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"Now Thinking About It, It's Freedom": Conceptualizing Sexual Pleasure For Fat, Queer Women, Carolyn Elizabeth Meiller

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Research considering the positive aspects of sexuality, such as pleasure, within a cultural context is especially important for groups of people that are often seen as separate from the experience of sexuality, such as fat, queer women. Due to perceptions of their bodies and how their sexuality goes against traditional heteronormativity, fat, queer women's experiences with sex and pleasure are under represented. Using a critical sexuality framework, the present study sought to explore the definitions and experiences of sexual pleasure for fat, queer women.

In the present study, constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) were used to analyze the definitions …

Exploring Bisexual-Identified Persons Experiences Of Belonging, David Pascale-Hague

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Belonging is a basic and fundamental human need (Baumeister, & Leary, 1995) that is associated with psychosocial health (Cohen, 2004). Unfortunately, community belonging is a challenge for those with a bisexual identity. Binegativity, minority stress, and the invisibility of bisexual-identities may interfere with attempts to develop a sense of community belonging (Bradford, 2004). Little systematic research has examined bisexual-identified people’s perceptions and experiences of belonging to a community. This project addressed the question, “What are bisexual individuals’ experiences of community belonging/social exclusion?” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 12 bisexual-identified persons. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a constructivist …