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HETEROGENOUS COUPLES IN HETEROSEXUAL MARRIAGES: GAY MEN AND STRAIGHT WOMEN *
Author(s) -
Bozett Frederick W.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1982.tb01424.x
Subject(s) - wife , psychology , homosexuality , enabling , social psychology , gender studies , developmental psychology , sociology , psychoanalysis , psychotherapist , political science , law
This article, which is based on in‐depth interviews of gay men who had been married, focuses on the nature of the spousal relationship and the almost inevitable marital disruption. It describes the conditions which bring about the man's disclosure of his homosexuality, the means of disclosure he uses, the wife's response, and the interactional effects the disclosure and response have on the marriage relationship. Most of the marriages ended in divorce. Regardless of whether the wife was accepting or rejecting of her husband as a homosexual, she appeared to be an enabler of his transition to a homosexual lifestyle. Implications for counseling are discussed.