title: Disclosure as an interaction: why lesbian athletes disclose their sexual identities in intercollegiate sport.
abstract: Over the years, the number of gay, bisexual, and lesbian athletes who have disclosed their sexual identities has been increasing. Given that sport has traditionally been defined as a heterosexist institution, this pattern is deserving of attention and investigation ( Anderson, 2001 ). In response, the present study examines why intercollegiate lesbian athletes disclose their sexual identities in the sport context. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 self-identified lesbian athletes who disclosed their sexual identities while participating in intercollegiate sport. Unlike most past literature on disclosure, the present study approaches disclosure as an interactional process that involves a discloser, an audience, and a context.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Department, Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. SStoelting@Fontbonne.edu
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stoelting
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009042:Motivation; D012649:Self Concept; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult