Lesbian Counterfactual Narratives in Coming Out Stories

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Paper Session: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer Studies Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Counterfactual narratives are “what if” narratives utilized by people to explore how past experiences could have been different and how future events might unfold. This paper is part of a larger thesis project which examined the counterfactual narratives lesbians created during their coming out processes with parents. I interviewed ten women about how they predicted their parents would react to their lesbian sexual orientation. While some participants predicted their parents would react positively, a majority of participants had imagined their parents would react negatively upon discovering their sexual orientation. Six different types of upward and downward prefactual narratives were described. Future research possibilities are also explored.

Keywords: Prefactual, Counterfactual narratives, Lesbian, LGBTQ, coming out

Author

• JADE METZGER, Wayne State U