Gay Men's Experiences of Holding Hands in Public: Psychosocial Dilemmas and the Discourse of Homophobia

For many members of the LGBTQ community, holding hands with their partners in public, and other public displays of affection (PDAs) is seldom a carefree and spontaneous act. Survey studies have previously indicated that a majority of LGBTQ individuals report that they never hold hands with their partner in public, out of a fear of possible negative or abusive reactions from others. To contribute to qualitative research in this area, in this article we develop an account of the role of homophobia and internalised homophobia in gay men's experience of navigating the act of holding hands with their partners across different landscapes. We take a detailed look at interview material from three study participants to consider the psychic struggles involved when negotiating internal and external barriers to holding hands. The data was generated through photovoice interviews and include verbal as well as visual material. Writing as two psychoanalytic practitioners, we deploy a clinically informed listening stance in our engagement with the study material and offer a distinctly psychosocial theorisation of homophobia.