| Summary: | 碩士 === 玄奘大學 === 應用心理學系碩士班 === 103 === This thesis aims to examine the experiences of Taiwanese homosexual men and their coping strategies in response to the marriage pressure exerted from their families. Methodologically, this thesis uses a narrative analysis, which is a method for qualitative studies, on the basis of the holistic-content and holistic-categorical methods. Three interviewees were recruited, and all of them 1) were over 24 yeas old, 2) were able to accept their own sexuality, 3) had yet to come out to their parents, and 4) were going through the marriage pressure originating from their families. Each of the semi-structural interview session lasted 1 to 2 hours, and each of the interviewees was interviewed in-depth for 2 to 3 sessions. The results are described as follows:
1. The sources of marriage pressure are:
a. Cultural pressure: Traditionally, Taiwanese men are required to obey the heterosexual marriage arrangement in order to carry their family name.
b. Homosexual identity: On the one hand, Taiwanese gay men are confronted with the society that stigmatizes homosexuality; on the other hand, they are forced to follow the heterosexual marriage system.
c. People who exert the marriage pressure: They are mostly parents or grandparents. The ways they use are forceful asking, nagging, authoritarian requests, arranging blind dates, and begging.
2. The strategies Taiwanese gay men use in response to the marriage pressure depend on the external resources they have.
a. External resources: gay friends, gay partners, gay family members, family members, gay communities, social-movement partners, or the Internet.
b. Individual coping strategies: When gay men are facing the marriage pressure, the strategies they use include keeping a distance from their family, obeying their family, pretending to date a woman, pretending to marry a woman, or coming out.
Key words: gay, marriage pressure, Taiwan, traditional heterosexual marriage system, coping strategies
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