The ‘fallacy of normalcy’: A content analysis of women's online post-childbirth health-related support

BackgroundOnline forums have changed traditional sources of seeking help because they provide an anonymous and non-judgemental environment particularly suited for women with post-childbirth problems.QuestionWhat support is given to mothers who have posted questions about post-childbirth morbidities?MethodsA total of 333 messages posted on a post-childbirth online forum were loaded into NVIVO 12 Pro and were analysed using content and thematic analysis. Content analysis identified the major health problems, and thematic analysis was used for identifying motivations and the support offered.FindingsSeventeen different health problems were discussed on posts, with a strong emphasis on pelvic problems, followed by mental health concerns. The key motivation for seeking online help identified using ‘typology of advice solicitation’ was request for opinion or information (48.85%). The two main support themes were: peer to peer support (82%) and normalisation (not always appropriate) of post-childbirth problems (18%). Most of the support offered was emotional (56.9%) followed by practical (22.7%) and informational support (20.4%).DiscussionPostpartum adjustment of post-childbirth experiences can be supportive but if ill-informed may provide a barrier to safe and reliable health care.ConclusionWe recommend women have access to online forums moderated by healthcare providers who can notify participants when a problem requires support from a relevant health professional opinion.     

Online Networks as a Venue for Social Support: A Qualitative Study of Married Bisexual Men in Taiwan

Online networks have become a critical venue for bisexual males to communicate with each other and solicit social support. This study reports qualitative feedback gathered from 12 married Taiwanese bisexual men about online social support in their daily lives. The analysis of interviews reveal that online social support provides participants with opportunities to screen potential friends, participate in the bisexual virtual community, come out and release stress, and look for romance. Apparently, for married bisexual men in Taiwan, the Internet offers an opportunity to anonymously manage sexual identity and solicit social support among other bisexuals.     

Searching the databases: a quick look at Amazon and two other online catalogues

The Amazon Online Catalogue was compared with the Library of Congress Catalogue and the British Library Catalogue, both also available online, by searching on both neutral (Gay, Lesbian, Homosexual) and pejorative (Perversion, Sex Crime) subject terms, and also by searches using Boolean logic in an attempt to identify Lesbian Fiction items and religion-based anti-gay material. Amazon was much more likely to be the first port of call for non-academic enquiries. Although excluding much material necessary for academic research, it carried more information about the individual books and less historical homophobic baggage in its terminology than the great national catalogues. Its back catalogue of second-hand books outnumbered those in print. Current attitudes may partially be gauged by the relative numbers of titles published under each heading--e.g., there may be an inverse relationship between concern about child sex abuse and homophobia, more noticeable in U.S. because of the activities of the religious right.     

Forever young: Visual representations of gender and age in online dating sites for older adults

ABSTRACT

Online dating has become increasingly popular among older adults following broader social media adoption patterns. The current study examined the visual representations of people on 39 dating sites intended for the older population, with a particular focus on the visualization of the intersection between age and gender. All 39 dating sites for older adults were located through the Google search engine. Visual thematic analysis was performed with reference to general, non-age-related signs (e.g., facial expression, skin color), signs of aging (e.g., perceived age, wrinkles), relational features (e.g., proximity between individuals), and additional features such as number of people presented. The visual analysis in the present study revealed a clear intersection between ageism and sexism in the presentation of older adults. The majority of men and women were smiling and had a fair complexion, with light eye color and perceived age of younger than 60. Older women were presented as younger and wore more cosmetics as compared with older men. The present study stresses the social regulation of sexuality, as only heterosexual couples were presented. The narrow representation of older adults and the anti-aging messages portrayed in the pictures convey that love, intimacy, and sexual activity are for older adults who are “forever young.”     

Innocent victims,creepy boys: discursive framings of sexuality in online news coverage of the celebrity nude photo hack

Following the hack, theft, and digital dissemination of hundreds of nude celebrity photographs—colloquially referred to as “The Fappening”—in August 2014, online news sites filled with speculation about and commentary upon the actions of both the hackers and the celebrities. Through a critical discourse analysis of coverage of the female celebrities and hackers in six online news outlets this project presents “The Fappening” as a case study for better understanding the ways in which the media produces discourses about sexuality, particularly sexual deviancy and victimhood. The discourse surrounding this incident was inflected with feminist ideals. The celebrities were constructed as victims not only of the hack but of broader structural issues around women’s bodies, while the hackers and posters of the photos were derided as perverted, lonely thieves. Overall, the feminist leanings of the discourse around “The Fappening” indicate that the actions of the celebrities—that is, taking and privately sharing nude photographs—can be integrated into dominant understandings of sexuality, while the online communities that stole and shared their photos must be rejected. However, the coverage indicates that celebrities who use their sexual allure for publicity deserve their victimization, undermining the apparently progressive focus of the discourse.     

