Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2004, Higher Education

The purpose of this study was to explore the lives of gay students after they had come out in college, because most of the current research stops at the initial coming out experience. Specifically, this study sought to understand how gay students construct their sexual identity and how interactions influence the continuing construction of their sexual identity. D'Augelli's model of lesbian-gay-bisexual identity severed as the theoretical foundation for the study. The study employed a qualitative design. Data were collected through open-ended interviews with six gay college students, ages 19-22. Three themes emerged from a cross-case comparative data analysis: (a) continuous and distinct coming-out decisions, (b) expectations versus the reality of coming-out, and (c) integration of sexual identity into overall identity. Coming-out is not a one-time occurrence, but instead a dynamic process that has been, and continues to be, influenced by the variety of experiences. All participants arrived at college with certain preconceptions of college life. Coming-out introduced the participants to many new experiences and led participants to develop new expectations of college. Throughout their coming-out process, all participants began to integrate their gay identity into their overall identity; integration each participant attained varied. Results of this study led to four conclusions: (a) a person's cornerstone, an individual or group from whom affirmation was most desired, seems to have the most profound impact on continued identity development; (b) the size and culture of some colleges create additional identity challenges; (c) positive exposure to gay individuals and culture while growing up may impact the timing of a person's coming-out, and the speed and depth for identity integration; and (d) a seventh process may need to be added to D'Augelli's model. Results of this study have important implications for policy and practice. This study showed there is a strong need fo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Penny Poplin Gosetti (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Higher

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, Psychology

Research has shown that gay and bisexual males use alcohol in higher quantities and more frequently than their heterosexual counterparts. In this study, I examined the relationship between sexual identity (internalized homonegativity and gay identity formation) and the quantity and frequency of alcohol use, drinking-related consequences, and drinking-related outcome expectancies in gay and bisexual males. I recruited two samples (n1 = 529; n2 = 337) via the World-Wide-Web who completed my survey online. Participants in both samples who reported a more integrated gay identity also reported less internalized homonegativity. In the second sample, there was a small but consistent relationship between internalized homonegativity, quantity and frequency of alcohol use and drinking related consequences. There was no relationship between gay identity formation and any of the drinking outcome variables. None of the sexual identity variables explained more than 10% of the variance in alcohol-related behaviors. Although the methods of this project attempted to address some of the limitations of previous research by using a larger sample size, using more than one measure of internalized homonegativity, and attempting to recruit a demographically diverse sample, my results are similar to previous results. Future directions for research include recruiting a wider range of problem and non-problem drinkers, more subjects in the lower stages of gay identity development, and subjects who are less educated, older, lower income, and from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Committee: Harold Rosenberg (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2005, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

MFA, Kent State University, 2024, College of the Arts / School of Art

As an artist and writer, I create work to explore my own complicated identification and disidentification with queer aesthetics, experiences, and environments through conceptual and physical processes. My thesis, entitled Someone's Sun, is a meditation on gay loneliness in the current age of gay-male sociality made material in a series of handwoven tapestries. I aim to embody a sense of self-inflicted ennui, a self-defeating act of seeking for connection while simultaneously hiding oneself behind banal / insipid landscapes. Through the remediation of photographs of sunrises and sunsets posted by gay men as placeholders for their own portraits on social media apps, I abstract and amplify saturation and composition in photoshop to create a digital painting of an otherworldly environment akin to those of Science Fiction films and television. I use my digital paintings as references, glancing up at them as I dye-paint warps with a variety of color using painterly brushstrokes, once again filtering each image through a further filter of abstraction. Through these digital and analog painting processes I explore color and scale, culminating in a final remediation by weaving with single toning color of wool and a metallic lurex weft yarn on traditional floor looms to create shimmering watercolor tapestries. I weave queer tapestries, that whisper seductively hushed desires while screaming “look at how I shine.”

