scholarly journals Sexual Orientation, Femininity, and Attitudes Toward Menstruation Among Women: Implications for Menopause

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 860-860
Author(s):  
Jes Matsick ◽  
Mary Kruk ◽  
Britney Wardecker
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Traditional Femininity ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Women differ in how they psychologically respond to the end of menstruation and onset of menopause (Lorber & Moore, 2002); however, little empirical evidence exists for understanding how sexual orientation and gendered dynamics contribute to menopausal experiences. Do women’s attitudes toward the cessation of menstruation vary by sexual orientation? Using data from the Midlife in the U.S. Study (MIDUS, Wave 2; N=2,951), we test how sexual orientation relates to attitudes toward menstruation cessation through norms and values surrounding womanhood (i.e., “traditional femininity concerns,” such as worries about fertility and attractiveness). Cisgender heterosexual women, compared to sexual minority women, expressed greater regret of menstrual periods ending, and heterosexual women’s heightened concerns about traditional femininity mediated the association between sexual orientation and regret, b=-.09, 95%CI [-.176,-.008]. This research yields implications for understanding aging stigma and women’s health, and we discuss how menopause may be differently experienced by women based on sexual orientation.

scholarly journals Sexual Orientation and Sexual and Reproductive Health among African American Sexual Minority Women in the U.S. South

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 612-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madina Agénor ◽  
S. Bryn Austin ◽  
Daniel Kort ◽  
Erika L. Austin ◽  
Christina A. Muzny
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
The U.S

Differences in self-reported health-related quality of life in heterosexual and sexual minority women surviving cancer: 2013 to 2018 national health interview survey.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19038-e19038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Leigh Gleason Hutchcraft ◽  
Joanne G Patterson ◽  
Andreas A Teferra ◽  
Lauren Montemorano ◽  
Floor Jenniskens Backes
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Bisexual Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
After Cancer

e19038 Background: Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with excess morbidity and mortality after cancer diagnosis. While a growing body of research indicates that sexual minority women (lesbian and bisexual women; SMW) experience greater risk for cancer diagnoses and cancer-related mortality, there is a paucity of evidence describing HRQoL in this population. This is a critical omission as assessment of sexual orientation differences in HRQoL may inform clinical interventions to improve health and survival of SMW after cancer diagnosis. This study examined associations between sexual orientation and HRQoL domains among female cancer survivors. Methods: Data from the 2013-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was pooled. HRQoL was defined using individual indices across physical health, mental health, social, and financial domains. The association between sexual orientation and individual indices of HRQoL was assessed using weighted multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: The sample included 97909 heterosexual, 1424 lesbian, and 1235 bisexual women who reported a cancer diagnosis. Sexual minority women were more likely to be college graduates (p < 0.001) and employed (p < 0.001); however, they had higher rates of being uninsured (p = 0.01) than their heterosexual counterparts. Reproductive cancers—including breast, ovarian, cervical, and uterine—accounted for 51% of cancer diagnoses in heterosexual women and 57.2% in SMW (p = 0.06). Sexual minority and heterosexual women had more similarities than differences in individual indices of HRQoL; however, several pertinent differences were noted. Specifically, SMW had higher odds of moderate (OR 1.46 [1.01-2.13]) and severe psychological distress (OR 2.10 [1.17-3.77]); chronic health conditions, including COPD (OR 1.72 [1.06-2.80]) and heart disease (OR 1.93 [1.32-2.83]); financial concerns about retirement (OR 1.36 [1.01-1.83]); food insecurity (OR 2.13 [1.23-3.68]), and severe food insecurity (OR 2.44 [1.28-4.67]). Conclusions: Sexual minority women with cancer diagnoses report worse indices of HRQoL. Poorer HRQoL may influence excess morbidity and mortality evidenced in these populations; however, future longitudinal studies are needed to assess prospective risk. Given our results, implementing interventions in the cancer setting to identify sexual minority patients in need of physical and mental health and financial services may reduce disparities.

Gender-based Structural Stigma and Intimate Partner Violence Across 28 Countries: A Population-based Study of Women Across Sexual Orientation, Immigration Status, and Socioeconomic Status

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052097621
Author(s):  
Jillian R. Scheer ◽  
John E. Pachankis ◽  
Richard Bränström
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Gender Based

Reducing structural drivers of intimate partner violence (IPV), including gender inequity in education, employment, and health, surrounding women worldwide represents a clear public health priority. Within countries, some women are at disproportionate risk of IPV compared to other women, including sexual minority women, immigrant women, and women in poverty. However, limited research has assessed women’s IPV risk and related circumstances, including police involvement following IPV experiences and IPV-related worry, across sexual orientation, immigration status, and socioeconomic status in a population-based survey of women across countries. Further, few studies have examined IPV against minority women as a function of gender-based structural stigma. This study aimed to determine whether gender-based structural stigma is associated with IPV and related circumstances among European women; examine minority-majority IPV disparities; and assess whether structural stigma is associated with IPV disparities. We used the population-based 2012 Violence Against Women Survey ( n = 42,000) administered across 28 European Union countries: 724 (1.7%) identified as sexual minority, 841 (2.0%) as immigrant, and 2,272 (5.4%) as living in poverty. Women in high gender-based structural stigma countries had a greater risk of past-12-month IPV (AOR: 1.18, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.34) and IPV-related worry (AOR: 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.15) than women in low structural stigma countries. All minority women were at disproportionate risk of IPV and IPV-related worry compared to majority women. Associations between gender-based structural stigma and IPV and related circumstances differed across minority status. Country-level structural stigma can possibly perpetuate women’s risk of IPV and related circumstances. Associations between structural stigma and IPV and related circumstances for sexual minority women, immigrant women, and women in poverty call for research into the IPV experiences of minority populations across structural contexts.

