Skip to main content
Article
Accounting for Same-Sex Divorce: Relationship- vs. Self-Focused Divorce Accounts and the Meanings of Marriage Among Gays and Lesbians
Journal of Divorce and Remarriage (2019)
  • Aaron Hoy, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Abstract
To date, few empirical studies on same-sex divorce have been published. This paper presents a grounded theory analysis of in-depth interviews with a small convenience sample of six divorced gays and lesbians in order to address two related questions: how do gays and lesbians account for their divorce experiences? And what do these accounts suggest about the meanings they attach to marriage? Results suggest a distinction between what I term relationship-focused accounts, which explain the account-teller’s divorce by emphasizing that his or her marital bond had come undone, and self-focused accounts, which emphasize how the marriage created problems for the account-teller him- or herself. Furthermore, this paper shows how relationship-focused accounts draw upon the meanings embedded in the companionate model of marriage whereas self-focused accounts draw upon those embedded in the individualized model of marriage.
Publication Date
May 21, 2019
Citation Information
Aaron Hoy. "Accounting for Same-Sex Divorce: Relationship- vs. Self-Focused Divorce Accounts and the Meanings of Marriage Among Gays and Lesbians" Journal of Divorce and Remarriage (2019)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/aaron-hoy/12/