Content area
Abstract
The objective of this qualitative research study was to examine the individuation process of Filipino Catholic gay men—the attainment of independence, belongingness, and acceptance. Autoethnography was the research methodology used to contextualize the researcher’s first-person subjective accounts of his individuation process from a collectivist and sociocentric culture that shaped his self-concept and identity. The six respondents’ narratives contributed valuable information validating the interdependent self-construal and social enmeshment of the Filipinos. The intersubjective dialogue and interviews between the researcher and the respondents elucidated the principles of kapwa, the core construct of Filipino personhood that recognizes the concept of the shared self in humanity. The predominant and commonly practiced Filipino values that emerged from the narratives were identified: Hiya, shame and sense of propriety; Pakikisama, oneness and solidarity with others, and utang na loob, gratitude and reciprocity. These cultural values were used as thematic filters that uncovered four research themes: (a) mother as the significant influence on one’s self-concept, (b) compartmentalizing of faith for survival, (c) sexual intimacy as the means to achieve belongingness, acceptance, and visibility, and (d) fear of being insignificant. Each of the themes revealed the supportive and impeding factors that were significant to the individuation of the researcher and respondents, from the microcosm of the family to the larger society of the Philippines, including the influence of intrinsic cultural and religious expectations on the self-concept and quality of life of Filipino Catholic gay men.