“I Knew I Wasn't Like Anybody Else”: Young Men's Accounts of Coming Out and Being Gay in Northern Ireland

摘要

This article is based on 20 one-to-one in-depth interviews conducted with young gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland between 2000 and 2006. These interviews were conducted during two larger mixed-methods projects: one undertaken by the University of Ulster and the Northern Ireland branch of the Family Planning Association on sexual attitudes and lifestyles of 14-25 year olds, and the other conducted by the Rainbow Project on mental health of same-sex-attracted young men. During the interviews the respondents were asked to recall their experiences of coming out and living as same-sex-attracted people in Northern Ireland. Sociological narrative text-analytical coding techniques are used to identify core categories and themes of the coming-out process experienced by these young people. Firstly, the data are related to a model of gay identity formation. Secondly, Northern Ireland-specific circumstances impacting on gay identity formation are considered and embedded in a wider discussion using available literature.