Resisting homophobic social
representations: A social psychological
study of British South Asian gay men
Dr Rusi Jaspal
Institute for Science and Society, School of Sociology & Social Policy,
University of Nottingham
rusi.jaspal@nottingham.ac.uk
Sexuality, Gender, Identity and Faith Seminar, Durham University, 11th June 2012
Overview of presentation
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Key concepts
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Brief outline of British South Asian gay men
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British Pakistanis
British Indians
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Identity process theory – which links the social and the
psychological
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Four themes derived from qualitative studies of British
South Asian gay men
Some key concepts
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Gay identity
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Religious identity

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Group membership vs personal trait
Group membership vs. spirituality
Religious and ethno-cultural homophobia
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“broadly conceptualised as encompassing those ideas,
norms and representations from one’s religious and
cultural ingroups, which actively undermine and
stigmatise homosexuality and thereby render gay
identity a socially and/ or psychologically de-valued
component of the self-concept” (Jaspal, 2012, p. 3)
British Pakistani gay men (1)

Most Pakistanis are of Muslim faith – 74%
of Muslims saw religion as ‘important’
(Modood et al., 1997)

Emerging ‘reverse discourse’ concerning the
Islamic position on homosexuality, with
some scholars arguing that there is indeed
scope for the theological accommodation of
homosexuality (e.g. Hugle 2010, Jamal
2001)

Mainstream Islam tends to condemn
homosexuality and homophobia is said to
be prevalent in Muslim societies
British Pakistani gay men (2)

Some important sociological work on British Muslim gay
men of Pakistani background
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Social psychologists have contributed to this literature
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How Muslims construct sexuality-affirming hermeneutics (Yip,
2005)
Managing family space (Yip, 2004)
Identity processes among BMGM (Jaspal & Cinnirella, 2010)
Experiences in ‘gay space (Jaspal & Cinnirella, 2012)
Perceptions of ‘coming out’ (Jaspal & Siraj, 2011)
Jaspal’s work has distinct foci from Yip’s work


Typically concerned with ‘psychological coherence’
‘Closeted’ individuals not in gay affirmative religious contexts
5
British Indian gay men (1)

Many British Indians are of Hindu or Sikh faith
– 43% and 46% describe religion as ‘important’,
respectively

Ethno-cultural construct of ‘izzat’ (personal and
cultural honour) is important for many British
Indians (Ghuman, 2003) - the institution of
arranged marriage

Dominant view in Indian society that
homosexuality is a ‘threat to the social and
cultural integrity as well as moral fabric of [the]
Indian nation’ (Kole, 2007: 1)
British Indian gay men (2)

As one British Pakistani gay man
put it: “Indians have got it so much
easier than us – they haven’t got the
religious baggage, they’re more
advanced than us, their culture”
(from Jaspal & Siraj, 2011)

Some social psychological work on
British Asian gay men (Bhugra, 1997)

Social developments since this work –
social supports groups; gay Asian
nightclub events; advent of the internet
Identity process theory


Model of identity construction, threat and
coping (Breakwell, 1986)
Identity construction is guided by culturally
specific principles

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Self-esteem; Self-efficacy; Continuity (Breakwell,
1986)
Belonging (Vignoles et al., 2002)
Psychological coherence (Jaspal & Cinnirella, 2010)
If salient principles are jeopardised, identity is
threatened
We engage in coping strategies to restore
appropriate levels
Research aims

How do individuals experience their sexual, religious and ethnic
identities?

How do homophobic social representations seem to affect identity
in partipants’ accounts

How do individuals ‘cope’ with real and potential threats to
identity?
Method
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The studies
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Participants
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4 exploratory, qualitative interview studies conducted between 2008 and 2011
(i) a psychological focus upon how individuals perceive and cognitively manage their
identities; (ii) a sociological concern with the development of social representations
and social relationships
In total, 60 individuals between the ages of 18 and 28 have participated in our
interview studies
not affiliated to gay affirmative religious support group networks (e.g. Imaan)
Data generation and analysis

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Semi-structured, individual interviews
Qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006)
Results
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“As a Muslim I can’t be gay”: identifying incompatibilities
in the self-concept
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“It’s [homosexuality] against Islam, it’s wrong, a sin and I know
I’m probably going to go to hell..I feel so ashamed of myself. I’m
doing wrong and I know I shouldn’t be. I’m letting myself down,
it’s against God, my religion, my community” (P1, M)
“I know what I’m doing is wrong, yeah, and if I could chose I
wouldn’t be gay. I would be straight. I know I’m going to go to
hell for this but I just can’t help it, I tell you [...] my worlds are
clashing.” (P2, M)
“I was fighting with myself when I was little, it felt so right and so
damn wrong all at once. I knew my family, friends and community
would hate me like spit on me if they knew I’m gay” (P3, M)
..continued
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“It’s the family and culture that makes it a big issue”:
safeguarding interpersonal relations
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“To be honest with you, yeah, now I’m totally fine with it, like
relaxed and calm about who I am, being gay [...] it’s like the family
and culture that makes it a big issue ‘cause they are not gonna
accept it the way I have, are they? They basically bring me back to
like square one if you get what I mean [...] So I keep my gay life
outside and don’t need to hear their bullshit” (P4, S)

“I used to just argue with my parents when they slag gays off but
then it started getting obvious that I’m gay and that was like
undermining the family, like the relationship, so I don’t bother
now” (P5, H)
..continued

Assimilating and accommodating the prospect of marriage
in life narratives
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“I hate the idea of even going to India, like a family holiday would be hell
now [...] it’d be marriage arranging, match-making [...] it just makes me
realise how much gays are hated and how we’re not even like
acknowledged even” (P6, H)

“This whole thing is a kind of a phase in my life, it has to be ‘cause I’ve
got to get married and I’m going to have a family some day [...] I just
can’t be gay, it’s wrong, how can I?” (P7, M)

“If I’m gonna get my life sorted, on track, then it’s gonna be in Pakistan,
like getting married [...] then I can leave this life behind” (P8, M)

“I can’t imagine being along in the world”: Maintaining a
sense of belonging
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“I’d be hated, kicked out the community, the religion or worse than
that, who knows [...] I can’t imagine being alone in the world” (P9, M)
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“I’m not networked, like well connected or anything, I haven’t got
that to sort of fall back on, if my parents tell me to f*** off” (P10, M)

“If the community leaves me like kicks me out then to hell with them
[...] I’m more myself with White guys anyway [...] they do understand
me better anyway [...] they accept me for who I am” (P11, S)
Concluding thoughts...
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How does gay identity affect one’s sense of self?
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For British Pakistanis, the antecedents of identity threat seem to be
both social and psychological
Psychological coherence; self-esteem; continuity; belonging
For British Indians, the antecedents tends to be much more social
Belonging; continuity of interpersonal relations
Resisting the negative effects of homophobia
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Use of alternative group memberships to resist homophobic
representations (British Indian gay men)
Uncritical acceptance of representations & ‘appropriate’ action
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Enhancing the identity principles
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Targeted de-stigmatisation of gay identity
Contact
Dr. Rusi Jaspal
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Nottingham
rusi.jaspal@nottingham.ac.uk