{"title":"\"When a topic looks good on my c.v., I move on\": Esther Rothblum's career in groundbreaking research.","authors":"Kristen Pinchbeck, Remus Mitchell, Ella Ben Hagai","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2150390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2022.2150390","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For a special issue on International Perspectives on Lesbian Psychology, we interviewed Esther Rothblum, the editor-in-chief of the <i>Journal of Lesbian Studies</i> since its establishment in 1995. In this interview, Rothblum describes her socialization into feminism at Smith College, the dominant role men played in psychology in the 1970s, and how she found herself studying the psychology of women. Rothblum describes some of her findings from rigorous studies on lesbians and their children, transgender people, and asexuality. Reflecting on her experience editing three different journals (<i>Women & Therapy, Journal of Lesbian Studies</i>, and <i>Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society</i>), she explains the skills important for young scholars working on cutting-edge research. This included developing a thick skin, learning to expect changes in identity labels and psychological theories, and finally, the importance of methodologies in the training of budding psychologists.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"127-136"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10587870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frank A Sattler, Gabriele H Franke, Johanna Zeyen, Melanie Jagla-Franke
{"title":"Mental health disparities between German lesbian and bisexual women and a population-based sample.","authors":"Frank A Sattler, Gabriele H Franke, Johanna Zeyen, Melanie Jagla-Franke","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2087343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2022.2087343","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lesbians are at greater risk of mental health problems than heterosexual women, and bisexual individuals are even more likely to report mental health problems. No study has yet tested whether there are any mental health differences between German lesbians, bisexual women, and female controls. We tested for mental health differences between matched groups of 161 lesbian and bisexual women and 161 women in the general population, as well as between matched groups of 79 lesbians and 79 bisexual women. Lesbian and bisexual women reported more mental health problems than population-based women. In contrast, bisexual women did not differ in mental health from lesbians. Therefore, German lesbian and bisexual women constitute a risk group for mental health problems. To improve lesbian and bisexual women's mental health, attempts should be made to lower the frequency of minority stressors, and best-practice mental health interventions made available.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"60-73"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10588932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"International perspectives on lesbian psychology.","authors":"Ella Ben Hagai, Christy Starr","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2156059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2023.2156059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Researchers from the Philippines, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Chile, Canada, Brazil, China, and the US shed new light on important questions in lesbian psychology while subverting the hegemonic status of Western scholarship. Articles part of this special issue move away from treating LGBTQ + identity as a monolith and center lesbian identity. An eclectic set of contributions explore central questions in the field of psychology, including differences between gay men's and lesbian women's mental health as well as similarities and differences between bisexual and lesbian women's sense of identity. This special issue pushes the field to consider how cultural values such as collectivism and individualism, religious affiliation, and the intersections of misogyny and homophobia configure the risk of mental health problems, intimate partner violence, and body dissatisfaction among lesbian women.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10596560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lesbian longings and the question of a queer repertoire in <i>The \"Other\" Love Story</i>.","authors":"Shailendra Kumar Singh","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2119673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2022.2119673","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, there has been an emerging critical discourse in South Asia that examines the changing contours of representational politics that could, in turn, be strategically mobilized to introduce an alternative idiom of same-sex love within a standard template of heterosexual storytelling. This has been complemented by an evaluation of alternative modes of sexual politics that need not necessarily conform to Western labels or paradigms of queer identities. Taking its cue from such discursive readings, this article demonstrates how Roopa Rao's web series, <i>The \"Other\" Love Story</i> (2016), revisits some of the dominant tropes, practices, and narrative conventions of the Hindi films, released in the 1990s, to create a counter-archive for the lesbian subject who, for the most part, was conspicuous by her very absence in the popular figurations of that period in South Asia. There is a perceptible strand of lingering nostalgia and artistic homage that undergirds such an experimental project that nevertheless also becomes a disruptive site for articulating an oppositional esthetics of romance. The subtlety and restraint of such a nuanced portrayal of dissident desires and queer intimacies thus not only resist the easy appropriations that women in the subcontinent are routinely subjected to (as veritable repositories of tradition and national identity) but also retrospectively reclaim a voice for an otherwise historically silenced discourse of sexuality for the masses.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 2","pages":"160-175"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9286609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Karina Robinson, Damião Soares de Almeida-Segundo, Adolfo Pizzinato
{"title":"Body satisfaction of lesbian and bisexual Brazilian women: Indicators of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism, and identity processes.","authors":"Ana Karina Robinson, Damião Soares de Almeida-Segundo, Adolfo Pizzinato","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2150371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2022.2150371","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article examined the association between body satisfaction and sexual identification among lesbian and bisexual women, since these factors help to understand the cultural background of the objectification of female bodies in Latin cultures. Women who identify as lesbian (N = 239) and bisexual (N = 60) completed demographic data and measures of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism, lesbian and bisexual identity difficulties, and body satisfaction. We performed a three-stage hierarchical multiple regression to explore how variables relate to body satisfaction. The results suggest that self-esteem plays a key role, explaining 20.4% of the variance in body satisfaction. We discussed the psychosocial and cultural aspects involved in the relationship between the variables, and social and aesthetic pressures on women's bodies. This study contributes to discussions on psychosocial aspects associated with body satisfaction among Brazilian lesbian and bisexual women.