2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

Lesbian couples who had civil unions in 2000-1 and those who did not were interviewed in 2014. Over time many couples in both groups have also gotten married or had civil unions or domestic partnerships in other U.S. states. Lesbians who dissolved their relationship were also interviewed.

Paralleling the early research and unsuccessful attempts to change sexual orientation, clinicians and researchers continue to attempt to permanently change body weight. This symposium discourages lesbians to submit to the weight loss industry by reviewing studies on lesbians and weight, health, weight loss, and body satisfaction.

The sexual domain is an essential space for justice researchers to consider – not only to understand how sexual relationships serve as sites of violence and conflict, but additionally, how sexual relationships reflect adaptions to and normalizations of inequality. This symposium offers three perspectives on working with justice theories to “enliven” key concepts in sexuality research. The three papers each take up a key concept – choice, empowerment, and satisfaction – and use a range of theoretical and empirical work to assess how previous conceptualizations have overlooked how entitlement and deservingness shape individuals’ sexual lives. The three papers each address how gender shapes sexual entitlement as well as how feminist psychological research plays an essential role in understanding experiences of normalized injustices in intimate relationships. The first paper examines the concept of “choice” in sexuality research and analyzes interviews with a sample of racially and ethnically diverse girls about their experiences with providing oral sex in heterosexual sexual encounters. The second paper takes us to the concept of “empowerment” and argues that an intervention into discussions of female empowerment must more carefully consider the role of sexual embodiment in order to more fully articulate what exactly one is empowered to do, be, or feel. Lastly, the third paper makes a theoretical and empirical argument that studies of “sexual satisfaction” do not sufficiently consider the ways in which individuals are socialized to feel entitled (or un-entitled) to feel sexually satisfied. Drawing on a mixed methods study of individuals’ definitions of satisfaction, this paper argues that feminist psychology must more systematically link examinations of satisfaction with deservingness.

This symposium presents both quantitative and qualitative research and clinical strategies related to the experience of sexual minority stress and resilient responses to ward off their effects. Sexual minority stress is the stress that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people experience in addition to the every day stress that all people experience (e.g., Meyer, 2001). The presentation addresses questions about how sexual minority stressors function across different groups of women, about how resilience to sexual minority stressors can best be conceptualized, and about how the damage from sexual minority stress can best be repaired within our contemporary landscape. At the beginning of the symposium, researchers explore LGBQ women’s gender expression to see how masculinity in women influences minority stressors and mental health via a survey study. Outcomes explored include internalized homophobia, identity concealment, expectations of rejection and psychological distress. The second set of researchers examines the question of whether people who have multiple minority identities have increased resilience to sexual minority stressors by examining how LGBT women of color experience social well-being. The ways this population experiences connectedness to communities, loneliness, and social support is explored. Next, a qualitative study queries the ways that resilience functions to support LGB people. It sheds light upon the ways resilient responses can mitigate minority stressors but also upon the potential costs of those same responses. Finally, an eminent therapist examines how, as advances are being made in the social acceptance of LGBTQ populations, sexual prejudices are shifting in form to become increasingly subtle. These covert forms of sexual prejudice may be harder for both clients and therapists to recognize and resist. She shares her clinical insights on how practitioners can refine their practices to help clients repair the effects of sexual minority stressors. We request a 90-minute program slot, if possible.