Ethnic Identity Construction Among Gay Jewish Men
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n. < FINDING ONE'S PLACE: ETHNIC IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AMONG GAY JEWISH MEN RANDAL F. SCHNOOR Department of Sociology McGill University, Montreal July 2003 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Randal F. Schnoor, 2003 , , / lr /?-> '> Abstract While sociological studies of 'Jewish identity' have proliferated over the last several decades, these works often ignore the internal diversity found within Jewish populations. Because of the particularities of the gay Jewish case, there is a need to devote more scholarly attention to the 'Jewish identities' of this sub- population. This study contributes to this under-studied area. Using qualitative methods (in-depth interviews and participant observation), this study explores the processes of Jewish identity construction among gay Jewish men. Despite the fact that Jews have historically held more liberal attitudes on social issues than non-Jews, the study found that Jewish families and communities often demonstrate a resistance to homosexuality and Jewish same-sex relationships. While most North American Jews, whether heterosexual or gay, partake in some form of negotiation between their Jewish identity and the non-Jewish world around them, because of the perceived stigmatization felt by gay Jewish men within the Jewish community, this group has added obstacles to overcome in constructing a personally meaningful Jewish identity. Due to the emphasis on 'traditional' gender roles, the 'nuclear family,' procreation and conservative religious values, the gay Jewish experience bears many similarities to the experiences of gay men in Black, Latin American, Asian, Greek and Italian communities. There are some distinctive features to the Jewish case, however. These include a particular aversion to same-sex relations due to the Jewish preoccupation with ethnic survival and continuity, especially in light of the Holocaust, and increased difficulty for the gay Jewish man to maintain privacy about his sexual orientation due to high levels of friendship and social networks within the Jewish community. Building upon theoretical models that attempt to acknowledge the complexities of multiple layers of stigmatized identities, the study develops a more nuanced analytical framework in which to understand the various strategies ethnic minority gay men implement as a means of negotiating their ethno- religious and gay identities. The study illustrates, for example, that the variable of 'level of religiosity' serves as a key factor in this process. The study concludes with reflections on the implications of the findings for Jewish communities and recommends similar studies of other ethno-religious communities. u Resume Tandis que les Etudes sociologiques de « 1'identite juive » ont prolifere pendant plusieurs des dernieres decennies, ces travaux ignorent souvent la diversite interne qui se trouve a l'interieur des populations juives. A cause des particularites du cas juif homosexuel, il y a un besoin de devouer une attention plus erudite envers les « identites juives » de cette sous-classe de population. Cette etude contribue a ce sujet peu etudie\ En utilisant des methodes qualitatives (entrevues detaillees et observations de participants), cette etude explore les proces de construction d'identity juive parmi les hommes homosexuels juifs. Malgre le fait que les juifs ont historiquement possede des attitudes plus liberates sur les problemes sociaux par rapport aux non juifs, l'etude a trouve" que les families et communautes juives demontrent souvent une resistance a l'homosexualite et relations juives du meme sexe. Tandis que les juifs d'Am&ique du Nord, qu'ils soient h&erosexuels ou homosexuels, prennent une certaine forme de negotiation entre leur identite juive et le monde non juif qui les entourent, a cause de la stigmatisation per9ue ressentie par les hommes juifs homosexuels a l'int6rieur de leur communaute juive, ce groupe a ajoute des obstacles a surpasser en construisant une identite juive personnellement serieuse. A cause de l'emphase sur les roles de sexes «traditionnels ». la « famille nucleaire », la procreation et les valeurs religieuses conservatrices, l'experience d'etre un juif homosexuel possede plusieurs similarites aux experiences des hommes homosexuels dans les communautes noires, latino-americaines, asiatiques, grecques et italiennes. Cependant, il existe des caract^ristiques distinctives pour le cas juif. Celles-ci comprennent une aversion particuliere aux relations du meme sexe a cause de la preoccupation juive avec la continuite et la survie ethnique, en particulier en vue de ce qui est arrive pendant le Holocauste et il existe une liste plus nombreuse de difficultes pour 1'homme juif homosexuel de maintenir une vie privee concernant son orientation sexuelle a cause des hauts niveaux d'amities et de reseaux sociaux a rint&ieur de la communaute juive. Avec une construction basee sur les modeles theoriques qui essayent de reconnaitre les complexit^s des couches multiples d'identites stigmatisees, l'etude developpe une structure de travail analytique plus nuanc^e qui vise a comprendre les nombreuses strategies utilisees par les hommes homosexuels a minorite ethnique de pouvoir negocier avec leurs identites homosexuelles et ethniques religieuses. L'etude illustre, par exemple, que la variable de « niveau de religiosity » sert en tant qu'^lement cle dans ce proces. L'etude conclut avec des reflexions sur les implications des trouvailles pour les communautes juives et recommande une etude similaire pour d'autres communautes aux bases ethniques et religieuses. in Acknowledgments There are many people who helped make this project possible. