When mothers learn a daughter is a lesbian: then and now.
This manuscript is based on in-depth interviews of 3 groups of mothers who learned that their daughters were lesbian. The first group consisted of 10 mothers interviewed in 1990. A second group of 16 mothers were interviewed in 2000-2001. The third group, also interviewed in 2000-2001, consisted of 14 mothers whose daughters initially disclosed as lesbians, but later identified as transgender. Conducted 10 to 11 years apart, these studies offer a comparison of the initial reactions of mothers prior to and following a time of marked changes in attitudes towards homosexuality. Findings demonstrated that while the majority of mothers interviewed in 1990 experienced disclosure as a crisis, a greater number of mothers in 2000-2001 were more receptive to learning that a daughter was a lesbian.
Pearlman
Sarah F
SF
Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT 06105, USA. spearlman@mail.hartford.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting; D012071:Religion and Sex; D014342:Truth Disclosure