Dr Rusi Jaspal

1. 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

2. Overview of presentation • Key concepts • Brief outline of British South Asian gay men • British Pakistanis • British Indians • Identity process theory – which links the social and the psychological • Four themes derived from qualitative studies of British South Asian gay men

3. Some key concepts • Gay identity • Group membership vs personal trait • Religious identity • Group membership vs. spirituality • Religious and ethno-cultural homophobia • “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)

4. 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

5. British Pakistani gay men (2) • Some important sociological work on British Muslim gay men of Pakistani background • How Muslims construct sexuality-affirming hermeneutics (Yip, 2005) • Managing family space (Yip, 2004) • Social psychologists have contributed to this literature • 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. Identity process theory • Model of identity construction, threat and coping (Breakwell, 1986) • Identity construction is guided by culturally specific principles • 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

9. 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?

10. Method • The studies • 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 • Participants • 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 • Semi-structured, individual interviews • Qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006)

11. Results • “As a Muslim I can’t be gay”: identifying incompatibilities in the self-concept • “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)

12. ..continued • “It’s the family and culture that makes it a big issue”: safeguarding interpersonal relations • “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)

13. ..continued • Assimilating and accommodating the prospect of marriage in life narratives • “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)

14. “I can’t imagine being along in the world”: Maintaining a sense of belonging • “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) • “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)

15. Concluding thoughts... • How does gay identity affect one’s sense of self? • 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 • Use of alternative group memberships to resist homophobic representations (British Indian gay men) • Uncritical acceptance of representations & ‘appropriate’ action • Enhancing the identity principles • Targeted de-stigmatisation of gay identity

16. Contact Dr. Rusi Jaspal School of Sociology and Social Policy University of Nottingham rusi.jaspal@nottingham.ac.uk