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the gay Jewish men, parents of gay Jews and community social service workers who gave me so much of their time and shared so eloquently their personal feelings and experiences. The warm friendships I have maintained with many whom I interviewed are an unexpected bonus. I would like to thank the McGill Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (through the Max Bell Fellowship), the McGill Sociology Department (Doctoral Finishing Fellowship) and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture (Doctoral Scholarship) for their generous financial support, which allowed me to pursue my research full-time. Travel grants and awards from McGill's Alma Mater fund, McGill's Sociology Department, the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies, the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry and the Association for Jewish Studies allowed me to present preliminary findings of the research at academic conferences. Many thanks to Sharon Barqueiro and Franca Cianci in the sociology department for their tremendous administrative assistance over the years. I also thank Alan Harnum and Lisa Philpott for their research assistance, and Heather Camlot for her expert copy-editing. I was most fortunate to work with two very helpful and caring academic supervisors. Professor Suzanne Staggenborg offered invaluable practical guidance on designing the research methodology, on structuring and revising the thesis chapters and by answering any other technical question I had along the way. She was a pleasure to work with. What can I say about Professor Morton Weinfeld? Simply put, I came to McGill because of him. It was the best academic decision I have ever made. I knew I wanted to work with him on some aspect of the sociology of the Jews. From the moment I presented to him the novel idea of a study of the gay Jewish experience, Professor Weinfeld has been genuinely enthusiastic and supportive. He has guided me through the project masterfully and has been a tremendous role model for me, both personally and professionally. I sincerely thank him for everything he has done for me. I thank my mother, Marcia Schnoor, my sister, Cindy Opler, and her family and the Moshinsky family for their love and support for what must have seemed like an interminably long period for one person to complete a Ph.D. I thank also my first cousin Jeffrey Schnoor for his support. I think he knows that he was one of my key sources of inspiration to conduct such a study. I learned a tremendous amount from my friend Avi Rose, and I am proud that we have inspired each other to continue to contribute to this field and this cause. I also thank Aaron Shiffman for his support of my scholarship. iv I met my dear friend Avi Goldberg on the "first day of school" in September of 1995. Who would have imagined the depth of friendship that we would sustain over these eight years of working and muddling through this degree together? I wonder how we would have made it if we didn't have each other to lean on. Avi is a great person and a cherished friend. Congratulations to both of us for reaching the finish line! My amazing wife, Marsha, was, as usual, a tremendous source of support and encouragement for me. Whether I was enthusiastically sharing with her my most recent sociological discovery, testing a new argument or suffering from the customary episodes of stress or burn-out, she has been there for me at every step of the way. Her proofreading and computer skills towards the end of the study were invaluable. I thank her for her love, her patience and her belief in me. My dear father, Jack Schnoor, passed away in January of 2001 while I was in the midst of the interviewing process for this study. I think of him often, but especially at this time. I know how proud he would have been of my accomplishment and it pains me that we cannot be together to share this. His memory is a blessing to me. Those who know me well know how much this research has touched me personally. In addition to conducting an academic study of the gay Jewish experience, I have been motivated to act to effect social change. I have devoted much time and energy to the task of raising awareness in the Jewish community about the particular concerns of gay and lesbian Jews.