Best practices for online Canadian prenatal health promotion: A public health approach

Background

Prenatal health promotion provides information regarding pregnancy risks, protective behaviours and clinical and community resources. Typically, women obtain prenatal health information from health care providers, prenatal classes, peers/family, media and increasingly, Internet sites and mobile apps. Barriers to prenatal health promotion and related services include language, rural/remote location, citizenship and disability. Online public health platforms represent the capacity to reach underserved women and can be customised to address the needs of a heterogeneous population of pregnant women.

Positives and negatives of online dating according to women 50+

ABSTRACT

To understand the positives and negatives of online dating according to the lived experience of older women, telephone interviews were conducted with 45 women ages 50+ who date online. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically team coded. The opportunity to expand one’s social network for both friendships and romantic partners, the ability to control dating risks and pace of relationship formation, and knowing more about one’s partner were significant reported benefits of online dating. Dating online also includes unique risks, such as pervasive lying, attempted financial exploitation in the form of scammers, and unwanted electronic sexual aggression.     

Smoking and Intention to Quit Among a Large Sample of Black Sexual and Gender Minorities

The purpose of this study is to more completely quantify smoking and intention to quit from a sample of sexual and gender minority (SGM) Black individuals (N = 639) through analysis of data collected at Pride festivals and online. Frequencies described demographic characteristics; chi-square analyses were used to compare tobacco-related variables. Black SGM smokers were more likely to be trying to quit smoking than White SGM smokers. However, Black SGM individuals were less likely than White SGM individuals to become former smokers. The results of this study indicate that smoking behaviors may be heavily influenced by race after accounting for SGM status.     

Midwives and sexual violence: A cross-sectional analysis of personal exposure,education and attitudes in practice

BackgroundAround one in three women experience sexual violence during their lifetime. They may need trauma-sensitive maternity care that takes sexual trauma triggers into account. Midwives are similarly likely to have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. It is unknown whether midwives with a personal sexual violence history have a different professional approach to the topic than their colleagues without such history.AimTo explore whether midwives with a personal sexual violence history are more likely to have received or need education about sexual violence and whether they approach sexual violence differently in practice.MethodsAn exploratory online survey was conducted amongst practicing midwives in high resource countries. Odds ratios were calculated for differences between midwives with and without a personal sexual violence history.FindingsOf the 288 participating midwives, 48.6% disclosed a personal sexual violence history. Midwives with a personal sexual violence history showed higher uptake of post-graduate education (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.23–3.44), more accurate prevalence estimation (OR 3.42, 95% CI 2.10–5.57) and more confidence to identify sexual violence history (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.19–3.15). We found no differences in requiring future education, screening practices, other aspects of confidence or time and discomfort barriers.ConclusionsAs fellow survivors, midwives with a personal sexual violence history have a unique standpoint towards sexual violence in maternity care practice that may make them more sensitive to the issue.     

Constructing risk and responsibility: a gender,race, and class analysis of news representations of adolescent sexuality

Teen sexuality has been portrayed as dangerous (i.e., risk of pregnancy, STIs, sexual victimization for girls) yet pervasive in a growing post-feminist culture of sexualization. Adolescents are tasked with negotiating the difficult terrain of desire and danger as adults persistently construct contradictory discourses and panics around teen sexuality. This study examines a sample of online news media through a feminist intersectional lens, considering race, class, gender, and sexuality as mutually imbricated within dynamics of power, to analyze how contemporary news articles on teen sexuality construct adolescent sexuality at the intersection of neoliberalism and the sexual double standard. Our analysis revealed three particular moral panics around risk for girls: (1) pregnancy and STIs; (2) engagements in sexualization; and (3) sexual victimization. We illuminate how the sexual double standard and neoliberal notions of accountability reinstate and reproduce gendered, raced, and classed representations of adolescent sexualities.     

Sources of Discrimination and Their Associations With Health in Sexual Minority Adults

ABSTRACT

Health disparities exist between sexual minorities and heterosexuals. These health disparities may be due to stressful social situations and environments that are created by discrimination. The current study recruited 277 sexual minorities to complete an online survey to examine the effects of discrimination on health. Discrimination from family and friends, compared to non-family and friends, was found to be more strongly associated with poorer health. This effect was partially statistically mediated by perceived stress reactivity. Findings from this study highlight the importance of distinguishing between different sources of discrimination when examining the effect of discrimination on health in sexual minority adults.     