Committee: Gianna Commito (Committee Member); Gianna Commito (Committee Member); Eli Kessler (Committee Member); John Paul Morabito (Advisor) Subjects: Art Criticism; Art History; Behavioral Psychology; Communication; Developmental Psychology; Fine Arts; Gender; Gender Studies; Personal Relationships; Psychology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to understand the narratives of gay male individuals who identify as Christian. Although some researchers have focused on conducting studies on religious topics and others on various aspects of the LGBTQ community, there remains a paucity of research that has examined the intersection of these elements for the field of counseling and their implications. Of the limited studies conducted in this combined area, most studies are conceptual in nature or based in quantitative research approaches. The rationale for this study was to capture the narratives of gay males who are Christian and discover themes through the analysis of semi-structured interviews. Therefore, the researcher sought to answer, “What are the narratives of gay males who have a Christian religious identity?” The participants were eight adult males who self-identified as gay, male, and Christian. A narrative analysis was conducted in order to gain, understand, and analyze salient narratives from participants. From this understanding gained through the participants' narratives, better programming, support, and educational opportunities all related to the professional field of counseling can be generated for gay Christian males.

Committee: Steve Rainey Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Cassandra Storlie Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Alicia Crowe Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, Sociology

Utilizing Identity Theory (Stryker 1980), this study contributes to the previous literature on lesbigay Christian identity negotiation by examining how participation in a religious community, particularly how participation in the ritual act of communion, aids in lesbigay Christians' ability to reconcile their identities. The complexities of lesbigay Christians' use of communion for their identity congruence are examined through the analysis of ritual and narrative. Participant observation and focus groups were conducted within a church consisting primarily of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Through six main findings this study demonstrates how lesbigay Christians uniquely perform the communion ritual and attach meanings to it in such a way that allows participation to aid in the process of identity congruence. These six findings are: communion demonstrates full love and acceptance, tolerates religious diversity, celebrates individualistic spirituality, creates a sense of belonging, affirms same-sex partnership, and is an act of social justice. This paper also discusses the implications of these findings and provides direction for future research.

Committee: Monica Longmore (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Social

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2008, Nursing

The increased risks for isolation, victimization, and other adverse behaviors for GLB persons are substantiated in the literature. Yet awareness of the struggles by those coming to terms with their alternative sexual identity is limited. The “self comfort” can be used to describe the desired state of those who have been successful in this adjustment process. This research centers on clarifying, defining, and exploring the measurement potential of an instrument based on the construct self-comfort. As a holistic construct, self-comfort is realized in physical, psychospiritual, sociocultural-political, and environmental contexts. As a dynamic construct, self-comfort is sensitive to change over time, given effective and repetitive nursing interventions. The attributes of the construct are autonomy, identity, relationship, and transcendence. When the attributes and contexts are juxtaposed, a 16-cell grid (taxonomic structure) is created to describe the content domain and guide the creation of the new instrument. This study focused on testing the instrument with 245 gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons. The internal consistency reliability for the 44 item Self-Comfort with Sexual Identity Questionnaire (SSIQ) was .917 (standardized). Ninety- three respondents (41.3%) were men and 132 (58.7%) women. Seventy-four (30%) individuals self-identified as being gay; 73 (29.8%) as lesbian; 49 (20%) as bisexual; and 17 (6.9%) were undeclared. Study data met the factorability criteria described by the Bartlett…#8482;s test of sphericity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (KMO), and Measures of sampling adequacy (MSA). A principal component analysis (PCA) method of extraction with a varimax rotation was completed. The number of factors was set at four to remain consistent with the theoretical framework for the study. Factors were extracted in 6 iterations with factor loadings <.40 being suppressed. Using the guidelines for item-to factor loadings in an orthogonal solution, loadings between (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kathleen Tusaie (Advisor) Subjects: Gender; Nursing

