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Bisexual Women (bisexual + woman)
Selected AbstractsSexuality and Safer Sex: The Issues for Lesbians and Bisexual WomenJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 4 2001FAAN, Patricia E. Stevens RN Nursing interventions to help women reduce their risk of contracting HIV must be designed from an in-depth understanding of the complex sociocultural patterns of sexuality in particular communities and among specific subgroups. Objective: In this data collection phase of a community-based HIV prevention project, the objective was to understand HIV risk-taking and HIV risk-reduction activities of lesbians and bisexual women. Design: Qualitative field study. Setting: Data were collected in women's bars and dance clubs and at selected lesbian/bisexual community events in San Francisco. Participants: Interviews were conducted with 1,189 racially diverse, socially and sexually active lesbians and bisexual women. Results: Inductive content analysis produced two themes: realities of sexual behavior and sexual expressions and their meanings. Realities of sexual behavior included an assumption that women who have sex with other women cannot get HIV, a lack of familiarity with HIV prevention strategies, inconsistent practice of safer sex with men and/or women, and the negative effect of alcohol or drug use on safer sex efforts. Sexual expressions and their meaning included trust in monogamy, a sense that safer sex practices detracted from intimacy and eroticism, the difficulty of negotiating sexual behaviors with men or women, and dealing with partner resistance to safer sex practices. Conclusions: Specific recommendations for practice are the need for nurses to understand the range and diversity of women's sexual behaviors, to develop skills in conducting inclusive sexual histories, and to develop a comprehensive approach to sexual health. [source] Sexual Practices, Risk Perception and Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Disease Risk Among Lesbian and Bisexual WomenPERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 1 2005Jeanne M. Marrazzo CONTEXT: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be spread between female sex partners, probably through the exchange of cervicovaginal fluid and direct mucosal contact. Additionally, lesbians have a high prevalence of bacterial vaginosis, which may represent an STD in this population. However, few data on sexual practices or perceived STD risk among lesbians are available to guide development of interventions aimed at reducing the risk. METHODS: To inform the development of a safer-sex intervention for women who have sex with women, focus group discussions were conducted with 23 lesbian and bisexual women aged 18,29. Topics included sexual practices, STD transmission and prevention, and knowledge about bacterial vaginosis. RESULTS: Although six participants had had bacterial vaginosis and three an STD, women reported little use of preventive measures with female partners (washing hands, using rubber gloves and cleaning sex toys). Participants said that vaginal penetrative practices using sex toys and fingers or hands are common, and that partners frequently share sex toys during a sexual encounter, generally without condoms. Knowledge of potential for STD transmission between women, and of bacterial vaginosis, was limited. Participants viewed use of barrier methods (gloves or condoms) as acceptable, provided that there is a reason (usually STD-focused) to use them and that they are promoted in the context of sexual health and pleasure. CONCLUSIONS: Safer-sex messages aimed at lesbian and bisexual women should emphasize the plausibility of STD transmission between women, personal responsibility and care for partners' well-being; should target common sexual practices; and should promote healthy sexuality. [source] Bisexuality: A Contemporary Paradox for WomenJOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 2 2000Paula C. Rodríguez Rust The cultural construction of ,lesbian' and ,heterosexual' women in late-nineteenth-century European cultures created both the possibility of conceiving the "bisexual" woman and the belief that bisexuality cannot exist. Social scientists have suggested several alternatives to dichotomous constructions of sexuality to facilitate the conceptualization of, and therefore empirical research on, bisexuality. This article reviews these alternatives and summarizes the current state of researchon bisexuality, including research on ,situational homosexuality' (behavioral bisexuality), recent national probability studies on sexual behaviors and identities in the United States, the meanings of bisexual self-identities among women, masculinist biases in methods of assessing and theorizing sexual self-identities, and prejudice against bisexuals. The article concludes with suggestions for future social scientific research on bisexuality. [source] Risk and protective behaviours of bisexual minority women: a qualitative analysisINTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 2 2005J. D. Champion phd Background, Public health messages urging women to seek health care services such as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and cervical cancer screening or family planning services fail to address women who have sex with women (WSW). This negligence may have led to a false sense of security amongst WSW concerning sexual risk behaviour. Research has shown that WSW engaged in more high-risk sexual behaviours than heterosexual women. WSW has been identified as an important vector in the spread of STDs in all populations because of bisexuality. To prevent and reduce transmission of STDs amongst WSW, perceptions of risk for STD amongst WSW need to be understood so that effective interventions may be developed. Aim, To describe the relationship between sexual risk and protective behaviour and STD transmission amongst bisexual minority women with a history of STD. Methods, Life history methods were used to interview 23 African-American bisexual women with a