BACKGROUND Few studies have examined the impact of minority stress theory upon sexual risk behavior among gay and bisexual men using club drugs. Similar studies have focused on ethnic minorities and women, however gay and bisexual men demonstrate greater likelihood for risk behaviors leading to HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVE This study examined sexual risk behavior from the perspective of minority stres...

For many years, parenthood was considered to be the exclusive prerogative of heterosexual people. Today, gay men and lesbian women remain less likely than their heterosexual peers to have children, but increasing numbers of openly gay and lesbian adults are becoming parents. In this essay, we review social science research on the numbers of openly gay and lesbian parents, the ways in which thei...

Television has an opportunity to influence beliefs about groups with which individuals typically may have little direct social contact. This study describes a synthesis of the Contact Hypothesis and the concept of Parasocial Interaction to pose what we call the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis to test whether exposure to gay men on Will & Grace can influence attitudes toward gay men in general. Ba...

Gary Gates The weekly adventures of gay couple Mitchell and Cameron and their baby on the popular television program Modern Family highlight a common contemporary media image of gay parenting: wealthy, urban, and White gay men raising an adopted child. An analysis of broadcast media by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (2007) found that this demographic dominates media images of t...

One of the most contentious issues among Christian denominations today is focused upon the rights of gays within the church. Historically, Christianity has been opposed to lesbian and gay orientation in both the church and wider society. However, recent social attitudes and legislation has become more liberal regarding homosexuality. This leaves the church as one of the last bastions against th...

Coparenting is associated with child behavior in families with heterosexual parents, but less is known about coparenting among lesbian- and gay-parent families. Associations were studied among self-reported divisions of labor, coparenting observations, and child adjustment (Mage  = 3 years) among 104 adoptive families headed by lesbian, gay, or heterosexual couples. Lesbian and gay couples repo...

Many female-to-male transgender individuals, or transmen, are situated within the gay community, one of the highest risk communities for HIV, yet there has been little research regarding the experience of risk for these transmen. Seventeen transmen were interviewed regarding their sexuality and HIV risk behavior. Fourteen of the 17 reported having non-trans gay men as sexual partners. Risk beha...

Middle-aged gay men in Manchester differentiate themselves through accounts of ‘friendship family’ from relating/kinship associated with heterosexuals and younger gay men. Based on interviews with 27 men aged 39–61, I explore narratives of friendship family. This critical space enables development/mobilisation of the resources of ageing ‘ageing capital’ – needed to reclaim self-worth in the fac...

Lesbian and gay parenting is increasingly visible today in the media, in legal and policy debates, and in academic writings. Children and adolescents of gay and lesbian parents are also increasingly visible in their communities, their schools, and in the medical world. Social, cultural, and medical changes have made it possible for more women and men to have children outside traditional methods...