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2008, Counseling Psychology

The present study investigated associations among African American and same sex attracted identity developmental components, psychological well-being, difficult sexual situations, and sexual risk practices among a sample (N = 73) of HIV-positive African American men who have sex with men (MSMs). The current study responds to Mays, Cochran, and Zamudio's (2004) call for empirical investigations of culturally specific determinants impacting psychological health and sexual risk behaviors among African American MSMs. The current study parallels the methodology of Diaz, Ayala, and Bein (2004) and Diaz, Bein, and Ayala (2006), linking experiences of homophobia, racism, and poverty to psychological health and sexual risk practices among gay identified Latino men. Using a similar framework, the current study investigated the impact of African American and same sex attracted identity development on psychological health and sexual risk practices within a sample of African American HIV-positive MSMs. The current study's sample reported a diverse range of sexual identities (e.g., gay, heterosexual, “on the down low;”), with all participants having engaged in consensual sex with other men. Results indicated that higher endorsement of the Anti-White African American identity (as measured by the Cross Racial Identity Scale [CRIS, Vandiver et al., 2000]), as well as lower levels of psychological well-being, and younger ages, predicted circumstances promoting unsafe sex. Higher endorsements of the African American identities of Multiculturalist Inclusive and Miseducation, as well as the same sex attracted identity of Superiority (as measured by the Lesbian and Gay Identity Scale [LGIS; Mohr & Fassinger, 2000]), predicted interpersonal barriers to unsafe sex. Additional exploratory analyses showed higher endorsements of the same sex identity of Homonegativity to predict lower levels of psychological well-being; higher endorsements of the African American identity of Assimilation, an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Charles Waehler Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: African Americans; Behaviorial Sciences; Demographics; Developmental Psychology; Gender; Health; Multicultural Education; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Public Health; Social Psychology

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2025, Education

This dissertation examines the roles, challenges, and contributions of a Black Gay father, a demographic largely absent from academic discourse. While literature explores themes of the church, LGBTQ+ identities, and social justice, there remains a critical gap addressing the lived experiences of a Black Gay father. This study fills that void by elevating narratives as community activists, family leaders, and clergy members, acknowledging their transformative impact within familial and societal structures. The methodology used is the Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN). It allows for in-depth, reflective engagement with personal experiences in conversation with scholars while situating them within broader sociocultural, theological, and justice discourses. SPN is particularly suited for this research as it foregrounds lived experience, making visible perspectives often excluded from traditional methodologies. This study is grounded in social justice leadership, liberation theology, transformative learning theory, and lived experience scholarship. It offers a critical framework for analyzing how Black Gay fathers navigate identity, faith, and leadership while advocating for justice. This narrative reveals that Black Gay fathers are essential architects of justice-oriented leadership. Through thematic reflection and critical incident analysis, their experiences challenge traditional notions of fatherhood, faith, and activism, demonstrating resilience and the ability to forge inclusive spaces for future generations. The study further underscores the systemic erasure of Black Gay fathers in academia, religious institutions, and policy, highlighting the need for intentional recognition and reform. The implications of this research extend beyond individual experience; it calls for deeper academic inquiry, institutional accountability, and greater visibility, particularly within theological seminaries and culturally responsive education programs. It serves as a foundation fo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lesley Jackson (Committee Chair); Emiliano Gonzalez (Committee Member); Jamie Washington (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; Black History; Clergy; Education; Educational Leadership; Gender Studies; Individual and Family Studies; Pastoral Counseling; Personal Relationships; Religion; Religious Education; Spirituality

