Law, Blood, and Custody: Sexual Minority Mothers and Heteronormativity.

This article analyzes how couples made up of two mothers redefine their roles when they break up as well as how legal professionals frame the custodial arrangements of these former same-sex couples. To do so, we focus on the case of Quebec, Canada, where parentage equality between mothers was attained as early as in 2002. We rely on individual semi-structured interviews with mothers' (N = 17) and legal professionals' accounts (N = 23) as well as on court records regarding physical custody arrangements. We find that the legal recognition of both mothers favors coparenting practices, and especially joint physical custody. However, the heteronormative frame of custody arrangements lingers. Sexual minority mothers struggle with the valorization of birth motherhood and with the standard of gendered parental complementarity. Indeed, professionals can still fall back on heteronormative norms, notably by assigning to non-birth mothers a "paternal" role. In the end, the inexperience of many professionals on LGBTQ+ issues, the embeddedness of heteronormativity in day-to-day relations, as well as the permanence of heteronormative legal categories and professional practices are all factors that set these families apart.

Social Representations and Experiences of Sexual Transactions Among Swiss Youth.

This article relies on quantitative data collected in Switzerland as part of a research study on sexual transactions among youth. Building on an analytical framework that defines sexual transactions in terms of negotiated exchanges rooted in social representations, we explored how they were perceived by the Swiss young people included in our sample at a cognitive, ethical, and political level. We found that research participants who reported having experienced sexual transactions viewed them much more positively than those who reported never having engaged in such exchanges. While this was especially true among young women, we also found that the tendency of respondents to perceive sexual transactions negatively increased with age. When analyzed in light of the qualitative results of our study, these quantitative findings suggest that negative representations of sexual transactions are less likely to be based on lived experience than on an ideal-type of sexual behavior. In other words, our research highlights how young people interpret sexuality according to norms developed within a heteronormative matrix.

Navigating the landscape: Roles, perspectives, and experiences of psychologists supporting gender diverse children and young people in school settings.

Purpose: This review aimed to explore and synthesize the perspectives and experiences of school-based psychological professionals providing support to gender diverse CYP across the world, to foreground the voices of those with relevant experience and support future practice. Methods: A systematic review of five databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, SCOPUS and PROQUEST dissertations and theses) was performed between September and November 2022. Articles were included if they contained qualitative, primary research data representing the voice of at least one school-based psychological professional with experience working with gender diverse children and young people. Articles were excluded if they did not contain primary research data, were quantitative, related to non-school based psychologists or focussed on participant views in the absence of direct experience working with gender diverse pupils. Articles were thematically summarized and organized into a data extraction table. Results: Eighteen studies were identified for review, including 11 studies based in the USA, five in the UK, one in Australia and one in Cyprus. The voices of school-based professionals, including school counselors, school psychologists, trainee and qualified educational psychologists, were represented. The themes created highlighted the importance of the environment in which psychologists were working, the reliance on their own views and values to guide their work in the absence of clear guidance, the role psychologists saw they had to advocate for gender diverse CYP, as well as barriers and systems they were fighting against. Conclusion: The review highlighted the need for psychologists to advocate for gender diverse children and young people, in an often non-inclusive environment where there was a need to work systemically with schools. Future research is needed to explore young people's experiences of the support that they are receiving and would like to receive.

Sustaining Heteronormativity in Marriage: How Chinese Newspapers Frame Heterosexual Marriage Undertaken by Chinese Queer People.

Family members often cite broader societal discourses and norms when forcing Chinese queer people to engage in heterosexual marriage (referred to as HMQ; heterosexual marriage undertaken by Chinese queer people). It is unclear what these social norms entail and how the norms are maintained. This paper examines 89 Chinese newspaper articles to uncover the societal discourses driving families to pressure queer people into heterosexual marriage. We identified three framings: (1) Highlighting problems of formality marriage (the marriage between two queer people) and gay's wife marriage (the marriage between a queer man and a heterosexual woman); (2) portraying people involved in formality marriage and gay's wife marriage as suffering from heteronormative pressure to engage in marriage; and (3) presenting formality marriage in a collaboration frame and gay's wife marriage in a deception frame. These framings suggest heteronormativity in marriage is upheld in societal discourses about HMQ and sustained by two hierarchies created in Chinese newspaper articles: one degrading queer marriage practices, which made heterosexual marriage undertaken by queer people inferior to ideal heterosexual marriage; another stratifying queer marriage practices, which made the marriage between a queer man and a heterosexual woman less acceptable than the marriage between two queer people.

