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This article is based on in-depth interviews with 14 young gay men aged between 18 and 25 years. Using narratives in a life-historical perspective the young men reflect upon their boyhood and adolescent years to highlight the many and varied issues confronting young gay males during this formative period. While a range of themes will be identified through use of inductive thematic analysis, it is the school environment and the process of schooling that highlights the issues associated with difference that young gay males confront while growing up. Life histories provide a unique method of understanding difference in the lives of individuals. Capturing the essence of meaning of a young gay male's life (under the age of 18) through consensual research data is difficult due to the ethical dilemmas presented in requiring a parent or guardian to provide the right for participation. Therefore, life histories become even more important where young gay males are concerned in an attempt to understand the issues they confront while growing up gay in a heterosexualized culture.
Keywords: gay men, schooling, heterosexualism, growing up
An important philosophical question underpins the conceptualization of this article. That is, "Is it possible to be a gay boy"? Additionally, "Does the construct of being gay only coincide with the onset of sexualization (and beyond) in a male's life"? These are significant issues to ponder and are indeed beyond the scope of this article; however, they are necessary to contemplate given the nature of this article, which is to attempt to understand difference in the lives of gay males during the formative boyhood years, and particularly in the school environment.
For the purposes of this article it is argued that adolescence is the time in a male's life that signifies the period when a gay male can "act" sexually on his feelings and intentions. This is not to say boys cannot and do not perceive themselves as being gay. On the contrary, Edwards (1996, p. 336) argues that homosexual identity begins in childhood where vague feelings of being different emerge and continue on through to young adulthood. Indeed, most of the young men involved in this study reflected on boyhood moments they perceived set themselves apart from other boys as different. While this...