SEPARADO A Case Study on the Quality of Life among Homosexual Filipino Men Separated from their Families of Procreation

Abstract

The Philippines is one rising country in which researches and methodical investigation on the homosexuality of men, particularly on those who are in heterosexual union are atypical. Our society, when it comes to homosexual issues, is quite apprehensive and tends to have limited knowledge. People tend to be conservative and traditional when it comes to social institutions, especially when it comes to marrying, family building and preserving. With the idea that the public can be guided more proficiently in forming some responsible knowledge and opinions about homosexual men from their families of procreation, a small-scale exploratory study among 10 homosexual men separated from their families of procreation was carried out and completed in 2009. The research delved into the respondents' sexual histories; their perception of own homosexual attraction, desire and orientation; their reasons, motivations and expectations for marrying or cohabiting; and domestic concerns (household chores and division of labor). It also looked into the respondents' quality of life after their separation from their families: the physical, psychological, environmental, spiritual, social relationships, and the level of their independence.

The respondents should be married or at least cohabited a woman and should have at least a child on that woman prior the incident of their separation. And most importantly, the male's sexuality (gay or bisexuality) should be one of the reason why they got separated from their families of procreation. The method used in the study is qualitative, utilizing the case studies of the life and sexual histories of ten homosex·ual Filipino men separated from their families of procreation. Secondary data from existing related literature as well as in-depth interview technique were used in order to get rich and reliable information regarding the status and the general quality of life among the respondents. Analysis is based on common themes discovered in the case studies. A 10- item sentence completion test was also conducted to each of the respondents to further explore the individual's perceptions on his sexuality, as well as his outlook regarding his separation from his family of procreation.