABSTRACT Although it is true that male-male couples are more similar to rather than different from female-male couples, there are unique challenges and positive aspects for gay partnerships related to their existence in what continues to be a society of non-support. Little research exists on supportive and non-supportive experiences of gay males in society, particularly how these experiences affect their relationships, and information with regard to this topic is virtually non-existent in the remote state of Alaska. Therefore, this qualitative study, informed by constructionist frameworks, gave voice to eleven gay males currently involved in partnerships with a focus on exploring their experiences as a couple in Alaskan society. Additionally, information on the coping tools utilized by these couples, including their use of professional mental health resources, as they struggle together with societal non-support was also investigated. Themes that emerged from the interviewing process indicated that gay male couples in Alaska generally experience more societal non-support for their relationships than support and that these non-supportive experiences affect both individual and couple identity development. Social support networks, otherwise known as families of choice were identified as the primary coping mechanism for managing these negative experiences. Although the use of therapy was not the most commonly reported means of coping with oppressive societal forces, nonetheless the majority of participants in the current study did report having utilized professional mental health resources for a number of reasons. Furthermore, two themes were identified with regard to how members of the Alaskan dominant society could become more friendly or ideal in terms of their treatment towards gay male partners. These themes included a call for an increase in equality through laws, as well as an increase in societal acceptance leading to the ability for gay male couples to be able to x safely display their relationship in the general public. Findings from this study have implications centered on an increase of social justice practices with regard to gay male couples for individual members of both the therapy field and the dominant society.