The current study explored the relation between sexual orientation, masculinity ideology, and sexism among 380 adult heterosexual and bisexual women. Participants completed measures of sexual orientation, masculinity ideology, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism. Mean-level analyses concluded that heterosexual women scored significantly higher…

Rural incarcerated women have an increased risk of acquiring the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) due to prevalent engagement in drug use and sexual behaviors. Limited research has investigated HIV and HCV knowledge in this high-risk population. Furthermore, the interplay of sociodemographic factors (i.e.,…

Exposure to negative math-gender stereotypes undermines the intentions of female college students to engage in careers in the math field, yet the mechanisms by which such stereotypes relate to girls' career intentions remain unclear. We simultaneously tested multiple mediators in a sample of 186 female students from one high school in central…

This paper examines the surprising case of women who "come out as fat" to test and refine theories about social change, social mobilization, stigma, and stigma resistance. First, supporting theories about "social movement spillover," we find that overlapping memberships in queer and fat activist groups, as well as networks between these groups,…

Stigma, discrimination and violence contribute to health disparities among sexual minorities. Lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women experience sexual violence at similar or higher rates than heterosexual women. Most research with LBQ women, however, has focused on measuring prevalence of sexual violence rather than its association with health…

Rape, sexual violence, psychological violence, and physical violence, among college students have been a concern. Lifetime events are often studied but not violence that specifically transpires while one is in college. Underrepresented groups such as Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, students who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and students who…

A qualitative study was conducted in Butterworth, in the rural Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, to explore sources of distress for young people. Semi-structured, individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 men and 24 women aged 16-22 years. The findings revealed interconnections between structural factors such as death, poverty,…

It has been well documented that sexual minority individuals are significantly more likely to be college educated than heterosexual individuals [Black, D., Gates, G., Sanders, S., & Taylor, L. (2000). Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources. "Demography," 37(2), 139-154;…

Previous studies have shown that a subset of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) and heterosexual adults produce distinctive patterns of phonetic variation that allow listeners to detect their sexual orientation from audio-only samples of read speech. The current investigation examined the extent to which judgments of sexual orientation from speech…

Problems related to negative body image are very common among young women. In this study, we examined the relationship between women's body image and their sexual functioning over and above the effects of physical exercise and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of 214 university women. Low situational body image dysphoria and low body…

In the present study we examined associations between young women's romantic relationships and their body image. Ninety-five heterosexual couples (women's mean age=22.46 and men's mean age=24.38) participated in this study. We examined young women's satisfaction with their own bodies, their "perceptions" of their significant others' satisfaction…

Growing evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults may be at elevated risk for mental health and substance use disorders, possibly due to anti-gay stigma. Little of this work has examined putative excess morbidity among ethnic/racial minorities resulting from the experience of multiple sources of discrimination. The authors report…

This study extends research on objectification theory as it applies to eating disorder symptomatology by examining whether its tenets generalize to women identifying as lesbian. Lesbian women (N = 181) and a comparison sample of heterosexual women (N = 196) completed measures of objectification theory constructs (interpersonal sexual…

Objective: This study examined the relationships between childhood and family background variables, including sexual and physical abuse, and subsequent alcohol abuse and psychological distress in adult lesbians. Methodology: Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate relationships between childhood sexual and physical abuse and parenting…