Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Working it "Out": A Relational Understanding of Disclosure Decisions in Same-Gender Couples

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dc.contributor Adult Learning and Human Resource Development
dc.contributor Few-Demo, April L.
dc.contributor Kaestle, Christine E.
dc.contributor Dolbin-MacNab, Megan L.
dc.contributor Van Eeden-Moorefield, Bradley Matheus
dc.creator Steelman, Sarah Michelle
dc.date 2018-07-07T08:01:52Z
dc.date 2018-07-07T08:01:52Z
dc.date 2018-07-06
dc.date.accessioned 2023-02-28T18:21:13Z
dc.date.available 2023-02-28T18:21:13Z
dc.identifier vt_gsexam:15909
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10919/83882
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/269686
dc.description "Coming out" is a unique experience for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority individuals (LGB+), yet it remains ill-defined within scholarship and is individually focused. This study investigates how same-gender couples negotiate relationship visibility and what motivates them to come out to others. A queer theoretical framework was used to explore how partners do outness. To address the needs of the literature, constructivist grounded theory methods were employed in analyzing the data. These findings showed that the majority of couples believed they had a "mutual understanding" of the rules and boundaries in place for relational visibility. In addition, the ways in which different individuals felt compelled to come out or stay in was impacted by their connection to the historical context of the Gay Rights movement. Clinical implications to help clinicians between in assessment and conceptualization in their work with members of the population were determined.
dc.description Ph. D.
dc.format ETD
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format application/pdf
dc.publisher Virginia Tech
dc.rights In Copyright
dc.rights http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.subject outness
dc.subject sexual orientation
dc.subject grounded theory
dc.subject queer theory
dc.title Working it "Out": A Relational Understanding of Disclosure Decisions in Same-Gender Couples
dc.type Dissertation


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