Social Work Research
The influence of sexual orientation on marital status of homosexuals (gays/lesbians)
Name of the Student
Name of the Institution
Introduction
Sexual orientation refers to an individual’s innate feelings of sexual or romantic attraction to persons of the same gender or sex, the opposite gender or sex, or both sexes. Depending on the sexual orientation, one can either be a heterosexual, homosexual (gay/lesbian), bisexual or transvestite (Simon & Brooks, 2009). Heterosexuality is the sexual attraction to persons of the opposite gender or sex. Homosexuality is the romantic attraction to persons of the same gender. A male person who has feelings of sexual attraction to other males is regarded as a gay. On the other hand, a woman with the feelings of sexual attraction to other females is regarded as a lesbian. Bisexuality is the sexual attraction to both females and males. A transvestite is an individual who lives as a member of the opposite sex (Simon & Brooks, 2009).
Despite the presence of persons with different sexual orientations, many societies support sexual relationships between members of the opposite sex or gender. In other words, most societies favor heterosexuality to other forms of sexual orientations. In many cases, societies discourage members from engaging in same sex marriages. Homosexuality, for instance is prohibited in most countries in Africa. In Uganda for instance, acts of homosexuality are heavily punishable by law. However, America and other western societies discourage the discrimination of individuals based on their sexual orientation (Simon & Brooks, 2009). People in the western societies have learned not to discriminate or to subject homosexuals, transvestites and bisexuals to social prejudice. Importantly, gays and lesbians are allowed to marry. For instance, the law in the US grants gays a right to marry. As a result, there are numerous cases of gay marriages that take place in America. However, there are always concerns on whether gays and lesbians can form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships (Simon & Brooks, 2009). This paper, therefore, investigates whether people with different sexual orientation homosexuality can form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships.
Problem statement
There are numerous studies that demonstrate that a significant percentage of heterosexuals who engage in intersex marriages form stable, long-lasting marriage relationships. According to Simon and Brooks (2009), such relationships last for long because the parties involved are committed to responsibilities, such as raising their children. Due to lack of such responsibilities in a marriage between homosexuals, some scholars argue that such marriages may not last for long. Despite the emerging debate on whether same sex marriages can last for long, there is limited recent research on the issue (Simon & Brooks, 2009). The current research seeks to fill that gap, through examining whether gays and lesbians are able to form committed marriage relationships.
Literature Review
There are numerous studies that have focused on the social lives of the homosexuals. However, studies investigating whether lesbians and gays can form committed relationships are limited. In fact, there are no recent studies focusing on the topic. Surveys conducted by Morris, Balsam and Rothblum (2002, as cited in Kurdek, 2004), showed that between 45 percent of lesbians and 40 percent of gays in the US had engaged in committed romantic relationships. Further, a study conducted by Simons and O’Connell (2003, as cited in Kurdek, 2004) indicated that out of 5.5 million couples who had formed committed relationships in the US, 293,366 were lesbians, whereas, 301,026 were gays. Another study conducted by Kurdek (2003) on gay and lesbian couples in the US showed that around 28 percent of the couples had stayed together for more than ten years.
In another study by Garber (2002), the finding indicated that 21 percent of lesbian and gay couples had formed stable relationships. Kurdek (2004) focused on the factors that lead to unstable marriages by both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Kurdek (2004) hypothesized that the factors that lead to unstable marriage relationships between persons of the same sex and between heterosexuals are the same. However, the findings showed that the factors that predict relationship stability, relationship commitment and satisfaction are the same in both cases.
Numerous studies on the homosexuals focus on the quality of life of gay and lesbian couples. Some studies have found that marriage relationships between persons of the same sex are dysfunctional and the couples are often unhappy. On the other hand, some studies have shown that there is no significant difference between the quality of life of persons engaged in same-sex marriages and persons in heterosexual marriages (Peplau & Beals, 2004). Meyer (2003) found that gay and lesbian couples have more stress than persons engaged in heterosexual marriages. In short, there are numerous studies on the social life of gays and lesbians, but they hardly investigate whether homosexuals can form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships. In addition, the few available studies related to the topic are more than one decade old. In order to fill the gap, the current research investigates whether gays and lesbians can form and maintain committed relationships.
Theoretical framework
The current study is based on the sociological and biological theories of homosexuality. The biological theories explain that homosexuality is a sexual orientation that occurs as a result of genetic factors. According to the theories, gays who have male hormones that are below the normal level, whereas, lesbians have female hormones that are below average (Simon & Brooks, 2009). Other biological theories explain that homosexuality is a behavior that is embedded in the genes of lesbians and gays. The brain theory developed by Simon LeVay posits that homosexuals have smaller brains compared to the normal individuals. On the other hand, sociologists argue that homosexuality is a sexual orientation that is developed during early stages of human growth and development. According to the social theories, homosexual traits develop as a result of experiences that an individual goes through in life. Other theories posit that homosexuality is caused by both genetic and environmental factors (Simon & Brooks, 2009). Despite the differences, the theories agree that homosexuals encounter various forms of discrimination in the society. They are subjected to continuous stress and eventually develop stress-related disorders, such as anxiety and moods. The social theories posit that such disorders may hinder the ability for homosexuals to engage in meaningful, long-term social relationships (Simon & Brooks, 2009).
Conceptual framework
This research framework shows the relationship between various variables in this study. The dependent variable in this case is marriage status. The independent variable is the homosexual trait. The following diagram presents a simple conceptual framework for the study;
Figure 1.0 Conceptual Framework
3219450164465Independent Variable
Homosexual behaviors (whether a gay/lesbian is committed to in a long-term marriage relationship or not)
Independent Variable
Homosexual behaviors (whether a gay/lesbian is committed to in a long-term marriage relationship or not)
85725244475Dependent Variable
Marital status (single, married, divorced or widowed)
Dependent Variable
Marital status (single, married, divorced or widowed)
Hypotheses formulation
The following are the null and alternative hypotheses for the study, based on the study topic.