history of STD. Findings, Various themes unfolded during analysis of the patient interviews, including bisexual women's perceptions of STD risk, the context of sexual relationships with women and STD prevention, screening, and treatment practices. Conclusions, The contexts of sexual relationships including multiple or concurrent partner relationships with both men and women placed these women at high risk for STD. Regardless of the type of relationship or belief it is possible to get an STD, protection was often not used. These circumstances identify an extremely high-risk population of women with need for more extensive research to identify strategies for health care interventions. [source] You still feel different: the experience and meaning of women's self-injury in the context of a lesbian or bisexual identityJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2004Natasha Alexander Abstract This article reports an intensive qualitative study of the subjective experience and meaning of self-injury for 16 women who identified as lesbian or bisexual and who had deliberately self-injured on repeated occasions. In individual interviews, the women talked about their experiences of self-injury and the role it played in their lives as lesbian or bisexual women. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to elicit themes arising within their accounts. These highlighted a number of ways in which social and contextual factors contributed to the development of self-injury. Although many of these factors seemed applicable to any woman who self-injures, there were some aspects that were specific to the experience of lesbian and bisexual women. In addition, the women's accounts raised a number of important issues about the way in which mental health services respond to lesbian and bisexual women who self-injure. It is argued that self-injury can be understood as a coping response that arises within a social context characterized by abuse, invalidation, and the experience of being regarded as different or in some way unacceptable. These factors are especially salient in the lives of women, and they emerge particularly strongly as part of the experience of women who are developing a lesbian or bisexual identity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Sexuality and Safer Sex: The Issues for Lesbians and Bisexual WomenJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 4 2001FAAN, Patricia E. Stevens RN Nursing interventions to help women reduce their risk of contracting HIV must be designed from an in-depth understanding of the complex sociocultural patterns of sexuality in particular communities and among specific subgroups. Objective: In this data collection phase of a community-based HIV prevention project, the objective was to understand HIV risk-taking and HIV risk-reduction activities of lesbians and bisexual women. Design: Qualitative field study. Setting: Data were collected in women's bars and dance clubs and at selected lesbian/bisexual community events in San Francisco. Participants: Interviews were conducted with 1,189 racially diverse, socially and sexually active lesbians and bisexual women. Results: Inductive content analysis produced two themes: realities of sexual behavior and sexual expressions and their meanings. Realities of sexual behavior included an assumption that women who have sex with other women cannot get HIV, a lack of familiarity with HIV prevention strategies, inconsistent practice of safer sex with men and/or women, and the negative effect of alcohol or drug use on safer sex efforts. Sexual expressions and their meaning included trust in monogamy, a sense that safer sex practices detracted from intimacy and eroticism, the difficulty of negotiating sexual behaviors with men or women, and dealing with partner resistance to safer sex practices. Conclusions: Specific recommendations for practice are the need for nurses to understand the range and diversity of women's sexual behaviors, to develop skills in conducting inclusive sexual histories, and to develop a comprehensive approach to sexual health. [source] Sexual Practices, Risk Perception and Knowledge Of Sexually Transmitted Disease Risk Among Lesbian and Bisexual WomenPERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 1 2005Jeanne M. Marrazzo CONTEXT: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be spread between female sex partners, probably through the exchange of cervicovaginal fluid and direct mucosal contact. Additionally, lesbians have a high prevalence of bacterial vaginosis, which may represent an STD in this population. However, few data on sexual practices or perceived STD risk among lesbians are available to guide development of interventions aimed at reducing the risk. METHODS: To inform the development of a safer-sex intervention for women who have sex with women, focus group discussions were conducted with 23 lesbian and bisexual women aged 18,29. Topics included sexual practices, STD transmission and prevention, and knowledge about bacterial vaginosis. RESULTS: Although six participants had had bacterial vaginosis and three an STD, women reported little use of preventive measures with female partners (washing hands, using rubber gloves and cleaning sex toys). Participants said that vaginal penetrative practices using sex toys and fingers or hands are common, and that partners frequently share sex toys during a sexual encounter, generally without condoms. Knowledge of potential for STD transmission between women, and of bacterial vaginosis, was limited. Participants viewed use of barrier methods (gloves or condoms) as acceptable, provided that there is a reason (usually STD-focused) to use them and that they are promoted in the context of sexual health and pleasure. CONCLUSIONS: Safer-sex messages aimed at lesbian and bisexual women should emphasize the plausibility of STD transmission between women, personal responsibility and care for partners' well-being; should target common sexual practices; and should promote healthy sexuality. 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