Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Despite the considerable research on internalized heterosexism (IH) in general, much remains to be known about the phenomenology of and means to cope with IH in sexual minority women.Literature suggests that IH is associated with several poor mental health outcomes.Sexual minority women's experiences of IH have largely been understudied with respect to their male counter parts.The voices of sexual minority women with respect to IH have largely been absent from the literature and may prove to inform the current literature base and future efforts to address coping in the context of IH.The current study explored the lived experiences of sexual minority women (N= 6) related to IH including their experiences and meaning making related to encountering stigmatizing messages, the effects of stigma on their sense of self, and ability to cope with IH.These topics were explored and analyzed through Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).Results are presented including five super-ordinate themes and 16 emergent themes and further discussed to inform deeper understanding of sexual minority women's experiences with IH, implications for future research, and considerations for clinical work and advocacy.iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to all queer people who have known the weight of internalized heterosexism.May we continue to thrive, survive, and persist.v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all of the sexual minority women who participated in this study.I am grateful for your time, vulnerability, and trust.May your voices be heard.I extend gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Waehler, as well as the rest of my committee.Without your guidance this project would have been a dream deferred.Thank you for making me a stronger writer and scientist.They say it takes a village to raise a child and it certainly took a village to earn this Ph.D. I am grateful for my village including my parents, siblings, friends, supervisors, and cohort mates that have supported me over the years in
Author: Schlesinger, Rebecca A.
Institution: University of Akron
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7005972427