Lesbianism Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lesbianism, including details on statistics, trends, psychology.

Sexual expression: its emotional context in heterosexual, gay, and lesbian couples.

Ridley C, Ogolsky B, Payne P, Totenhagen C, Cate R

The University of Arizona.

Much of what is known about emotions and sexuality explores the relationship enhancing qualities of positive affect. This research extends the current literature by focusing on the association between negative feelings and sexual thoughts and experiences in the context of close relationships, controlling for the effect of positive feelings. Specifically, the unique effects of daily negative feelings toward one's partner in general and specific negative feelings (i.e., anger, anxiety, and sadness) on the sexual experience of heterosexual, gay male, and lesbian relationships were explored. Participants completed an initial questionnaire followed by daily diary measures for 14 consecutive days. Positive feelings were positively associated with sexual variables as expected. Negative feelings were associated with increases in sexual behaviors for heterosexual men and women and gay men, but not lesbian women. Sadness showed a unique positive association with arousal, lust, wanted sexual behavior, and sexual behavior for heterosexual men and women and gay men, but not lesbian women. Neither anger nor anxiety was uniquely associated with the sexual experience for heterosexual or same-sex couples.

Published 7 August 2008 in J Sex Res, 45(3): 305-14.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Lesbianism published 28 July 2008:

Registered Nurses' Attitudes Toward the Protection of Gays and Lesbians in the Workplace.   J Transcult Nurs.

This study explores the attitudes of registered nurses toward a nondiscrimination policy in the workplace protective of gays and lesbians and the overall homophobia of nurses. A potential sample of 520 registered nurses licensed in Florida was randomly selected from the state Board of Nursing licensee database. In all, 165 surveys were used in the analysis of the data. Structural equation modeling indicated that support of a nondiscrimination policy protective of gay men and lesbians in the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 23 July 2008:

The Role of the Psychiatrist as Advocate.   Psychiatr Q.

There are a number of ways in which a psychiatrist or other mental health professional can advocate for mental health issues. The author uses her own involvement in the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists (AGLP) as a way to illustrate the advocacy role. Challenges and accomplishments with respect to that role and the organization's work are discussed. [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 22 July 2008:

Demographic and psychosocial features of participants in bondage and discipline, "sadomasochism" or dominance and submission (BDSM): data from a national survey.   J Sex Med, 5(7): 1660-8.

INTRODUCTION: People with sexual interests in bondage and discipline, "sadomasochism" or dominance and submission (BDSM) have been seen by many professionals as damaged or dangerous. AIM: To examine sexual behavior correlates of involvement in BDSM and test the hypothesis that BDSM is practiced by people with a history of sexual coercion, sexual difficulties, and/or psychological problems. METHODS: In Australia in 2001-2002, a representative sample of 19,307 respondents aged 16-59 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 21 July 2008:

Genetic Factors Increase Fecundity in Female Maternal Relatives of Bisexual Men as in Homosexuals.   J Sex Med.

Introduction. Recent studies on male homosexuals showed increased fecundity of maternal female relatives of homosexual probands, compared to those of heterosexual controls. We have suggested that these data could be explained by the transmission, in the maternal line, of an X-linked genetic factor that promotes androphilic behavior in females and homosexuality in males. Aim. Our original studies were on relatives of male subjects who declared themselves to be exclusively homosexual. However, ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 14 July 2008:

PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects.   Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(27): 9403-8.

Cerebral responses to putative pheromones and objects of sexual attraction were recently found to differ between homo- and heterosexual subjects. Although this observation may merely mirror perceptional differences, it raises the intriguing question as to whether certain sexually dimorphic features in the brain may differ between individuals of the same sex but different sexual orientation. We addressed this issue by studying hemispheric asymmetry and functional connectivity, two parameters ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 10 July 2008:

A critical intervention in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health: knowledge and attitude outcomes among second-year medical students.   Teach Learn Med, 20(3): 248-53.

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons represent an underserved population susceptible to health care disparities. Description: In February 2004, we implemented an LGBT health curriculum for students at the University of California at San Francisco. Confidential matched questionnaires elicited students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about LGBT health issues before and after the intervention. Evaluation: The surveyed population (52% response rate) was ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 1 July 2008:

Contact among families who share the same sperm donor.   Fertil Steril, 90(1): 33-43.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the experience of contact among families who share the same sperm donor and the purpose served by contact. DESIGN: Study 1: retrospective survey; study 2: archival data analysis. SETTING: Donor insemination (DI) program. PATIENT(S): Study 1: 14 parents from the first cohort of matched families; study 2: Archival data about 515 families from the DI program. INTERVENTION(S): Study 1: Interview of parents via anonymous mail-back survey; study 2: none. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Lesbianism published 26 June 2008:

Lesbians' disclosure of sexual orientation and satisfaction with care.   J Transcult Nurs, 19(3): 243-9.

The overarching aim of this study was to explore demographic variables and their association with a woman's disclosure of sexual orientation to a health care provider (HCP). This descriptive correlation study used a convenience sample of 96 women recruited at gay and lesbian community events held in Delaware. A self-report survey of 35 questions was used to obtain the data. None of the women identified themselves as exclusively heterosexual. The results indicate that a woman's self-identified ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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