Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology

Gay men coming out later in life: A hermeneutic analysis of acknowledging sexual orientation to oneself

2024-12-30T10:54:57+00:00

Given the residual homonegativity in evidence throughout our diverse communities, and given the large numbers of gay people who remain “in the closet”, it is critical that we seek to understand in greater depth the complexities of the coming-out process with a view to dispelling some of the confusion relating to sexual identity. Internalised homophobia is more widespread than generally acknowledged, and it manifests in a variety of ways, including the sociological phenomenon of gay men remaining closeted until well into middle age. This article applies a hermeneutic phenomenological lens to examine the process of realisation, where an individual gradually becomes aware of his sexual orientation, and eventually acknowledges to himself that he is gay. This process can take decades. For this research project, twelve participants (gay men who have come out after the age of 40) from Aotearoa New Zealand willingly shared intensely personal accounts of their lived experiences. The findings indicate that individuals experience clarity about same-sex attraction in strikingly different ways. This study helps us to understand the difficulties faced by men who have lived the majority of their lives as “straight”, then in middle age find themselves having to negotiate the tortuous terrain between heterosexuality and a new gay identity.

The essence of displacement: A phenomenological analysis of inner-city residents’ experiences in South Africa

2024-12-30T10:58:34+00:00

Gentrification has led to the eviction and displacement of many people from working-class areas around the world. However, the relationship between gentrification and displacement has sparked much debate in the literature, with some researchers downplaying displacement, while others have argued that gentrification can occur without the displacement of people. These studies have tended to be quantitative in nature. However, there are few qualitative accounts of the experience of displacement and there is little consideration of the affective or phenomenological dimensions of displacement in current debates about gentrification. This is in part because researchers have tended not to engage directly with displaced people as it is often difficult to locate them. The purpose of this article is to describe the essence of displacement from the perspective of a group of individuals who were evicted from their homes in a gentrifying inner-city area of Johannesburg, South Africa. Through the methodology of transcendental phenomenology, five interrelated themes were derived from in-depth interviews with the participants. The findings show that the essence of displacement is one of great pain, loss and trauma, which disrupts the lifeworld of those displaced and impacts their overall health and well-being.

Children’s voices through teachers’ stories

2024-12-30T11:04:26+00:00

We understand our lives through narratives, and the form of these narratives is appropriate for understanding the actions of others, writes MacIntyre (1981). Meanwhile, narratives and our understanding of them also inform our understanding of our own actions. In this article, student kindergarten teachers share anecdotes from their teaching practice assignments. These preservice teachers (PSTs) relay stories that are serious and important from a child’s perspective, and which they themselves experienced as serious and important while spending time with children and listening to children’s voices. Our aim here is to give even very young children a voice in their own everyday lives and to discuss how PSTs might listen more closely to what children are saying. Our narrative analysis of stories (Van Manen, 1997, 2014; Clandinin, 2013) offered by Norwegian and Italian PSTs presents a range of perspectives on life management and a desire for conversation in children aged 2–8 years. The stories are told through the student kindergarten teachers’ voices, and they were shared with and reflected upon with the children’s in-service class teachers. The article sheds retrospective light on children’s telling of, and thinking about, stories.