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2006, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Introduction: African American, gay, cisgender men (AAGM) experience unique forms of minority stress which are associated with psychosocial pressure to engage in behaviors which they believe may reduce their exposure to negative evaluations, discrimination, and violence. However, behavioral management of stigma-related stressors has not been operationalized or measured in an intersectional manner. Cultural Consensus Modeling (CCM) is a rigorous, mixed-methodological, multiphase approach to develop a bottom-up, culturally-informed understanding of a set of behaviors shared by a cultural group. Thus, this study sought to elucidate intersectional identity management behaviors among AAGM using Phase 1 free listing data. Method: Participants were 50 AAGM (Mage = 27.9) who completed Phase 1 of a CCM study. Participants identified intersectional identity management behaviors common among similar peers using a free listing format, and responses were submitted to thematic content analyses. Results: There were 137 total valid response items, and the majority of responses (51.82%) were framed in an intersectional manner. Three major themes related to the interpersonal interaction target emerged and there were 15 sub-themes which varied in content, range, and valence. Conclusions: Responses highlighted within group heterogeneity among AAGM's behavioral management strategies and provided preliminary evidence in support of the CCM methodology to inform the development of theory and a novel measurement tool to examine intersectional identity management in this population.

Committee: Jennifer Brown Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Sarah Whitton Ph.D. (Committee Member); Farrah Jacquez Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

This qualitative study aims to explore the unique experiences and challenges faced by Latino Caribbean cisgender gay men within their cultural and social contexts. Using focus group and thematic analysis, the researcher examines the narratives and perspectives of a diverse sample of Latino Caribbean cisgender gay men (n = 6) to gain insights into their sexual identity process, cultural influences, family dynamics, and support systems utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the methodological framework. The researcher's findings highlight the themes of Awareness of Sexual Identity, Visibility Management, Spanish Caribbean Families' Influences, Being True to Oneself, and Positive Experiences & Role Models as key factors influencing the participants' experiences. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the intersections between sexual and cultural identities for Latino Caribbean cisgender gay men. The participants navigate the complex process of self-acceptance and disclosure while balancing cultural expectations and societal norms. The role of family and community support emerges as both a source of strength and potential challenge in their journeys of self-exploration and acceptance. The findings shed light on the need to research the sexual identity process for Caribbean LGBTQ+ individuals, couples, and families within a social justice framework. These findings highlight the importance of creating inclusive spaces, promoting visibility, and providing culturally sensitive support services to address the unique needs of this population. And contribute to the existing literature on sexual identity development, cultural diversity, and family dynamics, and provide insights that can inform interventions, policies, and practices aimed at promoting the well-being and empowerment of Latino Caribbean LGBTQ+ individuals.

Committee: Kevin Lyness PhD, LMFT (Committee Chair); Markie Twist PhD, LMFT, LMHC, CSE (Committee Member); Alex Iantaffi PhD, MS, SEP, CST, LMFT (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Black Studies; Caribbean Studies; Counseling Psychology; Families and Family Life; Gender; Gender Studies; Glbt Studies; Hispanic American Studies; Hispanic Americans; Latin American History; Latin American Studies; Mental Health; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Personal Relationships; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Social Research; Social Work; Therapy

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, American Culture Studies

In 2014 Roxane Gay published Bad Feminist, a collection of personal essays written from her position as a Haitian American feminist academic. This work quickly skyrocketed in popularity across both academic and nonacademic audiences. Representative of the increasingly public-facing authoethnographic scholarship of feminist academic women, Gay's work is a product of its time. For this dissertation, I examine Bad Feminist along with two other also wildly popular autoethnographic works produced in the same decade, Tressie McMillan Cotton's Thick: And Other Essays and Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts. I examine these texts as public-facing, accessible works that communicate their academic feminist authors'; feelings of feminist inadequacy in order to address larger issues of feminist practice and theory. Utilizing Sara Ahmed's theory of becoming feminist, I analyze the "bad feminist moments" expressed in these texts as moments of feminist crisis to identify what causes them and what functions they might serve. Using qualitative methodological triangulation, better known as mixed-methods research, I employ topic modeling and content analysis across all three texts to identify patterns that reveal not only why and how academic feminists might feel like they are bad feminists, but how and why they choose to share the moments in which they feel like bad feminists with others. Fighting to maintain their feminist identities in a world rife with gendered and raced violence, neoliberal ideals of self sufficiency and individual perfection, rapidly evolving technologies, and intersecting historical structures of oppression, these authors utilize moments of feminist imperfection to create space and time to disarticulate and rearticulate their relationships to feminism, their relationships to other people, and their relationships to academia. In this project, I conclude that bad feminist moments might be reactions to the pressures of both historical and contemporary structures of o (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sandra Faulkner Ph.D. (Advisor); George Bullerjahn Ph.D. (Other); Susana Peña Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jolie Sheffer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2018, East Asian Languages and Literatures

