"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

Autor/inn/en	Huxley, Caroline J.; Clarke, Victoria; Halliwell, Emma
Titel	"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
Quelle	In: Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35 (2011) 3, S.415-427 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0361-6843
DOI	10.1177/0361684311410209
Schlagwörter	Females; Homosexuality; Empathy; Comparative Analysis; Interpersonal Attraction; Interpersonal Relationship; Phenomenology; Human Body; Self Concept + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Weibliches Geschlecht; Homosexualität; Empathie; Interpersonale Anziehung; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Phenomenological psychology; Phänomenologie; Psychologie; Menschlicher Körper; Selbstkonzept
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. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10