Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social Structure and the Male Urban Life Course

调查研究一直表明，异性恋和同性恋男性的亲密生活和二元安排存在差异，包括伴侣更改率、对情感承诺的期望以及对非一夫一妻制做法的接受。然而，导致这些差异的途径还不太清楚。理论和研究通常将同性恋和异性恋男性的偏好视为个人的固定“特征”，当取向在人生过程中发展和变化时。本项目从社会建构主义的生命历程视角，考察机会和关系历史的结构性背景如何影响亲密取向和职业的发展，以及取向是如何因应这些机会和限制而构建的。该项目收集了纽约市100名21岁至49岁的异性恋和同性恋者(黑人和白人)的生活史。生活史方法跟踪从基线方向到现在的亲密实践和二元安排的连续性和转折点。它还探讨了这些过程中的种族差异。该项目没有对同性恋者和异性恋者一概而论，而是捕捉了结构和过程之间的动态相互作用，从而有助于更多地从社会学的角度理解行为，这些行为通常是从个人主义或生物学的角度来看待的。

Survey research has consistently demonstrated variation in the intimate lives and dyadic arrangements of heterosexual and homosexual men, including rates of partner change, expectations of emotional commitment, and acceptance of non-monogamous practices. However, the pathways to these differences are less well understood. Theories and studies often treat preferences of gay and straight men as fixed "traits" of individuals, when orientations develop and change over the life course. Taking a social constructionist life course perspective, this project examines how structural contexts of opportunity and relational histories affect the development of intimate orientations and careers, and how orientations are constructed in response to these opportunities and constraints. The project gathers life histories of 100 heterosexual and homosexual (black and white) males between 21 and 49 years of age in New York City. The life history method tracks continuities and turning points in intimate practices and dyadic arrangements from baseline orientations to the present. It also explores racial differences in these processes. Rather than make generalizations about gay and straight men, the project captures the dynamic interplay of structure and process, and thereby contributes to a more sociological understanding of behavior that is often viewed from individualistic or biological perspectives.