Impacts of Marriage Legalization on the Experiences of Sexual Minority Women in Work and Community Contexts

The extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in the United States provides an opportunity to examine how legalization of same-sex marriage has impacted the experiences of sexual minority women (SMW) in interactions within their extended social networks and local communities. Interviews were conducted with 20 SMW ranging in age from 23 to 75, with varying relationship statuses, and in different regions of the United States. Inductive thematic analysis of responses revealed both positive and negative/neutral impacts in 3 broad thematic areas: workplace dynamics and interpersonal interactions in the workplace, social interactions in extended social networks and local communities, and community climate and queer communities. Findings of the study underscore the importance of evaluating the impact of same-sex marriage legalization in the context of local social and political climates.     

Different Challenges,Different Well-Being: A Comparison of Psychological Well-Being Across Stepmothers and Biological Mothers and Across Four Categories of Stepmothers

Although previous research has indicated stepfamilies experience poorer mental well-being than biological families, it has focused primarily on stepfather-led families. In contrast, this study focuses on the well-being of stepmothers. It is also the first to compare well-being across all combinations of residential, nonresidential, simple, and complex stepfamilies and to measure anxiety and depression as indicators of stepmother well-being. Participants were 333 biological mothers and stepmothers. Among the results, in comparison to biological mothers, full complex and part simple stepmothers reported significantly higher mean levels of, respectively, depression and anxiety. Results also suggest that, for biological mothers but not for stepmothers, having a long-term partner might be a buffer against anxiety and depression.     

Understanding the Factors Related to Stepmother Anxiety: A Qualitative Approach

Stepparenting is widely recognized as a stressful experience, with higher levels of stress and anxiety experienced by stepmothers than stepfathers. This study sought to examine the experiences of stepmothers to help understand the perceived factors related to their increased anxiety within the stepfamily. A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted in the United Kingdom. Results suggested that stepmother anxiety is predominantly related to three areas: their relationship with the biological mother, their relationship with their stepchildren, and lack of clarity regarding the stepmother role. It is posited that interventions designed to clarify the stepmother role and improve and strengthen relationships between stepfamily members would help alleviate anxiety and thus improve stepmother well-being.     

Lesbians Grieving the Death of a Partner: Recommendations for Practice

ABSTRACT

Spousal loss is a common event that has been associated with risk of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Practitioners working with lesbians need comprehensive clinical guidelines that integrate research about lesbian partner loss with contemporary views of grief and bereavement. Using this literature, we make recommendations for clinical practice that address the possible contributions of several factors—social support, emotional closeness, relationship satisfaction, disclosure or non-disclosure of sexual identity and the relationship, faith and/or spirituality, and meaning-making—to the grieving process and positive psychological adjustment of lesbians grieving the death of a partner.     

Sexual Behaviors and Sexually Transmitted Diseases of Lesbians

ABSTRACT

The Boston Lesbian Health Project surveyed 1633 lesbians about their health status, health related behaviors and health problems. This paper reports on those parts of the questionnaire that dealt with sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted diseases. The sample was predominantly monogamous, but few had been in their present relationship for more than five years. Sexual practices were similar to those reported in previous studies of lesbians and to those reported in a study of heterosexual women. Sexually transmitted diseases were rare in women who had never had sex with a male partner. The majority of the sample did report a history of male sexual partners and therefore are at risk for abnormal pap smears and other sexually transmitted diseases.     

The German Lesbian Family Study

SUMMARY

This is the first study to explore the issues and decisions that lesbians residing in Germany face when striving to create a family by donor insemination. Using a self-constructed questionnaire, information pertaining to the first phases of lesbian family formation (coming-out, lesbian relationship, and decision-making) was collected from 105 lesbian mothers. The participants in this sample demonstrated a strong sense of lesbian identity, were in committed relationships, had taken part in lengthy deliberations about general and lesbian-specific aspects of parenting, and had aspirations of equal parenting which were reflected in their choice of terms for identifying themselves as mothers. Potential advantages for children included wantedness and diversity in up-bringing. Coping strategies for possible discrimination of children included valuing diversity, maintaining open communication, instilling pride, normalizing, and buffering. Maternal role allocation was based on desire to experience pregnancy. Plans for male involvement in children's lives had been made. Women generally experienced support for plans to parent. Co-mothers looked forward to becoming mothers but were sensitized to the consequences of legal and biological asymmetrical parenting. The choice of anonymous, identity-release, or known donor was related to attitudes towards biological fathers/donor issues and availability. The impact of German legislation regarding same sex marriage and lesbian access to reproductive services on family formation is discussed.     

Playing BINGO with the Best of Them

Abstract

As the author explored different community programs for older gays and lesbians, he realized his own ambivalence as a middle-aged man about associating with older gay men. Gerontological differences and needs are explored in the context of these community programs.     

One Community's Path to Greater Social Justice

SUMMARY

Across the nation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are facing the challenge of advancing civil rights on the local and state levels. One community successfully met that challenge with the passage of the Fairness Ordinance in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1999. Although the opposition characterized the Fairness Alliance as a “million dollar operation out of Washington,” the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) recognized the work of the Alliance as a model of local grassroots organizing with its Creating Change Award. This case study examines that campaign and the strategies the Fairness Alliance used, including effective lobbying and coalition building between the LGBT community and business, civic, political, community, and religious leaders.     

Social Contact,Social Distancing,and Attitudes Toward LGT Individuals: A Cross-Cultural Study of College Students in the United States,Italy, and Spain

ABSTRACT

More than any other time in modern history, today people are significantly more likely to know (or be) lesbian, gay, and transgender (LGT) people; however, prejudices directed toward these groups remain. In the current study, we explore how social contact and social distancing/desired social contact are related to LGT prejudices using Worthen’s (2012) Attitudes Toward LGT People Scales and data from four heterosexual college student samples in Oklahoma, Texas, Italy, and Spain (N = 1,217). In doing so, we provide the first-ever study to explore Allport’s (1954) contact hypothesis as it relates to transgender prejudices in Italy and Spain and the first study to examine desired social contact/social distancing and transgender prejudice in the U.S., Italy, and Spain. Our findings demonstrate that measures of desired social contact are strongly related to cross-cultural LGT attitudes, while simple measures of contact (i.e., knowing an LGT person) are significantly less robust.