scholarly journals From moral ambivalence to differential congruence: Understanding transnational sexuality using cultural schemas

Sexualities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apoorva Ghosh

Through in-depth interviews, this study aimed to show how lesbians and gay men in India may construct their sexuality as a result of being globally connected through accessing “transnational pathways," such as the global mass media, diasporic experiences, and transnational workplaces. This study indicates that these pathways aid the interaction between externally derived sexual schemas and pre-existing sexual schemas, which may in turn lead to a configuration of “differential congruence” whereby competing sexual schemas may coexist rather than fuse or replace each other in an individual’s life, albeit in different spheres.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apoorva Ghosh

Through in-depth interviews, this study aimed to show how lesbians and gay men in India may construct their sexuality as a result of being globally connected through accessing "transnational pathways," such as the global mass media, diasporic experiences, and transnational workplaces. This study indicates that these pathways aid in the interaction between externally derived sexual schemas and pre-existing sexual schemas, which may in turn lead to a configuration of "differential congruence" whereby competing sexual schemas may coexist rather than fuse or replace each other in an individual's life, albeit in different spheres.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yipeng Xi ◽  
Aaron Ng

While much research stereotypes mass media in authoritarian contexts as mouthpieces of the ruling party, we argue that successful social media–driven activism also requires the support of mass media, even in authoritarian contexts. To investigate the roles of social media and mass media on collective mobilization, we analyzed a case in Guangzhou, China, and conducted in-depth interviews to conceptualize the interconnected relationship between social media and mass media from the perspective of resource mobilization. Findings reveal that social media facilitated the mobilization of participants by providing less fungible and timely resources at the initial stages of collective action. However, it is the more fungible and enduring resources provided by the mass media that sustain the intensity of external pressures to the government. The complementarity between social and mass media in atomized collective action in China is in essence the configuration between exclusive and monopolized resources mediated by a middle-ground discursive mode—“implied truth.”


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-526
Author(s):  
Aidan McKearney

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical reflection on the profound changes regarding sexual minority rights in Britain and Ireland. It seeks to illustrate how recent legislative changes can impact the working lives of gay employees living and working in nonmetropolitan locales. The paper also aims to assess the role of LGBTQI movements, groups and networks, in facilitating voice and visibility and advancing equality. Design/methodology/approach Secondary research was undertaken to assist in contextualising the empirical findings, within a literature review. The paper presents findings derived from a qualitative study, involving in-depth interviews with 44 gay men in Britain and Ireland. Findings LGBTQI movements and groups have played a crucial role in facilitating voice, and visibility for LGBTQI people in both Britain and Ireland. These movements have themselves, undergone change, moving from liberationist-queer-radical approaches to normalising-sexual citizenship-radical approaches. Significant legislative advances have taken place in the 2000s, and these have had a positive impact on gay workers. However, there is a continuing need for organisations to respond in ever more strategic, effective and inclusive ways, if the promise of sexual citizenship is to be realised by gay people in the workplace. Local, self-organised LGBT groups can play an important role in building sexual citizenship in nonmetropolitan locales. Originality/value This paper’s value and contribution lie in its application of theoretical principles and models, most notably models of sexual citizenship, in a specific historical, geographical and spatial context. The paper offers an insight into the lives of gay men who reside and work in nonmetropolitan locales; and highlights the emergence of subtle forms of gay resistance and radicalism, through self-organised groups.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiu Tung Suen

This paper contributes to the theorization of ‘choice’ within sociological understanding of singlehood. Previous sociological research on singlehood has largely focused on the lives of heterosexual singles. A choice narrative permeates such literature, depicting singlehood as a celebratory story that brings about the potential to disrupt the couplehood culture in society. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 self-identified single gay men over the age of 50 in England, this article finds that although gay singles share similarities with straight singles, there are gay-specific features of singlehood that can be identified, in terms of the limit of ‘choice’. Although some older single gay men drew on the cultural discourse in the gay community, which decentres the conjugal couple, and claimed freedom of sexual exploration as a positive aspect of being single, there was also a strong sense that many older gay men's status of being single was shaped by a larger history, and hence, they were afforded no choice in choosing whether to be single or not. Taking these findings together, this paper suggests that there are ideological, historical and cultural factors that distinguish the lived experiences of single gay men as being different from those of heterosexual singles. This paper argues that although the discourse of ‘choice’ helps sociologists to understand that singlehood need not be understood as necessarily a negative experience, older gay men's experiences of singlehood caution that the choice narrative shall not mislead the analysis to focus singlehood merely on the individual level. Instead, singlehood needs to be understood as deeply socially and historically embedded.


