Poppies in a wheat field: Exploring the lives of rural lesbians
Poppies in a wheat field: Exploring the lives of rural lesbians
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DOI：
10.1300/j082v39n01_05
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发表时间：
2000-01-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
McCarthy, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
McCarthy, L
许多人认为，女同性恋身份取决于城市生活中寻找信息、支持以及像其他人一样的机会（Bell 和 Valentine 1995a）。事实上，探索一个人的女同性恋自我意识通常涉及认同一个明显的参照群体、寻找有其他同性恋者的社交场所、与当地社区建立联系以及参加面向同性恋的活动。对于农村居民来说，这些机会大多无法获得，而且缺乏获取信息、公共聚会空间以及与其他女同性恋者的联系进一步阻碍了社会群体认同的发展。鉴于同性恋身份以社会参考群体为基础，农村女同性恋如何发展和维持个人和群体女同性恋身份意识？除了少数例外（D'Augelli 1989；D'Augelli et al. 1987；Kramer 1995；Krieger 1982），对男女同性恋生活进行的实证研究利用了城市和郊区样本。同样，对农村生活的研究也忽略了同性恋居民的经历。不管怎样，有关农村女同性恋生活的信息大部分仍未被揭露。这项试点研究试图提供有关农村女同性恋经历的新信息。利用焦点小组访谈，探讨了在农村环境中维持女同性恋身份的挑战。数据显示，对于这个样本来说，尽管农村女同性恋最初感到孤立，并且不确定如何培养群体认同感，但与朋友和熟人组成的小型非正式网络联系的机会有助于缓解这些问题。此外，由于这些女性几乎无法获得信息、公共聚会空间或当地同性恋文化，因此据说这个网络至关重要。没有它，女性就会感到被忽视和孤立，也就是说，她们的身份仍然不为人所知。
Many believe that lesbian identity is predicated upon the availability of opportunities in urban life to find information, support, and like others (Bell and Valentine 1995a). Indeed, exploring one's lesbian sense of self often involves identifying with a visible reference group, seeking out social arenas where there are other gays and lesbians, connecting with a local community, and taking part in gay and lesbian oriented activities. For rural residents, these opportunities are mostly unavailable, and the lack of access to information, to a public meeting space, and to connections with other lesbians further hinders the development of social group identity. Given that gay and lesbian identity has as its basis a social reference group, how might rural lesbians develop and sustain their sense of personal and group lesbian identity?With few exceptions (D'Augelli 1989; D'Augelli et al. 1987; Kramer 1995; Krieger 1982) the empirical research conducted on the lives of gays and lesbians has utilized urban and suburban samples. Likewise, research on rural life has omitted the experiences of gay and lesbian residents. Either way, information about rural lesbian life remains mostly uncovered. This pilot study attempts to provide new information about the experiences of rural lesbians. Utilizing focus group interviews, the challenges of sustaining lesbian identity in a rural setting are explored. The data show that for this sample, although rural lesbians initially felt isolated and unsure of how to develop a sense of group identity, the opportunity to connect with a small informal network of friends and acquaintances helped alleviate these problems. Further, because these women have little access to information, public gathering space, or to local gay culture, this network was said to be crucial. Without it, the women feel invisible and isolated, that is, their identity remains unseen.