A Life Course Perspective on the Sexual Development of Young Intersex People.

Previous research has indicated that intersex people face specific challenges in their sexual development, including uncertainties or confusion about their gender, a negative genital self-image, and hesitance to engage in romantic and sexual relationships. However, in-depth knowledge regarding a central period in this development, adolescence, is missing. In our qualitative study, we explore which factors influence the relational and sexual development of intersex youth and what elements contribute to positive development. We interviewed eighteen intersex persons aged 18-38. We identified three main themes: (1) intersex experiences, (2) the described sexual and relational life course, and (3) factors influencing a positive development. Our findings show that intersex youth face many obstacles in their relational and sexual development, many of which are related to healthcare. However, their life stories also illuminate how healthcare professionals, as well as parents, friends, partners, teachers, and others, can make a substantial difference in intersex lives by breaking normative, binary thinking on sex and gender.

"Dancing Steps of #WeToo Resistance": Choreography of Masculinity, Sexuality, and Violence on an Israeli Stage.

Israeli masculinity has been researched by diverse disciplines such as sociology, army studies, gender studies, and more. The dominant theme of such research has been to identify Israeli masculinity as heteronormative and aggressive, and usually discusses it via a nationalistic or religious lens, basing its interpretation on macho, militaristic, and heterosexual values. The current study suggests another perspective for exploring Israeli masculinity by examining two dance productions created by male choreographers and performed by male dancers: Beasts by Ido Tadmor (2000) and But the Virgin Was More Available by Javier de Protos (2002). Both performances expose a homosexual dynamic, reclaims feminine symbols, and exposes silenced public issues such as rape perpetuated against men. These pioneer performances thereby challenge the heteronormative constructions of gender identities and sexualities and present a performance of masculinity which opposes hegemonic perceptions, which are based on heterosexual and machoistic values. I conclude that these modern choreographic productions can be considered political cultural acts in the Israeli public sphere that give a voice to gendered discourse otherwise silenced by Israeli society at large.

Unmet Needs of Pediatricians in Transgender-Specific Care: Results of a Short-Term Training.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate (i) the knowledge about different dimensions of sexual identity in a group of family pediatricians and (ii) the efficacy of a training program to improve knowledge and reduce genderism and heteronormativity. METHODS: A pre-post-follow-up study was conducted with 96 Italian pediatricians (48 men and 48 women) who participated in a 6-h training program and divided into 2 sections. The first section was theoretical and focused on the conceptual foundations of sexual identity, the depathologizing approach to gender diversity, and the role of pediatricians as the first contacts of children's or adolescents' family. The second part was experiential and included the presentation of a clinical case and the activation of a group reflection on the management of gender-diverse youth. Knowledge about sexual identity, genderism, and heteronormativity was measured. RESULTS: Pre-training questionnaires revealed that the mean score of knowledge about sexual identity was 7.13 ± 3.21. One-way within-subject ANOVA revealed significant effects from pre- to post-training and from pre- to follow-up assessment but not from post-training to follow-up assessment, suggesting that significant changes in the knowledge about sexual identity (F = 39.75, p < 0.001), in personal biases related to genderism (F = 7.46, p < 0.01), and in heteronormative attitudes (F = 44.99, p < 0.001) and behaviors (F = 79.29, p < 0.001) were achieved through the training and maintained at follow-up. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the importance of training pediatricians to work with gender-diverse youth and provide them with the best clinical interventions.

"If You're Not Yourself, Who are You Going to be?" an Exploration of Gender and Sexuality Diverse Pupils Experiences of Visibility Management in School: A Systematic Literature Review.

