Being Heard on Sexual Orientation

Abstract

In 2001, Maryland became the twelfth state to pass legislation that prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals in employment, housing, and public accommodations. As part of a ten-year effort to pass such protections, the Governor of Maryland established a Commission to Study Sexual Orientation Discrimination. The Commission held five public hearings throughout the state in 2000 and used the testimonies to prepare a report which helped pave the way for the passage of the legislation. This article is an analysis of 113 oral testimonies, both for and against the legislation. Such information may be helpful in other states where anti-discrimination efforts are on-going.     

A Family Matter

Abstract

The 2004 debate over civil marriage for same-gender couples highlights issues faced by mixed-orientation couples after one of the spouses comes out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The disclosure becomes a family matter as their spouses and children cope with the new information and antigay attitudes. The majority of couples divorce. A minority stays married for three years or more by developing strategies that enhance the relationship, offset outside pressures, and sustain the family circle. Peers provide the most support, while therapists are often unfamiliar with sexual orientation, mixed orientation couples, or societal attitudes that impact families with a gay, lesbian, or bisexual parent. This article provides that information so that professionals can help these couples improve the quality of their lives and develop skills to create a future in which homosexuality, same-gender relationships, and gay parenting are more widely accepted and legalized. This development would decrease the number of mixed-orientation marriages with closeted spouses and increase the potential for both types of families to form lasting marriages and strong family units.     

How lesbians learn to negotiate the heterosexism of corporate America

The purpose of this study was to understand how lesbians learn to negotiate the heterosexism of corporate America. The sample consisted of ten women at the management or executive level who were over the age of 30, identified as lesbians, had worked in their organization for at least two years, had at least two people who report directly to them and had budget responsibility. The primary data collection strategy was in-depth interviews and data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Lesbians who have learned to negotiate the heterosexism of the corporate setting successfully have learned: a) to pre-screen individuals and groups for their receptivity toward the issue of lesbianism, b) to come out as individuals/lesbians in a strategic way, and c) to educate others about the unique issues that lesbians face in corporate settings. This learning occurred informally and incidentally through: a) dealing with human resources, b) participating in committees and groups, and c) participating in social/corporate events.     

The Economic Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse for Adult Lesbian Women

This study is designed to extend the investigation of the long‐term consequences of child sexual abuse (CSA) into the workplace and to consider the effects on the economic welfare of 1,925 lesbian women from the National Lesbian Health Care Survey. It seeks to develop a two‐stage, least‐squares model that considers simultaneously the effects of child sexual abuse on four spheres of a woman's life—her physical health, mental health, educational attainment, and economic welfare; and to investigate the differential impacts of diverse forms of child sexual abuse on the adult woman's functioning. The CSA survivors experienced adverse health and mental health consequences. The type of CSA experienced was also a significant predictor of a woman's educational attainment and annual earnings.     

Introduction: Special Issue on Old Lesbians: Exploring Community,Relationships, Friendship,and Well Being

This introduction begins with memories of homophobia the editors experienced to remind the reader of the general climate old lesbians faced in their younger years. Rationale for studying old lesbians and the relevance of the articles contained in this issue are described. Some different ways old lesbians identify that may affect policy decision and research analysis are included. Early significant research on the topic of old lesbians is noted and suggestions for future research studies are recommended.     

Queen of Fights: Lesbians in Tunisian Sports

ABSTRACT

Sport within the Muslim context, including in the location of this study, Tunisia, remains an institution designed for the promotion of a heterosexual form of masculinity and the degradation of both femininity and women’s athleticism. Unlike recent advancements in the West, homosexuality remains viewed almost entirely negatively by the political, religious, and social debates in Muslim cultures. This overt hostility has almost entirely erased any visible gay culture within Muslim sports. It is within this context that this study finds importance. It represents the first-ever examination into the lives of lesbian Muslim athletes, in either a Muslim majority or non-majority state. Conducted on three lesbian athletes living in the Islamic country of Tunisia, we show that each is out of the closet to varying degrees but that homophobia within their sports—even on majority lesbian teams—remains rife. We discuss the coping strategies these athletes invoke to negotiate their sexual orientation in this highly homophobic nation and homohysteric sporting culture.     

