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Research
To: Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual International Students and Alumni of U.S.
Institutions
From: Nadine Kato, International Student Advisor
Subject: Research
I am currently researching special issues relating to lesbian, gay and bisexual
international students on U.S. campuses for my MasterUs thesis. Very little
has been published on this subject, so I am relying heavily upon a written
survey for the bulk of this research. Identifying GLB international students,
former and current, who are willing to participate in this study is going to be
challenging, so I would greatly appreciate your help. If you are willing to
participate, if you know of people who might be willing to participate, and/or
if you are willing to advertise my project , I would greatly appreciate it.
Survey responses will be completely confidential--no names will be used.
Topics will include:
--general attitudes towards homosexuality in studentsU home countries
--studentsU GLB identity development in the home country and in
the U.S.
--unique issues faced by GLB international students on U.S. campuses
--utilization of support services and networks on and off campus in the
U.S.
--ways to create a GLB-friendly environment in the international
student office
--feelings and actual experiences regarding returning to the home
country
Please contact me if you are interested and willing to help me locate
participants or would like more information. Interested students and alumni
are welcome to contact me directly. I can email the survey, but the survey
will also be available soon on the world wide web. For those with access to
the web, this format will be cleaner and easier to work with. I will send out
the web address as soon as it is available.
For now, I will send a copy of the survey over email for those who are
interested.
Thank you for your help!
Nadine Kato
Center for International Studies
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301
ph: (320) 255-4287
fax: (320) 255-4223
<email>
To all survey participants:
Thank you again for offering to participate in my research. For those of you
using email, I would suggest downloading the survey and reading it once or
twice to get a sense of what kinds of questions I will be asking, before
beginning to fill in answers. Since different email systems have different
formatting, the survey is likely to look slightly messy on your screen. For
multiple choice questions, please put an <X> to the left of your chosen answer.
I hope that you are able to answer the survey without too many problems. Those
of you who prefer printing out the survey and resonding on paper, please answer
the open-ended questions on the back of the survey, or use separate pieces of
paper. Most of the questions are multiple choice or short answer, but some
will require more time. Detailed answers are greatly appreciated where
possible. You may skip any question or section which you prefer not to answer.
If you have any international GLB student friends, current or alumni, who might
be willing to fill out the survey, please forward a copy to them and encourage
them to participate.
If any questions are unclear, feel free to contact me for clarification at
<email> or (320) 255-4287, Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m.-4:30
p.m.
Please return this survey at your earliest convenience, or by May 15, 1997, to
Nadine Kato, 503 6th Avenue South, St. Cloud, MN 56301 or
<email>
Thank you all again for your time and interest.
Nadine Kato
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual International Student Survey
General Information
1) Gender: Male Female
2) Identity: Gay Lesbian
Bisexual
3) Home Country:______________________________
4) a) U.S. University population: Under 5000
5000-10,000 Over 10,000
b) University location (state):_____________________________
5) Year in school: Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Graduate
Post-graduate Exchange
6) Number of years lived in U.S._________months__________years
7) Age (optional):_________________
Identity
In the United States, the phrase Rcome outS means to acknowledge to yourself
and/or to others that you are gay, lesbian or bisexual (GLB).
8) Where were you when you came out to yourself? Home country
U.S. Other ____________
9) How long ago did you come
out?______________________________________________
10) Does anybody in your home country know that you identify as GLB?
Yes No
If yes, what relation are they to you? (For example, parent, teacher,
close friend, partner, only people met at GLB clubs/bars,
etc.)__________________________________________
11) Do you know anybody else in your home country who identifies as GLB?
Yes No
If yes, what relation are they to
you?__________________________________________
12) a) Before you came to the U.S., what preconceptions did you have about
gay life in the U.S.?
b) How do these preconceptions differ from reality as you experience
it?
13) In your home country:
a) Do some universities have GLB student organizations?
Yes No
b) Is there a national GLB organization?
Yes No
c) Do you know where to go to find other GLB people?
Yes No
d) Is it illegal to practice homosexual sex?
Yes No
e) Do people practice homosexual sex but tend not to identify as
GLB? Yes No
f) Do you sometimes see lesbian or gay couples walking
hand-in-hand or kissing in public places?