Like all young people (YP), those who are gender and sexuality diverse (GSD) spend their youth exploring and discovering their identities; but unlike their peers, they must consider whether, how, and when to disclose their GSD identity to others in a dynamic process of visibility management (VM). At school, GSD YP actively test social reactions, interpret attitudes, and assess safety, ultimately seeking belonging as their authentic selves. Our systematic review explored findings from 16 qualitative studies capturing GSD YPs experiences of managing visibility in schools internationally. Data were thematically synthesized, and seven themes were constructed. The process of visibility management is fluid, a negotiation with social norms that GSD YP's very existence transgresses. YP search for, and through activism actively shape, accepting environments in which they can safely be their authentic selves. GSD YP are actively asking school staff for help in creating open communities where all YP can find a place to belong, to fight to be visible. We offer some suggestions for how we might begin.

Exploring the Impacts of Heteronormative and Cisnormative Ideologies on Fertility Intentions and Family Planning Experiences Within the 2SLGBTQ Community: A Qualitative Case Study.

Objectives: Normative beliefs around gender and sexuality place individuals in the Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (2SLGBTQ) community at risk for poorer health outcomes within the health care system compared with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, particularly within gendered areas of care including family planning and fertility intentions. The purpose of this research was to explore the effect that the normative beliefs of heteronormativity and cisnormativity had on the experiences of 2SLGBTQ people engaged in family planning, and to begin to understand how health care providers can provide appropriate, safe, and holistic care. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using case study methodology and completing semi-structured interviews with 11 participants with diverse genders and sexualities. Findings: For members of the 2SLGBTQ community, family planning is greatly affected by ideals of normal, intersections of identities, health care systems, and community. They may face additional emotional labor and intentional decision-making when related to family planning. Heteronormativity and cisnormativity greatly impact the health care that is received. Conclusions: The findings contribute information in the limited field of research related to the 2SLGBTQ community and may support health care providers in providing holistic care.

Evaluating Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs of United Kingdom Pharmacy Educators.

United Kingdom (UK) pharmacy curricula have previously been shown to be hetero- and cis-normative. A possible reason may be that educators hold binary beliefs and attitudes toward sexuality and gender norms, and that these are manifest in teaching practice and discourse. The purpose of this study is to investigate these attitudes and beliefs. A cross-sectional survey using the 16-item heteronormative attitudes and beliefs scale (HABS) was distributed to educators at UK universities teaching on undergraduate Master of Pharmacy degree programs, with 123 surveys returned. Total HABS scores and subscales measuring normative beliefs (NB) and essential sex and gender (ESG) were calculated with non-parametric statistics comparing scores based on demographic and contextual characteristics of the sample. The mean total HABS score was 40.06, for NB it was 16.46 and ESG it was 23.60 indicating moderate-low normative beliefs and attitudes. Two demographic categories reached statistical significance: gender (p = .049 total HABS score) and sexuality (p = < .001 total HABS score, p = .008NB subscore and p = < .001 ESG subscore) (p < .05) indicating that female and queer identifying educators have significantly lower heteronormative attitudes and beliefs. Findings indicate that UK pharmacy educators do not hold normative values and beliefs; curricula are influenced by the normative structures within higher education.

Customer Abuse and Aggression as Labour Control Among LGBT Workers in Low-Wage Services.

This study examines the relation between customer abuse and aggression, the gender and sexual expression of workers, and labour control in low-wage services. In-depth interviews with 30 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)1 low-wage service sector workers reveal how customer abuse and aggression works in consort with management strategies to reproduce cis- and heteronormativity. Customer abuse and aggression disciplined worker expressions of non-normative gender and sexual identities, leading to concealment and self-policing. Management was complicit in this dynamic, placing profitability and customer satisfaction over the safety of LGBT workers, only intervening in instances of customer abuse and aggression when it had a limited economic impact. It is posited that customer abuse and aggression is not only a response to unmet expectations emanating from the labour process but is also a mechanism of labour control that disciplines worker behaviour and aesthetics, directly and indirectly, by influencing management prerogatives.

