Stigmatizing Will and Grace : a theoretical exploration of gay male straight female fictive kin relationships : a project based upon an independent investigation

Alternatives to heterosexual or homosexual partnerships, such as non-sexual relationships between gay men and straight women, constitute an understudied yet important source of social support for the people in them. This study is an exploration of one specific manifestation of such a relationship, specifically between gay men and straight women, utilizing the concept of fictive kin as a way of understanding these relationships. Using interdependence theory and social construct theory to elucidate the ways GMSF relationships have been, and continue to be, stigmatized, this paper offers a lens for understanding the implications of this stigmatization