Moments of Trust: Sibling Responses to the Disclosure of a Sister's Lesbian Identity

To better understand the responses of siblings to the disclosure of a sister's lesbian identity, eight pairs of siblings, each consisting of one lesbian participant and one of her siblings, were interviewed. Both lesbian and sibling participants were asked to discuss family relationships before disclosure (coming out), the actual disclosure, sibling reactions, parental reactions, and family relationships since disclosure. Notable results include "closeness" in sibling relationships and high levels of "trust" as strong predictors of supportive sibling responses. Siblings were also found to take on the role of confidant and counselor for their parents as they negotiated their daughters' newly-disclosed sexual orientation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology & Anthropology

Year dc:date.available

2003

Author dc:creator

• McKee, Ryan Walter

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Julie Honnold

• qualitative interviews
• coming out
• homosexual
• family
• relationship
• sexual orientation
• Social and Behavioral Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1003

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2002