Queer(ing) medical spaces: queer theory as a framework for transformative social change in anesthesiology and critical care medicine.

Queer theory is a disruptive lens that can be adopted by researchers, educators, clinicians, and administrators to effect transformative social change. It offers opportunities for anesthesiologists, critical care physicians, and medical practitioners to more broadly understand what it means to think queerly and how queering anesthesiology and critical care medicine spaces improves workplace culture and patient outcomes. This article grapples with the cis-heteronormative medical gaze and queer people's apprehensions of violence in medical settings to offer new ways of thinking about structural changes needed in medicine, medical language, and the dehumanizing application of medical modes of care. Using a series of clinical vignettes, this article outlines the historical context underlying queer peoples' distrust of medicine, a primer in queer theory, and an understanding of how to begin to "queer" medical spaces using this critical framework.

RéSUMé: La théorie queer est une lentille perturbatrice qui peut être adoptée par la communauté de la recherche et de l'éducation, les personnes en clinique et les directions d'établissement pour apporter des changements sociaux transformateurs. Elle offre aux anesthésiologistes, aux intensivistes et aux médecins l'occasion de comprendre plus globalement ce que signifie le fait de penser de manière queer et comment la 'queer-icisation' des espaces d'anesthésiologie et de médecine de soins intensifs améliore la culture du milieu de travail et les devenirs des patient·es. Cet article s'attaque au regard médical cis- et hétéronormatif et aux appréhensions des personnes queer face à la violence dans les milieux médicaux afin de proposer de nouvelles façons de penser les changements structurels nécessaires en médecine, le langage médical et l'application déshumanisante des modes de soins médicaux. À l'aide d'une série de vignettes cliniques, cet article décrit le contexte historique sous-jacent à la méfiance des personnes queer à l'égard du monde médical. Il propose également une introduction à la théorie queer et une interprétation de la façon de commencer à rendre plus queer les espaces médicaux en utilisant ce cadre critique.

The problem of heteronormativity in family-based health promotion: centring gender transformation in Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVES: Social scientists have demonstrated that family health work is interlinked with heteronormative gender inequities. Yet family-based public health interventions rarely incorporate a gender transformative approach or address heteronormativity as a potential health barrier in North America. Instead, attention to gender surfaces primarily in family health interventions conducted in low- to middle-income countries with majority Black and racialized populations. The objective of this article is to establish the importance of designing health interventions that account for heteronormative relations in Ontarian families by drawing on empirical data from the Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS). METHODS: We draw on data (February-October 2019) from (1) semi-structured interviews with 20 families and with 4 health educators facilitating the GFHS home visits and (2) observational data of 11 GFHS home visits and 1 health educator training day. Informed by gender transformation theory, data were analyzed and coded to understand the impact of gender, sexuality, and place in family health interventions. RESULTS: Pre-existing heteronormative parenting relations were reinforced through GFHS participation: the GFHS was mother-led, increasing some mothers' stress levels. Fathers tended to consider paid work a justification for disengaging from the GFHS, and their detachment sometimes obstructed mothers' intervention efforts. Health educators (all women) were caught in these relations, feeling like because of their gender, they were viewed by parents as confidants and marriage counsellors. CONCLUSION: Findings emphasize the need for expanding the epistemic and methodological approaches to family-based health interventions, changing the demographic and geographic emphasis within the field, and designing interventions that focus on societal-level changes. Heterosexuality has not been analyzed as a risk factor within the public health field, but our findings indicate the need for further study.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: Les spécialistes des sciences sociales ont démontré que le travail en santé familiale est indissociable des inégalités hétéronormatives entre les sexes. Il est pourtant rare que les interventions sanitaires axées sur la famille intègrent une approche transformatrice du genre ou abordent l'hétéronormativité en tant qu'obstacle possible à la santé en Amérique du Nord. Au lieu de cela, l'attention au genre fait principalement surface dans les interventions en santé familiale menées dans des pays à faible revenu et à revenu intermédiaire dont les populations sont majoritairement noires et racisées. Notre article vise à souligner l'importance de concevoir des interventions sanitaires qui tiennent compte des relations hétéronormatives dans les familles ontariennes en puisant dans les données empiriques de l'étude Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS). MéTHODE: Nous avons fait appel aux données (février­octobre 2019) : 1) d'entretiens semi-directifs avec 20 familles et avec 4 éducatrices sanitaires ayant facilité des visites à domicile dans le cadre de la GFHS; et 2) d'observation de 11 visites à domicile menées dans le cadre de la GFHS et d'une journée de formation des éducatrices sanitaires. Éclairées par la théorie de la transformation de genre, les données ont été analysées et codées pour nous aider à comprendre les effets du sexe, de la sexualité et du lieu dans les interventions en santé familiale. RéSULTATS: Les relations parentales hétéronormatives préexistantes ont été renforcées par la participation à l'étude GFHS : ce sont surtout des mères qui y ont participé, ce qui a accru les niveaux de stress chez certaines. Les pères ont eu tendance à considérer leur travail rémunéré comme une raison de se retirer de l'étude, et leur détachement a parfois fait obstacle aux efforts d'intervention des mères. Les éducatrices sanitaires (toutes des femmes) ont été prises en étau dans ces relations et ont senti qu'en raison de leur sexe, elles étaient vues par les parents comme des confidentes et des conseillères conjugales. CONCLUSION: Nos constatations soulignent le besoin d'élargir les approches épistémiques et méthodologiques des interventions en santé familiale, de changer l'accent sur les données démographiques et géographiques dans le domaine et de concevoir des interventions axées sur les changements sociétaux. L'hétérosexualité n'est pas analysée en tant que facteur de risque dans le domaine de la santé publique, mais nos constatations indiquent le besoin de pousser la recherche en ce sens.

