“I Knew I Wasn't Like Anybody Else”: Young Men's Accounts of Coming Out and Being Gay in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article is based on 20 one-to-one in-depth interviews conducted with young gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland between 2000 and 2006. These interviews were conducted during two larger mixed-methods projects: one undertaken by the University of Ulster and the Northern Ireland branch of the Family Planning Association on sexual attitudes and lifestyles of 14–25 year olds, and the other conducted by the Rainbow Project on mental health of same-sex-attracted young men. During the interviews the respondents were asked to recall their experiences of coming out and living as same-sex-attracted people in Northern Ireland. Sociological narrative text–analytical coding techniques are used to identify core categories and themes of the coming-out process experienced by these young people. Firstly, the data are related to a model of gay identity formation. Secondly, Northern Ireland-specific circumstances impacting on gay identity formation are considered and embedded in a wider discussion using available literature.