Queer expressions: an Interpretative phenomenological analysis of how Irish gay men discuss sexuality with healthcare practitioners

Queer Expressions offers an insight into the experience for Irish Gay Men of discussing sexuality with healthcare professionals. It clearly establishes a specific understanding of what sexuality and health mean for Irish Gay Men and how this understanding, along with broader social constructs and experiences, impact on how sexuality is discussed in a healthcare context. Ireland has seen unprecedented progress in the area of LGBT rights in the past three decades; from the decriminalisation of homosexual acts following legal challenges in 1993, to the provision of same-sex marriage following the world’s first popular public vote on the issue in 2015 and the election of an openly gay prime minister in 2017. Despite significant social progress, health disparities remain amongst the Irish gay community, and an EU fundamental rights agency 2020 LGBTI survey (EU, Fundamental Rights Agency, 2020) identified that a quarter of Irish Gay Men have not told any healthcare provider that they are gay. Through the use of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009) the experiences of 12 Irish Gay Men are explored and illuminate the specificities of Irish Gay Men’s encounters and discussions of sexuality with healthcare professionals. The layered and multidimensional sexual identities of Irish Gay Men are revealed, along with the ways in which their encounters ‘Queer’ the provision of healthcare within health professional consultations. The men in the study also provide a unique and specific account of how the concept of health is perceived, experienced and embodied for this group. The thesis clearly establishes the implications for practice, policy and research around specific considerations for Irish Gay Men in healthcare professional education and training; and within the systems in which healthcare is provided