Reviews : The Married Homosexual Man: A Psychological Study MICHAEL W ROSS RKP, 1983. pp 184; pb £5 95
| DOI | 10.1177/026455058403100214 |
| Published date | 01 June 1984 |
| Author | Gwyneth Boswell |
| Date | 01 June 1984 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
REVIEWS
. Contributions, comments and suggestions to Peter
Simpson, 5 Derby Lane, Old Swan, Liverpool L13 6QA,
tel 051-220 4221.
Participation
activities who are looking for a framework for
ANN RICHARDSON
understandmg processes m which they are
RKP, 1983; £4.95, pb; pp 151
mvolved.
Is participation a significant means of increas-
BRYAN TAYLOR
ing the influence of those who otherwise lack
Probation Officer, Nottingham
power, thereby legitimating existing structures?
Or, is it designed to manipulate people into accep-
tance of bureaucratically deterrmned policies, and
The Married Homosexual Man:
so absorbs dissent? This book, which gives an
A Psychological Study
overview
of ‘consumer’ participation schemes in
MICHAEL W ROSS
different areas of social policy, asks but does not
RKP, 1983. pp 184; pb £5 95
answer these questions.
Although homosexuality is a well-chronicled
Acknowledging that ideological positions give
phenomenon, there is little available research on
nse
to varymg expectations about participation the
the sub-group of married homosexuals. Ross
author goes no further than noting that conflicting
studied a sample of married homosexual males m
claims for its consequences occur because it is an
Scandinavia and Australia, which, by the nature
ambiguous concept open to different interpreta-
of his selection, is unrepresentative, but never-
tions. Her
analysis eschews definitions of the con-
theless interesting m
qualitative terms. He fmds that
cept which take account of the influence it has on
gay men
generally marry to hide, reject, or repress
social policy or of the extent to which those results
their natural sexual orientation, and that they have
reflect power imbalance between the state and
a higher expectation of societal censonousness than
’consumers’. She does not examine the way in
do their unmarried counterparts
which conflict emerges, overlapping interests are
There is little m
the research which would help
identified, or...
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