Constructed Identities

Most, if not all, Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals struggle at one point of their lives to reconcile their sexual and religious identities. This struggle is rooted within one's intrapersonal and interpersonal communicative acts. The author uses narrative interviews to examine the impact and affect that various interpersonal and intrapersonal communicative acts have had on five people who identified as either lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Though there is much research available regarding the struggle of this population to integrate these two identities, none was available to this researcher from a communication perspective. The major themes that emerged from this analysis demonstrated that intrapersonal and interpersonal communicative events with family members, friends, religious leaders, church members, partners and acquaintances do indeed impact and affect the religious and sexual identity formation and maintenance as well as any potential for identity integration for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals.