THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE SECRET: TECHNIQUES FOR THE NEUTRALIZATION OF STIGMA AMONG MALE HOMOSEXUALS.
Item
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Title
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THE SOCIOLOGY OF THE SECRET: TECHNIQUES FOR THE NEUTRALIZATION OF STIGMA AMONG MALE HOMOSEXUALS.
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Identifier
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AAI8409396
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identifier
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8409396
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Creator
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HENKIN, JANET.
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Contributor
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Michael E. Brown
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Date
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1984
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General
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Abstract
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This is a study of secrecy. It is an examination of behavior and modes of adjustment implemented by members of a highly stigmatized group. This research is a study of the strategies by which secrecy is implemented and sustained by a deviant population. Specifically, we are concerned with the responses of adult male homosexuals to the demands of a stigmatized identity. We are involved with the analysis of structural and behavioral adjustments that enable a group of culturally and legally deviant persons to lead relatively anonymous and publicly acceptable lives.;The study will focus on the ways in which secrecy is used and maintained to neutralize the effects of public stigma. We examine the consequences of secrecy maintenance upon both the secret keeper and those whom are deceived. The research deals with "secret" homosexuals, those persons whose homosexual life style is not known or disclosed, and to whom others relate as heterosexual. Thus, this is an examination of the functions and the effects of secrecy as it is used by adult homosexual men.;Although the secret is value-neutral, by necessity, secrecy is generally employed by persons for whom control over information concerning their lives is necessary for their acceptance by the dominant culture. Their organizing their lives around their deviance is a predictable consequence of the pressures of negative societal reactions. For the secret homosexual, the concealment of a deviant identity by a variety of strategies keeps viable his access to the world of the socially acceptable.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