Yes No
14) How do you feel as a GLB in your home country?
____Very comfortable. I donUt even think about it much.
____Accepted and safe in some circles, including some
heterosexual circles
____Accepted and safe only around other GLBs
____Isolated and alone
15) Regarding question 14, do you think your experience as a GLB in your
home country is representative of most GLBs in your home country?
Yes No
If no, please explain what makes your experience different.
16) a) What do you think are the two biggest problems faced by GLB
international students in the U.S.? (Mark
two choices with an <x> in the left-hand column.)
b) Please rank how much you personally have been affected by each
of the following problems. (1=heavily
affected, 2=moderately affected, 3=not at all affected) Mark your ratings
in the right-hand column.
____ ____ Racial harrassment
____ ____ Homophobic harrassment
____ ____ Racism within the GLB community
____ ____ Isolation from other students from the same home
country
____ ____ Difficulty staying in the U.S. long-term to remain with
a partner
____ ____ Fear of returning to a less GLB-friendly home country
____ ____ DonUt know who to talk to in the U.S. about
identity-related issues
____ ____ Other (please
specify):_________________________________
To Rbe outS in the United States means that you identify as GLB publicly. To
be Rin the closetS is to hide or deny your sexual orientation to others.
17) How would you describe yourself in your home country?
Out In the closet In-between
18) How did you feel about your identity as a GLB person in your home
country?
Positive Neutral Negative Confused
Other_____________________
19) How would you describe yourself in the U.S.?
Out In the closet In-between
20) How do you feel about your identity as a GLB person in the U.S.?
Positive Neutral Negative Confused
Other_____________________
21) If your answers for 17 and 18 were different from your answers for 19
and 20, please explain what made the difference.
22) In general, do you think it is easier for GLBs to come out in: U.S.
Your home country Same
23) For you, is it easier to come out in: U.S.
Your home country Same
24) In general, do you think it is easier for GLBs to be out in: U.S.
Your home country Same
25) For you, is it easier to be out in: U.S.
Your home country Same
26) If you answered that the U.S. is easier for questions 22-25, please
indicate which of the following factors makes your home country
more difficult:
____cultural and/or familial expectations about heterosexual marriage
____religion in home country
____public opinion of GLBs in your home country
____laws punishing GLBs
____violence, harrassment, or threat of either, not based on laws
____other (please
describe:__________________________________________________)
27) If you answered that your home country is easier for questions 22-25,
please explain why.
28) Please refer to the following Cass model of GLB identity development:
Developmental Stages in the Coming Out Process
1)Identity Confusion: --see self as member of mainstream group
--denial of inner feelings
--recognize possibility of self
as homosexual
2)Identity Comparison: --sense of alienation from general society
--compare self to others;
realize self is different
--inner struggle over what is
true about own identity
3)Identity Tolerance: --begin to seek out LesBiGay community
--begin to tolerate, but not
accept, LesBiGay identity
4)Identity Acceptance: --begin to immerse self in LesBiGay community
--feel validated and normal as
LesBiGay
--accept self as LesBiGay
5)Identity Pride: --pride in new identity
--anger at anti-homosexual
attitudes
--no longer hide identity as
LesBiGay
--utilize energy from pride and
anger to work for LesBiGay activism
--prefer to mix socially with
other LesBiGays
6)Identity Synthesis: --at peace with self as LesBiGay
--personal and public identity
become one
--see value in supportive
heterosexuals
--mix socially with both
heterosexuals and LesBiGays equally comfortably.
a) At what stage were you when you left your home country?
Confusion Comparison Tolerance
Acceptance Pride Synthesis Other
(If <other,> please explain.)
b) At what stage are you now?
Confusion Comparison Tolerance
Acceptance Pride Synthesis Other
(If <other,> please explain.)
c) What do you think influenced your development between
the Cass stages?