scholarly journals Family Planning for Sexual Minority Women

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (05) ◽  
pp. 460-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Stoffel ◽  
Emma Carpenter ◽  
Bethany Everett ◽  
Jenny Higgins ◽  
Sadia Haider
Keyword(s):  
Family Planning ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Unintended Pregnancies ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
The Family ◽  
Contraception Counseling

AbstractThe family planning needs of sexual minority women (SMW) are an understudied but growing area of research. SMW have family planning needs, both similar to and distinct from their exclusively heterosexual peers. Specifically, SMW experience unintended pregnancies at higher rates than their exclusively heterosexual peers, but factors that increase this risk are not well understood. Contraception use is not uncommon among SMW, but lesbian women are less likely to use contraception than bisexual or exclusively heterosexual women. High rates of unintended pregnancy suggest contraception is underused among SMW. Contraception counseling guidelines specific to SMW do not yet exist, but greater adoption of current best practices is likely to meet the needs of SMW. SMW may have unique needs for their planned pregnancies as well, for which obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn) providers should provide care and referrals. In general, understandings of the distinct family planning needs for SMW are limited and further research is needed, with particular attention to issues of overlapping health disparities related to status as a SMW and other factors such as race/ethnicity that may add additional layers of stigma and discrimination. Clinical resources are needed to help Ob/Gyns make their practice more welcoming to the needs of SMW.

scholarly journals Mothers’ Sexual Identity and Children’s Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Mollborn ◽  
Aubrey Limburg ◽  
Bethany G. Everett
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Mostly Heterosexual ◽  
Minority Identities

AbstractSexual minority women face a plethora of structural, socioeconomic, and interpersonal disadvantages and stressors. Research has established negative associations between women’s sexual minority identities and both their own health and their infants’ birth outcomes. Yet a separate body of scholarship has documented similarities in the development and well-being of children living with same-sex couples relative to those living with similarly situated different-sex couples. This study sought to reconcile these literatures by examining the association between maternal sexual identity and child health at ages 5–18 using a US sample from the full population of children of sexual minority women, including those who identify as mostly heterosexual, bisexual, or lesbian, regardless of partner sex or gender. Analyses using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 8978) followed women longitudinally and examined several measures of their children’s health, including general health and specific developmental and physical health conditions. Analyses found that children of mostly heterosexual and bisexual women experienced health disadvantages relative to children of heterosexual women, whereas the few children of lesbian women in our sample evidenced a mixture of advantages and disadvantages. These findings underscore that to understand sexual orientation disparities and the intergenerational transmission of health, it is important to incorporate broad measurement of sexual orientation that can capture variation in family forms and in sexual minority identities.

Sexual Orientation Identity in Relation to Minority Stress and Mental Health in Sexual Minority Women

LGBT Health ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 350-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae A. Puckett ◽  
Francisco I. Surace ◽  
Heidi M. Levitt ◽  
Sharon G. Horne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Stress ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Orientation Identity

scholarly journals Sexual Orientation and Hypertension Risk Reduction Behaviors Among Adults With High Blood Pressure

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-127
Author(s):  
Philip T. Veliz ◽  
Sean Esteban McCabe ◽  
Tonda L. Hughes ◽  
Bethany G. Everett ◽  
Billy A. Caceres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Sexual Minorities ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
Heterosexual Women

IntroductionHypertension is a significant modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the United States. Evidence is emerging showing disparities in CVD risk between sexual minorities and heterosexuals. Engagement in CVD risk reduction behaviors may account for differences. We examined CVD risk reduction for hypertension between sexual minorities and heterosexuals using data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.MethodsUsing bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses, we compared medical advice and actions taken (taking medicine, changing eating habits, cutting down on sale, reducing alcohol, and exercising) to control blood pressure in sexual minority and heterosexual respondents. Analyses were conducted in 2019.ResultsApproximately 35% of the sample indicated being told by a health professional they had high blood pressure. Sexual minorities were less likely to report reduced alcohol intake to lower their blood pressure (AOR = .52, 95% CI = .30, .88). One sex-specific difference between sexual minority women and heterosexual women was found; sexual minority women were less likely to indicate being advised by a health professional to take medications to lower blood pressure when compared to heterosexual women.ConclusionsStrategies are needed to reduce alcohol consumption in sexual minority individuals. Uncovering the reasons for the lack of adherence by both sexual minority patients and healthcare providers can guide future interventions to improve adherence and reduce hypertension as a CVD risk.

Managing the Conversation: How Sexual Minority Women Reveal Sexual Orientation

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. e259-e266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyndi Gale Roller ◽  
Carol A. Sedlak ◽  
Claire Burke Draucker ◽  
Amy Veney ◽  
Marci A. Leifson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Sexual Minority Women
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