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Lesbian couples' management of public-private dialectical contradictions

University of Denver

Karla Mason Bergen

College of Saint Mary

Karen L. Daas

St. Mary's University

Wesley T. Durham

University of Southern Indiana

This study explores the processes by which a group of lesbian women report managing public-private dialectical contradictions at the external border between their relationship as a couple and networks, social norms, and laws. Specifically, 18 dyads and 2 individuals, all of whom had been in a committed relationship for at least 1 year, were interviewed about the rituals that are part of their relationship. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. Participants reported using the dialectic response strategies of integration and segmentation to manage the inclusion-seclusion and revelation-concealment dimensions of the public-private contraction.

Key Words: communication theory • couples • dialectics • grounded theory • homosexuality • lesbianism • nonreligious rites • social networks • social norms

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 23, No. 3, 349-365 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407506064201


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