Guest Editors' Introduction

This discourse analysis explores traditional and feminist articulations of rape in online mediated discourse regarding the sexual attack on CBS journalist Lara Logan in Egypt in February 2011. Examination of 175 stories and links in the top ten news blogs in the United States showed that the blogosphere contested traditional rape narratives that blamed Logan for the attack and conceptualized rape through a more varied means. In doing so, bloggers engaged in a struggle for meaning, and mainstreamed feminist understandings of sexual violence within the online public space.     

HIV disclosure and subsequent sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men who meet online

To assess HIV disclosure discussions and related sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) who meet sex partners online, 28 qualitative interviews with Seattle-area MSM were analyzed using grounded theory methods and themes and behavior patterns were identified. MSM found a greater ease in communicating and could prescreen partners through the Internet. However, no consistent relationship was found between HIV disclosure and subsequent behaviors: some were safer based on disclosure while perceived HIV status led others to risky behaviors. Interventions need to promote accurate disclosure while acknowledging its limitations and the need for men to self-protect.     

That Man Behind the Curtain: Investigating the Sexual Online Dating Behavior of Men Who Have Sex With Men but Hide Their Same-Sex Sexual Attraction in Offline Surroundings

This study investigates how men who have sex with men (MSM) use chat and dating sites based on theories of stigma-related offline behavior and online self-disclosure. We hypothesize that hidden MSM (those who self-label as heterosexual or who hide their same-sex sexual attraction from family, friends, acquaintances, or a female romantic partner) differ from open MSM in how they behave on gay chat and dating sites and in offline gay venues. Drawing on a survey of 12,002 MSM, we show that hidden MSM tend to mask their identity on gay chat and dating sites while avoiding offline gay venues. They also focus more strongly on online sexual activities (e.g., masturbating during online chats) when using gay chat and dating sites. However, they spend the same amount of time on these sites, and they use them to initiate offline sexual encounters as often and as fast as open MSM.     

LGB Identity Among Young Chinese: The Influence of Traditional Culture

Based on the social construction perspective, this research aims to investigate how traditional cultural values may affect the way individuals interpret and negotiate with their minority sexual identity. Using an online survey questionnaire with a student sample of 149 Chinese lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, 2 elements of traditional Chinese culture were found to be associated with negative LGB identity among Chinese LGB students—namely, perceived parental attitudes toward marriage and participants' endorsements of filial piety values. In addition, the endorsement of filial piety moderated the relation between perceived parental attitudes toward marriage and LGB identity, such that the effect of parental attitude on LGB identity was only present among LGBs of high filial piety. This study suggests the importance of cultural values in shaping the way LGB individuals perceive their sexual identities.     

Online surveys for BGLT research: issues and techniques

Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular for accessing less visible and decentralized populations, including bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender (BGLT) populations. Advances in technology and convenience for the both the researcher and the participant have facilitated this trend. In this paper, we explore issues related to conducting BGLT survey research online, such as making decisions about survey formats, target populations and recruitment, compensation, access.     

Perceived Stress and Sexual Orientation Among Breast Cancer Survivors

Little is known about the cancer survivorship experiences of sexual minority women (SMW). SMW breast cancer survivors are hypothesized to experience more stress compared to heterosexual breast cancer survivors. A convenience sample of 211 breast cancer survivors (68 SMW, 143 heterosexual women) participated in this cross-sectional online investigation of perceived stress. Regression analyses indicated significant differences in reported stress between heterosexual and SMW breast cancer survivors (β= -.15, p = .03). Our findings may reflect unique experiences had by sexual minority breast cancer survivors. Future research should explore the factors that contribute to elevated perceived stress in this group.     

Sense of belonging in secondary schools: a survey of LGB and heterosexual students in Flanders

This study focuses on differences in sense of belonging between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual students. Data from 1,745 secondary school students were collected with an online survey. Step-wise multiple regression analyses was used to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and sense of school belonging. The results show that sexual orientation has an impact on sense of belonging for girls, but not for boys. Perceived discrimination and LGB friendliness of the school appeared to be important indicators of sense of belonging for all the respondents, irrespective of their sexual orientation.     

Sexual Preferences and Partnerships of Transgender Persons Mid- or Post-Transition

The process of gender transition has varying effects on various aspects of sexuality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of transitioning on transgender persons’ sexual preferences and partnerships. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey. Questions focused on timing of gender transition in relation to change in sexual preference. Transgender individuals have a variety of sexual partners, predominantly cisgender, and may change sexual preference when they transition. Transitioning can be associated with having no primary sexual partner, despite past sexual partnerships. Length of time between identifying as transgender and starting the transition might be associated with changing sexual partner preference, particularly in transgender women. The emerging trends of sexual partnerships and changing sexual preferences related to the transition in this study warrant further investigation. These data provide more understanding of the relationship between transitioning and sexual preferences and partnerships.