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KMID : 0904520110290010005
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Health and Medical Sociology
2011 Volume.29 No. 1 p.5 ~ p.39
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A Study on Partnering Patterns of Sexual Minorities in Korea : Based on Sexual Script Theory
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Joo Young-June
Youm Yoo-Sik
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Abstract
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This study conducted nine in-depth interviews to examine and identify the partnering patterns of sexual minorities (homosexual) that have direct implications of public health, Diverse forms of identity-related psychological distresses of sexual minorities are well known and the sexual matching patterns of sexual minorities have direct effects on the dynamics of sexually transmitted diseases. Direct application of script theory (Simon & Gagnon, 1986) to our data revealed the approach’s limitations. First, we have to add one more level of script, ‘community lever’ in addition to its original three levels to properly explain the processes of sexual partnering in Korea. Also we had to incorporate the homosexual identity process prosed by Cass (1979; 1984) to fully understand the picture of identity development and its effects on community activities and later, sexual patterning.
Based on adjusted script theory, we could successfully identify four distinctive sexual partnering patterns out of nine in-depth interviews. The first one refers, we call it ‘community script’, very distressful identity formation, active adoption of community script especially as a sex market, and as a result short-lived multiple sex partnership in a given period. People who adopted the second script, called ‘societal script’, went through relatively less stressful identify formation and only participated communities that were tightly embedded in every day lives and had relatively small number of sex partners with relative long durations. These first two patterns were discovered among males. The third one showed the identify formation that is more tightly embedded in everyday lives rather than in sexual drive, least participation in communities, and small number of partnership that lasted relatively long. We call this script as ‘dyadic script’. Sexual minorities who revealed the last script, ‘internal script’, developed sexual identity mainly through sexual drive and participated communities moderately. Their sexual partenring pattern was similar to one of ‘community script’ although the number of sex partners was little bit smaller. This research revealed that sexual partnering patterns of sexual minorities in Korea were not identical and we could identify four different patterns based on adjusted script theory. Depending on specific partnering pattern the sexual minorities adopt, their sexual behaviors have different effects on their psychological well-being and the dynamics of sexually transmitted diseases.
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KEYWORD
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Homosexual, Sexual Minorities, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Psychological Stress, sexual partners, sexual community
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