The negative assessment of lesbian/gay relationships in Catholic circles is most often based on scanty information gathered from folklore, the commercial media, and a narrow, literal reading of Biblical texts. Assumptions are made about the personal adjustment of individual gay/lesbian persons and the quality of their relationships without recourse to actual lived experience. This survey of 263...

The family is one of the main areas of social life where the normalization of gay/lesbian identity is incomplete. Most research analyzes the individual and psychological aspects of how families respond to children's disclosure of a gay/lesbian identity, and ignores the social, cultural, and historical contexts. An examination of the cultural discourses, tools, and strategies that are available ...

UNLABELLED Background Self-identified lesbian and bisexual African-American women living in the southern United States are a relatively hidden subpopulation within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Existing research suggests that African-American lesbian and bisexual women are at high risk for sexually transmissible infections (STIs), but the sexual and reproductive h...

This research examines how women's sexual orientation guides the accuracy of judgements of other women. One hundred ten judges (67 straight and 43 lesbian women) watched videotapes of 9 targets (4 straight and 5 lesbian) and made judgements about the targets' thoughts, emotions, personality, and sexual orientation. Accuracy scores were created for each judge by comparing judgements to criterion...

Recent scholarship suggests that the gay/lesbian idyllisation of rural places is an urban construct, constituted through metropolitan sensibilities, communities and imaginaries. We extend this work through examining the construction of Daylesford, Victoria, as a ‘gay/lesbian rural idyll’. Daylesford annually hosts ChillOut, Australia’s largest rural gay/lesbian festival, which underpins its idy...

We examined levels of, and reasons for, anti-gay and anti-lesbian prejudice (homophobia) in pre-service physical education (PE) and non-physical education (non-PE) university students. Participants (N = 409; 66% female; N = 199 pre-service physical educators) completed questionnaires assessing anti-gay and lesbian prejudice, authoritarianism, social dominance orientation (SDO), physical/athleti...

INTRODUCTION The diversity in self-identified lesbian and bisexual women's sexual interactions necessitates better understanding of how and when they integrate personal lubricant into different experiences. However, little is known about lesbian and bisexual women's lifetime lubricant use, particularly at the population level. AIMS The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and chara...

Lesbian and bisexual women's sexual health is neglected in much Government policy and practice in England and Wales. This paper examines lesbian and bisexual women's negotiation of sexual health, drawing on findings from a small research project. Themes explored include invisibility and lack of information, influences on decision-making and sexual activities and experiences of services and barr...

BACKGROUND One of the major factors impacting on a couple's relationship is the desire to have children. To many couples having a child is a confirmation of their love and relationship and a means to deepen and develop their intimate relationship. At the same time parental stress can impact on relationship quality. Relationship quality in lesbian couples is, currently, sparsely studied. The aim...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To develop insight into the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women accessing sexual health services and an understanding of their needs within the New Zealand context. BACKGROUND Lesbian and bisexual women are typically invisible in healthcare settings due to heteronormative assumptions. As lesbian and bisexual women are reluctant to come out to clinicians, opportunitie...