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"89-106"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9155880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Offerings of carnal scriptures.","authors":"Claudia Rodriguez","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2214410","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2023.2214410","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The anthology \"Chicana Lesbians: the Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About\" was instrumental to my writing as it bolstered my confidence to take control over my sexuality and sensuality. The text in this collection affirmed that exploring and expressing my sexuality through writing was an act of empowerment and defiance within a sexist, racist, heteronormative, and capitalist society.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 3","pages":"339-347"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9843750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mexicana and Chicanx Queer Kinship across Visual Art and Performance: Astrid Hadad and Ester Hernández.","authors":"Laura G Gutiérrez","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2248760","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2248760","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This brief and personal essay discusses Ester Hernández's and Astrid Hadad's artistic relationship, which includes a beautiful friendship that spans time and space. In particular, and from an intimate vantage point, I read two of Hernández's images that feature Hadad, which the Mexican artist has displayed in her home in Mexico City, to ponder a larger question regarding contemporary cross-border feminist and genderqueer esthetics and relations. The queer kinship between these two artists, I humbly posit, extends to the fans that come out to support Hadad's shows when she performs in cities in the U.S. with large Latinx demographics, particularly in California.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":" ","pages":"368-378"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10054271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Feeling safe and content: Relationship to internalized sexual stigma, self-awareness, and identity uncertainty in Italian lesbian and bisexual women.","authors":"Jessica Pistella, Fau Rosati, Roberto Baiocco","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2087344","DOIUrl":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2087344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Research has linked feelings of safety and contentment to lower adverse mental health outcomes (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression) in the general population. The current study aimed at exploring the relationship between safe/content positive affect and minority stress (e.g., internalized sexual stigma) in lesbian and bisexual women, considering the effect of potential mediators such as identity self-awareness and identity uncertainty. An online survey was administered to 400 Italian women (220 lesbian and 180 bisexual women), aged 18-40 years (<i>M</i> = 25.98, <i>SD</i> = 6.07). The results showed that lesbian women reported lower internalized sexual stigma and identity uncertainty and higher safe/content positive affect and identity self-awareness, relative to bisexual women. Higher internalized sexual stigma predicted lower safe/content positive affect, regardless of sexual orientation. Furthermore, identity self-awareness and identity uncertainty significantly mediated the relationship between internalized sexual stigma and safe/content feelings, thus confirming the protective role of sexual identity variables on lesbian and bisexual women's positive affectivity. Finally, univariate analyses suggested that lesbian women were more resilient than bisexual women in the face of minority stressors. The results contribute to the understanding of the differences between lesbian and bisexual women in their perception of salient identity categories. In addition, the findings highlight the relevance of protective factors (e.g., identity certainty, lesbian and bisexual positive identity) in ameliorating the adverse effects of minority stress and promoting positive affect and social adjustment in lesbian and bisexual women. Research and clinical implications and directions are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"41-59"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10588933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"#Supercorp kissed…or did they?: lesbian fandom and queerbaiting.","authors":"Johanna Church","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2023.2176973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2023.2176973","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Supercorp fandom refers to the platonic friendship between Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl, and her friend Lena Luthor. The term 'Supercorp' refers to an implied - yet unexplored - queer relationship created by fans of the DC/CW show Supergirl. Imagined relationships, referred to by fandoms (groups of fans) as 'shipping, tackle the unexplored chemistry between two characters who are not romantically linked. Supergirl's screenwriters were notorious for placing Kara and Lena in heteronormative relationship scenarios, effectively queerbaiting (or covert courting) the audience by suggesting a romantic relationship never explored on-screen. On November 11, 2021, fans had fun by doctoring photos of the series finale and 'showing' Kara and Lena kissing. Fans created an alternate reality where two women publicly expressed their love. Deprived of a queer 'happy ending', Supergirl fans gaslit the DC fandom (and beyond), leading many to question the reality of their initial viewing experience. The fans were gaslighting the world into questioning whether the footage was authentic. The fandom rallied in solidarity by crafting the 'reality' they wanted. Using a lens informed by psychoanalytic theory and fan studies research, this paper examines how the Supercorp fandom used the liminal space of broadcast time zones to reclaim a queer narrative which they were denied. This paper contributes to the advancement of lesbian studies by shining a light on the efforts of a marginalized segment of fandom and examining the trauma caused by queer coding - and queerbaiting - in service to a heteronormative agenda.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 2","pages":"213-229"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9642589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Violence in the \"double closet\": female same-sex intimate partner violence and minority stress in China.","authors":"Iris Po Yee Lo","doi":"10.1080/10894160.2022.2091732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2022.2091732","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a public health issue among both heterosexual and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) populations. While attention has often been paid to IPV among heterosexual couples, there is limited research on the causes of and interventions for IPV confronting same-sex couples, especially those in non-Euro-American contexts. This article highlights the \"double closet\" nature of same-sex IPV, and, in particular, the triply marginalized position of lesbian victims of IPV due to their gender, sexuality, and experiences of violence in China. Extending ongoing discussions about minority stress faced by sexual minority people, it reveals how the daily stressors associated with identity concealment, coupled with relational selfhood and heteronormative institutional constraints, complicate lesbian relationships and violence in China. Focusing on the family-centered context provides an important window into the ways in which the perceived need to stay in the closet (hide one's sexual identity) and rejection from the family of origin and the state influence lesbians' experiences of IPV and inhibit many of them from disclosing violence. This article builds a dialogue between discussions of the closet and existing literature on IPV. It concludes by drawing attention to the need to break the silence around IPV and build alliances for developing culturally sensitive interventions aimed at addressing IPV.</p>","PeriodicalId":46044,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Lesbian Studies","volume":"27 1","pages":"137-145"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9154805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}