有鑑於長期以來，既有的社會知識型態仍停留在傳統異性戀婚姻體制的刻板印象，因而在親密關係的探討上往往忽略了非異性戀、不同情慾主體的多元論述與行動實踐面貌。據此，本文嘗試從國內同志伴侶關係身處社會脈絡，及所承受的污名與面臨的挑戰出發，探究其伴侶關係經營與維持的豐富面貌。 在20對男、女同志伴侶的訪談中發現：同志伴侶關係體現在日常生活世界當中，其親密關係所涉及到的問題不僅僅包括了兩人的互動相處層面，亦結合了法律、社會、家庭與個人等多面向的交互影響，涉及了不同力量的相互拉扯、角力、辯證與衝突。然而，為降低對伴侶關係的影響，同志伴侶在其親密關係的經營與互動中，亦發展出兩人抗壓與爭取認同的因應策略，包括：（一）以承諾典禮的形式劃分伴侶界線，延伸「親戚關係」的概念，重構社會網絡，形塑特有的共生族群意識；（二）伴侶關係相互扶持，交織著朋友、家人般的關係，創造共同的經驗與回憶，開展兩人關係維繫的契機；（三）逃避隱瞞，以地理作為區隔，單身作為訴求，並對父母親進行反哺教育，爭取同志情慾流動的可能，以延續兩人得來不易的愛情。

Due to the traditional cultural values that focus only on heterosexual couple relationships in Taiwan, there is a great lack of research on gay/lesbian couple relationships. This study attempts to gain a basic understanding of how gay/lesbian couples in Taiwan maintain their relationships while facing different challenges such as stigmatization. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 gay couples and 10 lesbian couples. It was found that they faced not only problems in their relationships but also problems related to the law, society, family, and personal issues. The complexity of those influences created great challenges for them. In order to decrease the negative impacts of such challenges, the couples in this study developed their own ways of coping, which included: (1) they would use self-created ceremonies to demonstrate their commitment to the relationship and to draw their boundaries as a couple; furthermore they tried to extend the concept of ”family and relatives” in order to create their own social support system; (2) their relationship became more than just couple relationship but also as family relationship and friendship; this in turn would help them to satisfy their unmet needs and to create more connections between partners; (3) they would try not to disclose their identity as gays/lesbians and sometimes use geographical distance, avoiding closer relationships with heterosexual friends and colleagues, or using lies to cover their gay/lesbian couple relationships.