The Relational Nature of Gender, the Pervasiveness of Heteronormative Sexual Scripts, and the Impact on Sexual Pleasure.

This study examined how gender shapes sexual interactions and pleasure outcomes. We highlight varying expectations people have in regard to sex by combining questions about orgasm frequency and sexual pleasure. Our analysis was driven from a sample of 907 survey responses from cis women, cis men, trans women, trans men, non-binary, and intersex millennial respondents, 324 of which had gender-diverse sexual histories. The findings built upon previous literature about the orgasm gap by including those with underrepresented gender identities and expanding our conceptualization of gender's role in the gap beyond gender identity. Qualitative results indicated that individuals change their behavior based on their partner's gender and follow strong gendered scripts. Participants also relied upon heteronormative scripts and cis normative roles to set their interactions for the sexual encounter. Our findings support previous research on how gender identity impacts pleasure outcomes and has implications for how we might make gender progress in the arena of sexuality.

'Bending' against straightening devices: queer lived experiences of sexuality and sexual health in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Despite global data around increased health risks among sexual and gender diverse populations, lived experiences of young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and others (LGBTQ+) people are often ignored in mainstream health research. This is particularly evident in countries such as Bangladesh where the rights of sexual minorities are not recognised. This article looks at queer lived experiences of sexuality and sexual health within such a context. We use the phenomenological framework of heteronormative 'straightening devices' - mechanisms working to direct people towards heterosexuality, gender conformity, and procreative marriage - to identify 'invisible' structures upholding normative sexual behaviours and see how young people in Bangladesh navigate these in their everyday lives. METHODS: This article is based on qualitative data collected in Dhaka, Bangladesh over nine months in 2019 as part of the first author's doctoral research. Using thematic analysis, we draw on experiences of normative sexual expectations from biographical in-depth interviews with 14 purposively sampled LGBTQ + individuals aged 18 to 24. RESULTS: Respondents identified heteronormative expectations around gender norms of traditional behaviour and presentation for men and women as well as parental expectations of compulsory heterosexuality through marriage. These straightening devices existed at multiple levels, including individual, interpersonal, community, and societal. The four main themes around straightening devices include marriage norms for women; harassment of feminine-presenting bodies in public spaces; heteronormative healthcare; and consequences of not embodying heteronormativity. CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted young people's everyday experiences of having to 'bend' to - and against - heteronormative straightening devices at home, in public spaces, and within institutions such as healthcare in Bangladesh. The exploration of queer experiences provides new insights into context-specific ways in which sexual and gender diverse people understand themselves. Further research using the framework of straightening devices can help public health professionals to identify more 'barriers' confronted by sexual and gender diverse young people.

