Intersubjectivity in the intrapsychic sexual scripting of gay men

Abstract

Sexual scripting theory was utilized as a framework for conducting sexual history and multiple follow‐up diary interviews with 23 gay‐identified men in Houston, Texas. Longitudinal interviews were conducted concerning their sexual lives, behaviours, desires and fantasies. Analysis revealed that intersubjectivity, or what individuals thought others thought of them, is a common process in participants' intrapsychic sexual scripting. Respondents utilized social structures of gender, race, class and age to make sense of their sexual lives. Importantly, gay men do not use these categories as strict ‘scripts' handed to them, but rather, are active in the process of creating and employing such structures in their sexual lives.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the University of Houston, the Sexuality Research Fellowship Program of the Social Science Research Council with funds provided by the Ford Foundation, and by centre grant P50‐MH43520 from NIMH to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Anke A. Ehrhardt, Principal Investigator and by NRSA training grant T32‐MH19139, to Behavioral Sciences Research Training in HIV Infection, Robert Kertzner, Program Director. We thank the study participants for their involvement. The authors would like to thank John Gagnon, Linwood Lewis, Robert Kertzner, Hella Von Unger, Lucia O'Sullivan and anonymous reviewers for their comments on various drafts of this article. We would also like to thank Phil Carspecken and the late Bill Simon for analytic advice and direction.

Notes

David Knapp Whittier is an independent writer. Rita M. Melendez is a postdoctoral research fellow at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY. All correspondence should be addressed to: David Knapp Whittier, 739 Rice Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30 318, USA; e‐mail: [email protected]

• Résumé

• La théorie des scripts sexuels a été employée comme cadre pour réaliser plusieurs entretiens sur l'histoire sexuelle et la sexualité au quotidien avec vingt‐trois hommes s'identifiant comme gays à Houston, Texas.?Ces entretiens longitudinaux ont porté sur leurs vies sexuelles, leurs comportements, leurs désirs et leurs phantasmes. L'analyse révèle que l'intersubjectivité ‐ ou ce que l'on croit que les autres pensent de soi ‐ est un procédé courant dans l'élaboration des scripts sexuels intrapsychiques des participants. Les répondants ont employé le genre, la race, la classe sociale et l'âge comme structures sociales leur permettant d'expliquer leur vie sexuelle. Il ressort, de façon significative, que les hommes gays n'utilisent pas ces catégories comme des «scripts» (au sens strict du terme) dont ils hériteraient «clé en main» mais qu'au contraire, de manière très active, ils les créent et les utilisent dans leurs vies sexuelles.

• Resumen

• Utilizando las teorías de guiones sexuales como marco de trabajo, se hicieron entrevistas a veintitrés hombres homosexuales de Houston, en Texas, sobre sus historias sexuales y su diario de seguimiento múltiple. Las entrevistas longitudinales se enfocaron en sus vidas sexuales, comportamientos, deseos y fantasías. Los análisis revelaron que la intersubjetividad, o lo que los individuos creen que los demás piensan sobre ellos, es un proceso común en los guiones sexuales intrapsíquicos de los participantes. Los entrevistados utilizaron estructuras sociales como sexo, raza, clase y edad para dar sentido a sus vidas sexuales. Lo más importante es que los homosexuales no utilizan estas categorías como ‘guiones' estrictos sino que más bien son activos en el proceso de crearlas y emplearlas en sus vidas sexuales.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rita M. Melendez

David Knapp Whittier is an independent writer. Rita M. Melendez is a postdoctoral research fellow at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York, NY. All correspondence should be addressed to: David Knapp Whittier, 739 Rice Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30 318, USA; e‐mail: [email protected]