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The Personal Experience of Community Among Urban Gay Men, Lesbians, and Bisexuals: Melting Pot or Mosaic?
Author(s) -
Easterbrook Adam,
Carpiano Richard M.,
Kelly Brian C.,
Parsons Jeffrey T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12064
Subject(s) - lesbian , psychology , perception , social psychology , sexual identity , sexual minority , sexual orientation , cohesion (chemistry) , group cohesiveness , gender studies , sociology , human sexuality , chemistry , organic chemistry , neuroscience
Objective “Gay community” is often conceptualized as a “melting pot” in which gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) persons are united and integrated into one sexual minority community. Evidence, however, indicates that GLB community may also be conceptualized as a mosaic of sexual minority communities with differing goals and ideologies. We test the validity of these conceptions of community with respect to two facets of the personal experiences of GLB individuals: socializing with GLB persons and GLB community cohesion perceptions. Methods Analyses of the 2005 Sex and Love survey of New York City area GLB persons. Results GLB persons tended to socialize most with their own sexual identity group. Compared to gay men, only bisexual women reported higher perceptions of GLB community cohesion. Conclusion Our findings indicate the presence of a mosaic sexual minority community. The extent of sexual‐identity‐group‐specific socializing patterns suggests that personal perceptions of GLB cohesion may either be idealized rather than based on routine interactions or reflect assessments of within‐group (not across‐group) cohesion.