The thesis draws upon both quantitative and qualitative approaches to linguistic variation. Specifically, for the quantitative study, the thesis conducts a sociophonetic case study of an LGBT talk show in Taiwan, with a focus on one gay speaker's variation in pitch range. In this quantitative approach, statistically significant differences are found across the subject's various speaking situations. The subject, HY, exhibits a considerable cross-situational variation: When HY participates in the talk show both as a guest and as a host his average maximum f0 is higher than as an applicant. More crucially, when HY is attending the talk show as a guest, his f0 pitch range is significantly wider than as an applicant and a host. To explain the phonetic variation, the thesis proposes that the sociophonetic variation in pitch range is motivated by interactional personas that are subject to specific speaking situations. However, the sociophonetic variation observed in the talk show is just part of the story of HY's stylistic performance. In order to tell the entire story, the study also includes a qualitative study via the analysis of discourse to examine two conversational excerpts where HY participates in the talk show as a guest. HY uses some linguistic and gestural features that have been ideologically associated with Chinese women, such as the female term of reference laoniang 'old woman' or a typical feminine gesture, such as tucking hair behind the ears. In this thesis, I seek an explanation for the relationship between these semiotic features observed in the talk show and HY's gay identity. Adopting the social constructionist paradigm, the study demonstrates that the form-meaning relationship is not a one-to-one mapping, but is mediated through stance-taking. According to the notion of indexicality, the linguistic and gestural features take on their semiotic value through HY's stance in the LGBT talk show and these interactional stances are ideologically re-a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Chan Marjorie K.M. (Advisor); Xie Zhiguo (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Studies; Language; Linguistics; Sociolinguistics

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2016, Education

As individuals move through life, there are developed and identified areas referred to as social networks that provide support and assistance. It is through these social networks that identity formation occurs, these broad categories are highly influential in defining self-concept, which is developed through an affiliation (whether it be positive or negative) with the following groups: family, peers, education, spirituality, and the broader community/society. For those individuals that identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual (LGB) there are challenges that exist in their development that are unique to them as compared to what the general population experiences. LGB individuals are an extremely vulnerable subset of the population, particularly given the degree of homophobia in our society. Adolescents who are struggling with issues of sexual orientation face incredible challenges and lack many of the fundamental support systems available to their heterosexual peers (Gonsiorek, 1988). All of these identified social networks of this developmental period lend themselves to the overall identity formation of each adolescent. A positive identity must integrate one's sexual identity into it (Baker, 2002). For LGB individuals who are struggling to identify, define, and make sense of feelings of attraction toward members of the same sex, adolescence may be a particularly challenging time in their lives. This qualitative study consisted of 18 participants that discussed their coming-out process in the context of supportive and non-supportive social networks. It explored the difference between the high school and college environments, identifying risk and protective factors that impacted this important milestone in their sexual identity development. Several themes were identified around the process of coming-out; these were fear, shift of social networks (high school to college), and search for community and acceptance. Throughout these identified areas there wa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Scoles Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Judith Wahrman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gwynne Rife Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Academic Guidance Counseling; Behavioral Sciences; Families and Family Life; Fine Arts; Glbt Studies; Individual and Family Studies; Mental Health; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Social Work

