Gay Men's Coming Out Experience

Cilj istraživanja provedenog za svrhu ovog rada bio je opisati iskustvo i posljedice outanja kod gej muškaraca s naglaskom na krug obitelji, prijatelja i kolega. Rad polazi od važnosti seksualnog identiteta na individualnoj razini te se temelji na Strykerovoj teoriji o povezanosti emocionalnih reakcija i identiteta te problematici odnosa homoseksualnog identiteta i heteronormativnog društva. U istraživanju primijenjena je metoda polustrukturiranog intervjua s pet mlađih visokoobrazovanih gej muškarca koji trenutno žive u urbanim sredinama. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su negativan utjecaj heteroseksističke okoline na proces prihvaćanja vlastite seksualne orijentacije, pri čemu su istaknuli iduće čimbenike: medijska stereotipna prezentacija gej likova i osoba, nezastupljenost LGBT tematike u obitelji i medijima, prisutnost homofobije u bliskoj okolini i LGBT zajednici te strah od posljedica outanja. Sugovornici su ukazali na značenje outanja na individualnoj razini (proces samodefiniranja i samoprihvaćanja) i na društvenoj razini (aktivistički čin). Pokazalo se da je outanje najznačajnije u kontekstu obitelji, no jednako tako i najstresnije, dok se outanje u poslovnom krugu ne smatra nužnim, kao ono u krugu obitelji i prijatelja. Podrška se definirala kao važna stavka u procesu samoprihvaćanja te su je najviše doživjeli od strane prijatelja. Sugovornici su iznijeli svoje kritičke stavove o hrvatskom društvu kojeg su opisali kao homofobno, nudeći različite primjere homofobije u društvu.The aim of the research implemented for the purpose of this thesis was describing the gay men’s experience and consequences ofcoming out, focusing on the context of family, friends and colleagues. The thesis is based on the importance of sexual identity on an individual level and is therefore based on Stryker's theory of the relationship between emotional reactions and identities, and on the problem of homosexual identity and heteronormative society. In the researchwas applied a semi-structured interview method with five younger educated gay men currently living in urban area. The research results have shown the negative impact of heterosexist environments on the process of excepting their own sexual orientation, highlighting the following factors: media stereotypical presentation of gay characters and persons, lack of LGBT theme in the family and the media, the presence of homophobia in the immediate community and the LGBT community and fear of consequences of coming out. The participants pointed to the significance of coming out at the individual level (process of self-definition and self-acceptance) and at the social level (activist act). Results have shown that the coming out is most significant in the context of the family, but also the most stressful, while coming out in the professionalcontext is not considered necessary, as in the circle of family and friends. Support was defined as an important part in the process of self-acceptance and was best experienced by friends. The participants expressed their critical views on the Croatian society which they described as homophobic, offering different examples of homophobia in society