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Researching Same-Sex Sexuality

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Growing Up Gay in Urban India

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Abstract

Methodological issues in the study of gay and lesbian sexual identity development are discussed in this chapter. Through examples of some of the seminal research studies on same-sex sexualities within medicine, psychiatry, and psychology, I argue in favour of a methodological framework that is rooted in the lived experiences of gay and lesbian individuals, and is attentive to the socio-cultural, political, and historical contexts within which these experiences unfold. I then discuss the life course perspective as a framework to study ‘growing up gay’. This framework underlies my inquiry into the growing-up experiences of forty young gay and lesbian persons, who grew up in the cities of Bombay and Pune during the 1980s and 1990s. In this chapter, I discuss my location as a researcher, as well as the location and contexts of my study participants. Some of the ethical issues and challenges that need to be addressed, while working with persons with non-normative sexualities, are discussed.

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  1. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Ketki Ranade

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  1. Ketki Ranade
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Ranade, K. (2018). Researching Same-Sex Sexuality. In: Growing Up Gay in Urban India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8366-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8366-2_2

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