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, EDU Policy and Leadership

This qualitative study used interview and focus group data from 13 gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer (GLBQ), and other non-heterosexual students of color to add to the extant literature on the intersections of race, sexuality, gender, and other social identity categories in higher education. Using a grounded theory methodology supplemented by intersectionality as its theoretical framework, this dissertation study offers a number of findings that increase our understanding of the ways in which GLBQ college students of color understand, navigate, negotiate, and enact sexual identity label adoption and sexuality disclosure possibilities. The first set of findings explore sexual identity label adoption. In their discussion of label adoption considerations, participants describe sexual identity labels as possessing a utilitarian function; that is, operating as a tool rather than just a descriptor of their sexuality. To this end, there were five findings that emerged regarding sexual identity label adoption; collectively they include the following considerations: (a) a willingness to adopt a sexual identity label, (b) the nature of the adoption process being less than straightforward, (c) need to adopt alternate sexual identity labels to be able to share that identity, (d) the influence of sexual identity development and label adoption of one's understanding of race, and (e) association between access to diverse array of sexual identity labels and one's academic and social involvement. Findings related to sexuality disclosure primary focused on three areas: motivation for disclosure, impetus to conceal or not vocalize one's sexuality and sexual identity, and additional factors that influence disclosure. In addition to findings, implications for research, policy, and theory are considered.

Committee: Terrell Strayhorn (Advisor); Wendy Smooth (Committee Member); Shannon Winnubst (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Education; Ethnic Studies; Glbt Studies; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

BA, Oberlin College, 2014, Gender Sexuality and Feminist Studies

This project employs a queer and feminist lens to critique the prominence of the coming-out narrative in discourses surrounding queer life experiences, and configures alternative ways of thinking about these experiences. I conducted on-campus interviews with queer-identifying women about their identities and experiences with visibility and disclosure. I investigate in this project both the role that the coming-out narrative plays in shaping these stories and the radical possibilities embedded within these stories for new types of narrative. Guided by queer theory's complicated relationship with the notion of identity, I define and employ the concept of "queer alignment" as an alternative way of understanding what it might mean to "be queer," and I lay out two alternative formulations to the coming-out narrative; queer temporality and queer visibility. This project is not a comprehensive solution to the problem of the coming-out monolith, but a gesture towards the vast array languages and concepts that might be developed in order to describe and value a more diverse array of narratives of queer experience.

Committee: Anuradha Dingwaney Needham (Advisor); Meredith Raimondo (Committee Member); Pablo Mitchell (Committee Member) Subjects: Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2014, Educational Leadership

The lives of college students who are HIV positive in the United States have received little attention. This study addressed this lack by inquiring into the self-cultivation and institutional experiences of gay college men living with HIV. Informed by AIDS activism and queer theory, I used narrative and arts-based methods to explore participants' self-cultivation I placed particular focus on participants' discourse given that American sociopolitical discourse associates HIV/AIDS with gay men. I conducted over sixty hours of in-depth interviews with nine gay college men of various ages, races, geographic locations, and institutional settings. Six of the nine participants created artwork to express their relationship to HIV/AIDS. Using poststructural narrative analysis, the major findings of this study include: higher educational silence about HIV/AIDS; an affective structure to participants' discourse; and an askesis of shame. Most participants encountered a silence or lack of discourse around HIV/AIDS in their institutions. Institutional silence complicated participants' ability to discern whether to seek support or to disclose their HIV status on campus. Although participants called upon distinct discourses, they shared a common affective structure. Having an affective structure means that these men represented and discussed HIV/AIDS as driving the way they live, although differently at different times and with various intensities determined by different events, objects and people. Like affect, their relationship with HIV varied, often unpredictably, except for its constant presence. While these men felt differently about having HIV, I describe their common affective structure as an askesis of shame. Askesis, or self-cultivation, is a response to social contempt for gay men with HIV/AIDS and homonormative discourses of compulsory happiness. Shame is an affect involving investment in the self and others along with covering discredited aspect (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elisa Abes (Committee Chair); Peter Magolda (Committee Member); Lisa Weems (Committee Member); Madelyn Detloff (Committee Member) Subjects: Glbt Studies; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration