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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Smith College

2011

Lesbians-Psychology

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

"Because She's My Mom" : An Exploratory Study Of Adult Lesbian Women's Understanding And Management Of Relationships With Mothers Who Reject Their Sexuality, Ana Elisa Echevarria Sep 2011

"Because She's My Mom" : An Exploratory Study Of Adult Lesbian Women's Understanding And Management Of Relationships With Mothers Who Reject Their Sexuality, Ana Elisa Echevarria

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study explored the ways in which lesbian adult women, who have been rejected by their mothers because of their sexuality and maintain relationships with them, understand and manage those relationships as well as their motivation for maintaining the relationships. Since limited research has focused on adult lesbian women who have maintained a relationship with a mother who rejects their sexuality, a qualitative, exploratory study was chosen as an appropriate research design. This qualitative study used a flexible interview format comprised of semistructured, open-ended questions presented to 13 self-identified adult lesbian women who had been out to their mothers for …


The Impact Of The Gender Binary On Gender Nonconforming Females' Lives And Psyches Over Time : An Exploratory Study, Samantha Mayne Miller Aug 2011

The Impact Of The Gender Binary On Gender Nonconforming Females' Lives And Psyches Over Time : An Exploratory Study, Samantha Mayne Miller

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this research is to explore the impact of the systematically imposed gender binary on the lives and psyches of gender non-conforming females over time. To pursue this qualitative research, I conducted single, exploratory, hour-long interviews with eight gender nonconforming females aged 59 years and older. The interviews touched upon many themes including the multiple ways participants' identify their gender, sex, and sexuality (and the developmental trajectory of each); how each participant relates to notions of the gender binary; participants' experiences as gender nonconforming young people, or "tomboys"; ways that families, institutions and the general public have performed …


The Implications Of Physical Beauty Norms On Gender Identity Development, Sexual Identity Formation, And Sense Of Self In The Femme Queer Community, Megan Oberdorfer Jan 2011

The Implications Of Physical Beauty Norms On Gender Identity Development, Sexual Identity Formation, And Sense Of Self In The Femme Queer Community, Megan Oberdorfer

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study sought to ascertain what physical beauty norms are present in the femme queer community and how these standards of beauty influence the experience of women who selfidentify as femme and queer. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with 10 participants that selfidentified as female, femme, and queer, this qualitative study examined how standards of beauty in the femme queer community affect one's sense of gender identity, the process of one's sexual identity formation, and one's sense of self. For the purpose of this study, the term queer serves an inclusionary function and is used to define a wide range of sexual …