How have the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members and their partners changed 30 years after the ban on 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the military was lifted?

(Photo provided by Samantha Otis)

“My basic research project was based on an overarching follow-up study that looks at the present realities of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members and their partners, 30 years after the Canadian Forces Administrative Order 19-20 (CFAO 19-20) - which banned 2SLGBTQIA+ people from the Canadian Armed Forces - was rescinded and discrimination against “homosexuals” in the military was no longer legal.” ~ Samantha Otis

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*In the following article, TS refers to The Synapse, and SO refers to Samantha Otis;

TS: Could you briefly introduce yourself, your supervisor, the topic of your research, and the field it contributes to?

SO: My name is Samantha Otis, and I’m a Science student majoring in Psychology at UNB. My supervisors are Dr. Poulin, Dr. Gouliquer, and Ms. Hilary Longobardi. My basic research project topic was the current realities of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members and their partners. This research contributed to the field of social psychology regarding marginalized groups in the Canadian Armed Forces.

TS: What was your research project and your contributions? What drew you to pursuing this project?

SO: My basic research project was based on an overarching follow-up study that looks at the present realities of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members and their partners, 30 years after the Canadian Forces Administrative Order 19-20 (CFAO 19-20) - which banned 2SLGBTQIA+ people from the Canadian Armed Forces - was rescinded and discrimination against “homosexuals” in the military was no longer legal. This large study will compare the current lived experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ people with those prior to the removal of CFAO 19-20; Dr. Poulin and Dr. Gouliquer had completed a similar study regarding this early era, referred to as the

LGBT Purge. Their qualitative approach is called the P-SEC methodology, which examines how organisations, like schools or prisons, affect the lived experiences of marginalized people. The data for my project includes abridged life interviews with participants.

For my basic research project, I took the transcripts and demographic forms from the interviews and organised this information into demographic codes using predetermined attributes. To do so, I learned to use the NVivo 12 software, a qualitative research tool. I then converted the data into a series of charts using categories such as “current sexual identity” and “current gender identity” to describe the composition of the sample of participants.

My basic research project shed light on how attributes and categories in the sample have changed between the present and previous studies regarding the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ service members. The representation of sexual orientations, genders, and experiences has expanded and is being further investigated.

When I contacted Dr. Poulin about joining the P-SEC research team as a basic research student, I wasn’t aware of what project I would be working on. While I didn’t choose my specific basic research project, I was drawn to Dr. Poulin and Dr. Gouliquer’s research out of personal interest in their previous work.

TS: Are there any future studies that will be conducted based on your project?

SO: Dr. Poulin and Dr. Gouliquer are in the process of completing interviews and so the composition of the sample will continue to change. My project already sheds light on how different this is from their earlier studies with 2SLGBTQIA+ soldiers and their partners, and this topic will receive more attention. My research was part of a large, ongoing Canadian study.

TS: Why did you choose to take the basic research course? To what extent did the research experience align with what you’d expected?

SO: I chose to take the basic research course because it’s an excellent opportunity to gain research experience that will help prepare me for my future career goals. Based on the course description and from discussions with others who have taken it before, the research experience was not what I expected initially. I expected to complete a couple of larger tasks over the semester and get a taste of the research process. However, my supervisors exposed me to more than a few research areas and activities. Over the semester, I coded demographic information, converted this information into multiple charts, transcribed an indepth qualitative interview, wrote the introduction, methods, and results sections of a research paper, prepared for and attended weekly lab meetings with the P-SEC research group, wrote weekly journals entries in which I reflected on what I learned that week, and completed multiple training modules that touched on ethics, implicit bias, and the P-SEC methodology. These tasks exposed me to many different aspects of the research process and taught me a lot about qualitative research through discussions and written assignments.

TS: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your research experience?

SO: While this experience was stressful in the moment, in hindsight, I can see just how much I learned, and I am grateful for the opportunity to gain such an in-depth and varied experience in research. I’m excited to be able to apply these skills in the future.

Created for The Synapse by Incé Husain.