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"It's a comparison thing, isn't it?" : lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance
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Huxley, Caroline J., Clarke, Victoria and Halliwell, Emma (2011) "It's a comparison thing, isn't it?" : lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, Vol.35 (No.3). pp. 415-427. doi:10.1177/0361684311410209 ISSN 0361-6843.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0361684311410209
Abstract
Women's feelings about their body and their appearance are an important aspect of their lives, yet little is known about the ways in which partner relationships shape these feelings. There has been some debate about whether or not same-sex relationships offer protection to nonheterosexual (lesbian and bisexual) women from potentially harmful social appearance pressures, but there has been little empirical exploration of this issue. We contribute to the debate by presenting findings from a British qualitative study based on interviews with 15 nonheterosexual women talking about their feelings about their bodies and their appearance in the context of partner relationships. These accounts were analyzed using a phenomenologically oriented form of thematic analysis (TA) and seven main themes were generated. The women suggested that same-sex relationships were both positive and negative influences in shaping their feelings about their body and appearance, highlighting the complexity of this issue. However, positive descriptions of empathy toward body and appearance concerns as well as diversity within same-sex attractions suggest that same-sex relationships have the potential to encourage women to feel happier with their bodies. This analysis also suggests that the theoretical debate is too simplistic and that a synthesized explanation should be explored in future research.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Biomedical Sciences > Translational & Experimental Medicine > Metabolic and Vascular Health (- until July 2016) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Body image in women, Lesbians -- Psychology, Bisexual women -- Psychology, Lesbian couples | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Psychology of Women Quarterly | ||||
Publisher: | Sage Publications, Inc. | ||||
ISSN: | 0361-6843 | ||||
Official Date: | September 2011 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.35 | ||||
Number: | No.3 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 415-427 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1177/0361684311410209 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 18 December 2015 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 18 December 2015 |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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