Russian lesbian mothers: Between “traditional values” and human rights

Abstract

Contemporary Russian state ideology has turned towards instituting “traditional family values,” an official turn that increased legal and social discrimination against queer families. The concept of “traditional family values” in the contemporary Russian state discourse refers to the “naturalness” of the heterosexual family, consisting of two parents and their biological offspring. This discourse eliminates the possibility of public lesbian parenting. Following the idea of the conceptualizations of queer temporalities in different geo-cultural contexts, I examine the impact of recent oppressive legal changes in Russia on reproductive choices, everyday parenting strategies, and social interactions among lesbian mothers. In this work, I seek to show more than the obvious harm caused by the “anti-gay law” in terms of its effects on lesbian-headed families. To do so, I analyze the strategies applied by Russian lesbian mothers to tackle the rapidly changing state ideologies and legislative landscapes. I do this by discussing the ways in which lesbian mothers in Russia “manipulate” their social status to avoid possible official or unofficial homophobic actions directed towards them and their children. For example, they may come out selectively, carefully choosing the people to whom they openly present their identity. I argue that to adhere to “ordinary” or “normal” family life, lesbian mothers in Russia use several survival strategies. One of these strategies relates to speculation about immigration to the “West.” That is, some lesbian families prepare all of the necessary documentation, secure valid visas, and attend special workshops where they receive legal and informational support on asylum seeking and emigration from Russia. Another set of strategies for maintaining family identity relies on the decision to come out as a co-mother during interactions with official institutions or to choose other identities; for example, godmother or sister of the birth mother of a child. An additional important strategy for lesbian mothers relies on drafting documents that maintain their rights in severe circumstances. This set of actions focuses on legally supporting the parental rights through the use of loopholes in the Russian legislation and drafting documents that maintain their rights to child custody and their partner’s property.     

Nestled into Niches: Prefigurative Communities on Lesbian Land

The contemporary U.S. lesbian land movement, known more recently as the landdyke movement, is analyzed. I argue that landdyke activists are creating a network of communities that are prefigurative and ecofeminist. Based on interviews with 32 activists in the movement, the article describes four aspects of landdyke ecofeminist praxis: developing an emotional and spiritual connection to land; facilitating personal liberation and transformation; living important values through everyday acts; and assurance of bodily freedoms that are largely unavailable outside of the movement. These lived aspects of the landdyke movement prefigure an ecofeminist future.     

Sexual Strategies Across Sexual Orientations

Abstract

The psychological intersection of biological sex, personality, and sexual orientation represents a unique prospect for investigating the evolution of human mating strategies. Evolved sex differences in human psychology may encounter different mating environments within homosexual and heterosexual contexts. The personality traits of homosexuals, if different from heterosexuals, may influence human mating dynamics in revealing ways. In the current study, 5,310 men (5,083 heterosexuals, 131 homosexuals, and 96 bisexuals) and 7,589 women (7,240 heterosexuals, 143 homosexuals, and 206 bisexuals) across four major world regions completed personality and sexuality self-report surveys. Consistent with previous research, sociosexual behavior (e.g., number of one-night stands) and personality traits (e.g., masculinity and openness to experience) varied across sexual orientation. In addition, personality traits were predictably related to sociosexual behavior. However, variability in personality traits did not account for the observed differences in sociosexual behavior across sexual orientation.     

Impact of Family Environment on Future Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men

This study explored the relationship between dimensions of functioning in the family of origin of graduate students in helping profession programs and their attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. One hundred forty-three participants completed the Family Environment Scale (FES-R: Moos & Moos, 1986 Moos, R. H. and Moos, B. S. 1986. Family Environment Scale, 2nd, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.  [Google Scholar]), the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men scale (ATLG: Herek, 1994 Herek, G. M. 1994. “Assessing attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical research with the ATLG scale”. In Lesbian and gay psychology: Theory, research, and clinical applications, Edited by: Greene, B. and Herek, G.M. 206–224. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), and demographic questions. Results suggest that three family dimensions (conflict, intellectual-cultural orientation, and moral-religious emphasis) significantly predicted attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. The results also revealed that younger students held more negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men than their older peers. Implications for educators, researchers, and practitioners are discussed.