Queer in the Latter Days: An Integrated Model of Sexual and Religious Identity Development Among Former Mormon Sexual Minority Adults.

Sexual minority individuals often have complicated relationships with conservative religion, including conflicts between their sexual and religious identities. Sexual minority members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (CJCLDS) experience unique struggles, given the policies and doctrine of the CJCLDS and its commitment to heteronormative family structures and gender roles. A better understanding of the identity development trajectory for sexual minority individuals formerly involved in the church can deepens our understanding of sexual identity development in constrained contexts and help promote successful identity integration within this subpopulation. Transcripts from semi-structured interviews with thirty-four sexual minority individuals who identified as former members of the CJCLDS were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach, followed by a deductive theory-building process in which Cass's Homosexual Identity Formation Model and Genia's Religious Identity Development Model were overlaid on themes. We present a model that captures the trajectory of sexual and religious identity development that captures the experiences of sexual minority adults within the constraints of the CJCLDS, a non-affirming religious denomination.

Sexuality Discourses and LGBQ Students' Interpretations of Campus Climate in the Contemporary US.

Recent US studies showed that perceptions of campus climate vary considerably across individual LGBQ students, with some students reporting friendly climates and others reporting persistent hostility. Although researchers have identified several factors that contribute to the perceptual variations, they have paid limited attention to the role of sexuality discourses. The present study sought to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing in-depth interviews. The analysis showed that LGBQ students drew on two major discourses to guide their interpretations of campus climate. A majority of students drew on post-closet discourse to celebrate their visibility on campus, LGBQ-friendly courses, and straight classmates' positive reactions. A smaller number of students drew on queer discourse to question the meaning of LGBQ students' visibility and criticize heterosexist biases in classrooms. Overall, these results highlighted the importance of the competing discourses, which set LGBQ students' expectations and guided their interpretations of campus experiences.

Negotiating and Managing Gay Identities in Multiple Heteronormative Spaces: The Experiences of Black Gay Mineworkers in South Africa.

Sexual diversity is a contentious topic in South Africa because many people still hold the perception that sexual identity can only be understood in heteronormative terms. This article adopts a feminist research approach to investigate how black gay male identities are constructed and managed at home, within friendships and in mining workplaces, drawing on data collected from five black gay male mineworkers. It opens up discussion on gay mineworkers' experiences in a country where diversity is upheld and celebrated through a democratic constitution, yet gay men must often negotiate and manage their sexual identities to fit in with the dominant heteronormative discourses present in different spaces in society, including adopting false heterosexual identities in particular spaces, which limits their freedoms. The study argues that experiences of constructing and managing black gay identities in heteronormative spaces is guided by the level of acceptance and tolerance perceived by gay people.

A qualitative exploration of perceptions of anal sex: implications for sex education and sexual health services in England.

Existing research into anal sex has centred on androcentric, medicalised parameters that focus on risk and health implications, leading to a lack of focus on women's experiences. Research that has focused on women's experiences has centred on concern around young women's anal sex practices, with little exploration of why people participate in anal sex and neglect of its relational and pleasure-based dimensions. The present study sought to explore these concerns via data gathered using focus groups and individual interviews with a range of individuals including sexual health practitioners and young people. Data were thematically coded, with results centred on three themes: anal sex as deviance, anal sex as phallocentric, and anal sex as agentic. Results suggest a pattern of perceptions and narratives that has potential to undermine honest education, advice-giving and safer sex if they are not addressed and questioned in safe spaces, prior to work with young people. The implications of these findings for sexual health education are discussed.