A Series of Staggering Heartbreaks: Lifting the Shroud of Intimate Partner Violence in Same-Sex Couples. Issue 2 (May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nicosia, Matthew
• Is Part Of: International review of qualitative research. Volume 12:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 179
• Page End: 197
• Publication Date: 2019-05
• Subjects: intimate partner violence -- masculinity -- gender -- same-sex relationships -- queer identity -- autoethnography; Qualitative research -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Social justice -- Periodicals; Qualitative research; Social justice; Social sciences -- Research; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 001.42
• DOI: 10.1525/irqr.2019.12.2.179
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1940-8447

Abstract

Typically, the narrative surrounding intimate partner violence (IPV) involves men as perpetrators not victims. This is in part due to both low reporting from men and heteronormative expectations of masculinity. Furthermore, gay male victims are even less frequently discussed. In this autoethnographic article, I reflect on the power structure within violent same-sex relationships and the resulting loss of agency, self-worth, and personal identity victims experience. Because the conversation regarding IPV is often focused on the perpetrator rather than the victim, I intentionally leave the perpetrators anonymous and these experiences vague to instead focus attention on the trauma experienced by gay men. It is my hope this approach will render more intelligible the negotiations of agency, silence, and the performance of queer masculinity that victims experience. This article is neither about the act nor the perpetrator; rather it is about the response by and to the victim.