Support Services
29) Please rate how comfortable you would feel being out to the following
groups on campus (1 is not at all comfortable, 5 is completely
comfortable, DK is <do not know.>)
a) Students from your home country 1 2 3 4
5 DK
b) Other international students 1 2 3
4 5 DK
c) U.S. students 1 2
3 4 5 DK
d) GLB students from your home country 1 2 3
4 5 DK
e) GLB students from other countries 1 2 3
4 5 DK
f) GLB students from the U.S. 1 2
3 4 5 DK
30) Please rate how comfortable you feel spending time with the following
groups on campus, assuming they do not necessarily know your
sexual orientation.
a) Students from your home country 1 2 3 4
5 DK
b) Other international students 1 2 3
4 5 DK
c) U.S. students 1 2
3 4 5 DK
d) GLB students from your home country 1 2 3
4 5 DK
e) GLB students from other countries 1 2 3
4 5 DK
f) GLB students from the U.S. 1 2
3 4 5 DK
31) How often do you attend campus GLB student meetings or activities?
Never 0-3 times per school year 4-10 times per school year
More than 10 times per school year
32) Have you ever utilized counseling services in the U.S. regarding your
identity as a GLB person?
Yes, on campus Yes, off campus No
33) If you answered yes to the above question, do you feel the counseling
was helpful? Yes No
If yes, please check the reasons: If no, please
check the reasons:
___good listener ___counselor
uncomfortable with GLB issues
___referred me to other helpful resources ___counselor
not familiar with GLB issues
___offered supportive comments and questions ___counselor denied
importance of my concerns
___helped me realize I was not abnormal or alone ___personality
clash
___other______________________________
___other___________________________
34) Have you sought out GLB communities, groups, or support services off
campus in the U.S.?
Yes No
If yes, please check what type:
____GLB support groups
____GLB political action groups
____GLB dance clubs, bars, coffeehouses
____GLB bookstores
____volunteering for GLB causes
____other (please
specify)______________________________________________
35) What persons, groups, classes or resources have been most helpful to
your development and identity as a GLB person?
____GLB student organization
____A particular class (What was it
called?_______________________________________)
____Close friend(s)
____Family member
____WomenUs Center
____Professor
____Counselor
____International Student Advisor
____Gay Pride Parade
____Celebrity (Who?_______________________________________)
____Other (Please describe:___________________________________)
36) What person, group, service or resource center do you wish had been
more helpful?
37) Have you ever discussed your identity as GLB with an international
student advisor (ISA)?
____It did not occur to me to go to an ISA for this topic
____I thought about it, but decided not to go to an ISA
____I told an ISA of my identity, but GLB issues were not the focus of
any of our discussions
____I had a casual discussion about it with an ISA
____I specifically brought up this topic for discussion with an ISA
____other (please describe):______________________________________
38) a) If you have discussed your identity with an ISA, please
describe the situation.
b) If you have not discussed your identity with an ISA, please
describe what the international student office
should change for you to consider it a safe place to seek support and a helpful
resource for GLB issues.
Reentry
39) Have you been home since you came to the U.S.?
Yes No
40) Have you been home since you came out?
Yes No
41) Does your identity as a GLB person affect your feelings, past and
present, about returning home?
Please explain.
Yes No
Some schools offer reentry programs for international students before the
students return home. Such programs usually introduce the concept of <reverse
culture shock>, and try to help prepare students for the adjustment back to
their home countries. These programs do not touch on country-specific issues,
but instead deal with general coping strategies for the stress that returning
home can involve.
42) Does your schools international student office (ISO) offer reentry
programming?
Yes No Not sure
43) If your ISO offers reentry programming, have you been to a session?
Yes No
If yes, what did it include?
44) Did the general reentry program help prepare you, personally, to handle
the changes you have made in your GLB identity development when you
return to your home environment?
Yes No
If so, what discussion, activity, or other element did you find most
helpful?
45) Do you plan to live in the U.S. after you graduate?
Yes No
If so, is your decision based on issues related to your GLB identity?
Yes No
46) Please write any other comments or stories you are willing to share
regarding your GLB identity development at home or in the U.S., the support you
sought, or your thoughts and experiences with returning home. Also, if you
have dealt with significant issues that I have not yet identified in this
survey that you feel are unique to your experience as an international gay,
lesbian or bisexual person in the U.S., please share them.
Thank you for filling out this survey. My thesis should be completed by
November, 1997. If you are interested in seeing the final thesis, please write
your email address here:
Please return this survey by May 15 to: Nadine Kato 503 6th Avenue
South, St. Cloud, MN 56301
email: <email>
fax: (320) 255-4223
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