The null hypothesis (H0): Gays and lesbians can form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships
Alternative hypothesis (H1): Gays and lesbians cannot form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships
Research design
In this study, the researcher has adopted an exploratory research design. As Creswell (2003) explains, this type of research design is important when a researcher aims at discovering what is happening, looking for new insight, asking questions, and accessing an observable fact in a new way. The exploratory research design helped the researcher to gain a new insight on whether homosexual couples can form and maintain committed and long-lasting marriage relationships.
Data molding
The data for the research was collected from a sample of 150 students from our class. Out of the 150 students, the researcher found that there were only six homosexuals (gays and lesbians). The six students formed the final sample for the study.
Manipulation in quantitative research
Although the data involved several variables and was meant for various purposes, part of it was applicable for the study. However, the researcher had to manipulate the variables in order to fit into the topic of research. All the data that the researcher relied on was quantitative in nature.
Findings and interpretations
As noted earlier, the researcher utilized quantitative data for the study. The quantitative data has been analyzed using quantitative tools (percentages) and presented using quantitative tools (tables and figures).
The percentage of homosexuals (gays and lesbians) in the class
Out of the 150 students who had been included in the primary study, only 6 were reported to be homosexuals. The following figure shows the percentage of homosexuals (gays and lesbians), in relation to the total number of respondents;
Figure 2.0 Sexual Orientation
The following table gives more detailed data on sexual orientation in the class
Table 1.0 Sexual orientation
Frequency Percent (%) Valid Percent (%) Cumulative Percent
Validheterosexual 150 85.7 85.7 85.7
Gay/Lesbian 6 3.4 3.4 89.1
Bisexual 6 3.4 3.4 92.6
Transvestite 1 .6 .6 93.1
Other 12 6.9 6.9 100.0
Total 175 100.0 100.0 The above data shows that most of the respondents (85.7%) who were recruited in the study were heterosexuals. The number of homosexuals (gays/lesbians) was very small (3.4%), in comparison to the total number of respondents. Although the data may not be a perfect representative of the whole school, it gives insights that majority of students in the school are heterosexuals and only a few fall under the other forms of sexual orientation.
Marital Status of the homosexuals (gays and lesbians)
The following table presents the data on the marital status of the study subjects;
Table 2.0 Marital status of the study subjects
Marital status Single Married Divorced Widowed Total
Count 4 1 1 0 6
Percentage (%) 66.67 16.67 16.67 0 100
The researcher found that, out of the six respondents, four (66.7%) reported that their marital status was single. One (16.7%) was engaged in a marriage with a person of the same sex. The last one (16.7%) had divorced from a partner of the same sex. The data gives insight that around 16 percent of the homosexuals in the school are committed to marriage relationship with persons of the same sex or gender. That information supports the findings of the studies conducted by Garber (2002), Simons and O’Connell (2003) and others, that homosexuals can form stable marriage relationships. However, the data showed that the percentage of homosexuals who were divorced, in relation to the total number of respondents was higher at 5.3%. The following table shows the percentage within marital status
Table 3.0 Percentage within marital status
Single Married Divorced Widowed
% within Marital Status 3.8% 2.3% 5.3% 0.0%
Based on the above data, it is clear that the percentage of stable marriages between homosexuals is lower (2.3%) than the percentage of stable relationships (5.3%). In short, the data shows that, although homosexuals can form committed and stable marriage relationships, it is more difficult to maintain such relationships for a long time.
Conclusions
The purpose of the study was to investigate whether members of the same sex can form and maintain committed and stable marriage relationships. Some of the previous studies have showed that between 21% and 60% of homosexuals in various parts of the world have successfully managed to form and to maintain stable marriage relationships. The current study finds that 6 out of 150 students (4%) in the school are homosexuals. The marital status of 66.7% of the homosexuals was ‘singe.’16% of the gays and lesbians are able to form stable and committed marriage relationships. That number represents only 2.3% out of the total number of students who are married in the school. Out of the total number of the students who are divorced in the school, 5.3% are homosexuals. The fact that the percentage of homosexuals gays and lesbians who are divorced in the school is higher than the number of students who are in stable marriage relationship indicates that it difficult to maintain such marriage relationships. In short, the study demonstrates that, although homosexuals can form committed and stable marriage relationships, it is more difficult to maintain such relationships.
Recommendations
The researcher used data collected from a sample derived from the same class in the school. It is, therefore, not clear whether the data that was used for the study was representative of all students in the school and the sounding community. It is essential that a future research use a better sampling method through including respondents from other classes and the surrounding community. In addition, reliance on the quantitative data only weakens the study. More useful insights can be derived from the study if it can include qualitative data.
References
Bawer, B. (2008). Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society. New York, NY:
Simon and Schuster
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed
Methods Approaches. London: Sage Publications
Kurdek, L. A. (2003). Differences between gay and lesbian cohabiting couples. Journal of Social
Personal Relationships, 20, 411-436.
Kurdek, L. A. (2004). Are gay and lesbian cohabiting couples really different from heterosexual
married couples? Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 880-901.
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual
populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674-697
Peplau, L. A. & Beals, K. P. (2004). The family lives of lesbians and gay men. In A.L. Vangelisti
(Ed.), Handbook of family communication (pp. 233-248). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Simon, R. J. & Brooks, A. (2009). Gay and Lesbian Communities the World Over. Lenham:
Rowman & Littlefield
