392310.pdf (28.4 MB)
Toward positive social change for lesbians and gay men: a human rights approach
thesis
posted on 2010-12-06, 09:29 authored by Sonja J. EllisLesbian and gay issues are increasingly being recognised politically and legally as
human rights issues. Within psychology, however, they have rarely been explored
within a human rights framework. The purpose of this study is to investigate support for
and reasoning about lesbian and gay issues employing an explicitly human rights
perspective, using a multi-method approach. In order to provide a broad overview of
support for and reasoning about human rights among British students, a Human Rights
Questionnaire was developed based on existing "homophobia" and "human rights"
scales. This questionnaire was completed by 627 students, and subjected to statistical
and thematic analyses. This was followed up by six tape-recorded focus groups with
students, whose discussions of these issues enabled a more in-depth understanding
derived from thematic analyses of their transcribed data. Finally, in order to explore
arguments against lesbian and gay human rights, a textual analysis of Hansard and
newspaper reports of the Age of Consent debate was perforined as a case study.
Findings of the thesis are as follows. First, whilst respondents to the questionnaire
support the general principle that a person's sexual orientation should not block that
person's access to basic rights and freedoms, they are less willing to extend specific
human rights to lesbians and gay men, especially social rights (e.g. right to marry, right
to adopt children). Second, although in the focus groups students sometimes employed
human rights arguments in relation to lesbian and gay issues, they tended to show initial
support followed by an evaluation of potential considerations in extending human rights
to lesbians and gay men using arguments which are not rights-based. As the case study
also illustrates, when lesbian and gay issues are specifically addressed in human rights
terms, they are countered with arguments which are derived from other frameworks
(e.g. religious conviction, protection of the vulnerable), rather than with arguments
w1iich are themselves rights-based. The findings are discussed with a view to
establishing how best to promote lesbian and gay human rights in order to achieve
positive, social change for lesbians and gay men.
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Communication, Media, Social and Policy Studies
Publisher
© Sonja J. EllisPublication date
2001Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.392310Language
- en