Author(s):  
George Tsourvakas

In reviewing the bibliography upon which qualitative method is based, the author refers to ethnography, ethnomethdology, symbolic interactionism and cultural studies, and argues that a combination of the qualitative methods is actually possible. To enforce his point, he gives the example of research that was recently conducted about the National Television Channel of Greece. Moreover, through the theoretical review, he asserts that the application of all qualitative methods is a way to transfer ourselves from observation to focusing and depth interviews. He believes that such an application can be really effective while collecting data as well as while analyzing and presenting the results of the research. Finally, it is his firm conviction that this shift to qualitative multi-methods can be also achieved in other scientific fields, apart from that of mass media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
Andhika Febi Hardina ◽  
Irwansyah Irwansyah

This research discusses the social media Twitter, which is the first platform to search for the latest information or news. This is backed up by the large amount of news or information circulating on online news portals, often sourced from the social media Twitter. The purpose of this literature review is to see how Twitter was chosen by social media users as a place to fulfill their information needs. The scope of this research is in the mass media communication circle using Uses & Gratifications Theory (UGT) to explain why users choose their media to complement their needs. This study uses an in-depth interview exploratory description method. Data collection from journals or previous research is carried out based on the context and cases where the data and information are needed in this study. In addition, this study uses an exploratory description method of in-depth interviews with four respondents who use social media Twitter. Questions are given in a structured manner. The result of this research is that there is a new motivation for people to use Twitter.  


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Lilia Rodríguez-Ventura ◽  
Ingris Pelaez-Ballestas ◽  
Reyna Sámano-Sámano ◽  
Carlos Jimenez-Gutierrez ◽  
Carlos Aguilar-Salinas

Introduction.There are not enough studies about the barriers to lose weight from the perspective of children and their parents.Methods.Children and adolescents diagnosed with overweight/obesity in the Department of Endocrinology and their parents were invited to participate in a series of focus group discussions (FGD). Twenty-nine children 10–16 years old and 22 parents participated in 7 focus groups; 2 mothers and 2 adolescents participated in depth interviews. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through grounded theory.Results.Parents went to the hospital only when their children presented any obesity complication; for them, overweight was not a health problem. Parents referred to lack of time to supervise about a healthy diet and exercise; besides, the same parents, relatives, friends, and the mass media encourage the consumption of junk food. Children accepted eating a lot, not doing exercise, skipping meals, and not understanding overweight consequences. Both, parents and children, demanded support to do the time recommended for exercise inside the schools. They also suggested getting information from schools and mass media (TV) about overweight consequences, exercise, and healthy food by health workers; they recommended prohibiting announcements about junk food and its sale.Conclusions.The barriers detected were lack of perception of being overweight, its identification as a disease and its consequences, lack of time to supervise a healthy lifestyle, and a big social influence to eat junk food.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
PhuongThao D. Le

Survivors of human trafficking who return to their community of origin must cope with the trauma they experienced as victims as well as the conditions that contributed to their trafficking vulnerabilities. In this article, I examine the psychosocial adjustment process among women survivors of trafficking who returned to Vietnam. Supplemented by participation observation, thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with survivors revealed that throughout the trafficking process, the women experienced multiple abuses and changes in relationships and environments. The women coped by navigating a process of “reconstructing a sense of self,” seeking congruence between their self-understandings and the changing contextual factors while exhibiting three main coping strategies: regulating emotional expression and thought, creating opportunities within constraints, and relating to cultural schemas. The findings underscore the importance of considering contextual factors such as cultural norms and societal values in efforts to assist trafficked survivors reintegrate into their communities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document