Can the “internal couple” be our faithful lifelong partner?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
Molly Ludlam
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Online Dating ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Couple Relationships ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Internal Object ◽  
Lifelong Partner ◽  
And Gender

For over fifty years the concept of the “internal couple”, as a composite internal object co-constructed in intimate relationships, has been fundamental to a psycho-analytic understanding of couple relationships and their contribution to family dynamics. Considerable societal change, however, necessitates review of how effectively and ethically the concept meets practitioners’ and couples’ current needs. Does the concept of an internal couple help psychotherapists to describe and consider all contemporary adult couples, whether same-sex or heterosexual, monogamous, or polyamorous? How does it accommodate online dating, relating via avatars, and use of pornography? Is it sufficiently inclusive of those experimenting in terms of sexual and gender identity, or in partnerships that challenge family arrangement norms? Can it usefully support thinking about families in which parents choose to parent alone, or are absent at their children’s conception thanks to surrogacy, adoption, and IVF? These and other questions prompt re-examination of this central concept’s nature and value.

State Obligations in Relation to Gender Identity and Rights of Same-Sex Couples

2021 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
pp. 277-462
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Name Change ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
Administrative Procedures ◽  
And Gender

277Human rights — Gender identity — Rights of same-sex couples — State obligations concerning recognition of gender identity and rights of same-sex couples — American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Right to equality and non-discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons — Article 1(1) of American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Whether sexual orientation and gender identity protected categories under Article 1(1) — Right to gender identity — Right to a name — Whether States under obligation to facilitate name change based on gender identity — Whether failure to establish administrative procedures for name change violating American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Whether name change procedure under Article 54 of Civil Code of Costa Rica complying with American Convention on Human Rights, 1969 — Right to equality and non-discrimination — Right to protection of private and family life — Right to family — Whether States obliged to recognize patrimonial rights arising from a same-sex relationship — Whether States required to establish legal institution to regulate same-sex relationshipsInternational tribunals — Jurisdiction — Inter-American Court of Human Rights — Advisory jurisdiction — Whether advisory jurisdiction restricted by related petitions before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights — Admissibility — Whether request meeting formal and substantive requirements — Whether Court having jurisdiction

Sex-Role Identity, Gender Identity, and Self-Schemata

1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan K. Hungerford ◽  
Alexandria P. Sobolew-Shubin
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Role Identity ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Slide Presentation ◽  
Schematic Processing ◽  
Sex Role Identity ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
And Gender

Forty females and 40 males were shown slides of masculine and feminine phrases controlled for social desirability, sex-linked content, syllable length, and negative semantic construction to evaluate schematic processing on the dimensions of masculinity and femininity. Their responses to the phrases were timed. The BSRI, PAQ, and SSRIQ administered subsequent to the slide presentation were used to categorize subjects into groups of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated. Comparisons between the groups evaluated by the different scales indicated that the PAQ was the best predictor of schematic processing and that the SSRIQ and gender were not predictors of schematic processing. Correlations between the SSRIQ and the masculine and feminine scales of the BSRI and PAQ provided evidence partially supportive of Storms's (1979) theory that sex-role identity influences the development of same-sex-typed attributes but does not influence opposite-sex-typed attributes.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Political Decision Making

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa A. Golebiowska
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Interpersonal Contact ◽  
Gays And Lesbians ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Lgbt Individuals

Public opinion on LGBT Americans’ rights has become more supportive of equal treatment over time. The movement toward greater egalitarianism has been particularly pronounced on attitudes toward same-sex marriage and gay adoption. Today, the general public is overwhelmingly supportive of laws to protect gays and lesbians against job discrimination, the right of gay and lesbian couples to adopt children, and legal recognition of same-sex marriages. It is also overwhelmingly supportive of legal protections for gay and lesbian employees, although we do not know whether abstract support for equality in the workplace translates into support for the hiring of gays and lesbians in all occupations. Yet, many questions concerning LGBT Americans’ rights remain controversial. The general public is especially polarized on the questions of whether transgender individuals should be able to use the bathrooms of the gender with which they identify and whether business owners in the wedding services industry can discriminate against same-sex couples on religious grounds. Systematic research on political attitudes of LGBT individuals using probability samples is practically nonexistent, although there are many studies of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals’ attitudes, identities, and behavior that use convenience samples. The existing studies demonstrate that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals tend to identify as ideologically liberal and favor the Democratic Party in their affinities and votes. LGBT Americans are far more supportive of equality in all issue domains although bisexuals—compared to lesbians and gay men—are more lukewarm in their embrace of equality on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Scholarship on LGBT Americans in public opinion has primarily explored attitudes toward gays and lesbians and has tended to focus on attitudes toward same-sex marriage and adoption. It examines psychological, political, and demographic correlates of public opinion regarding LGBT individuals and explores links between interpersonal contact with LGBT individuals and attitudes toward them. Generally speaking, moral traditionalism, gender role conceptions, and attributions for the existence of homosexuality are especially important psychological predictors of attitudes toward sexual and gender identity minorities. Partisan and ideological identities play an important role too as do cues from ideologically compatible political elites. Of the several demographic attributes that researchers have included in their models, religion-related variables stand out for their predictive prowess. Finally, interpersonal contact with sexual and gender minorities, as well as community exposure to LGBT individuals, is associated with more favorable views toward them. Another yardstick by which commitment to equal treatment for LGBT Americans could be measured is whether and how sexual orientation and gender identity influence political fortunes of candidates for electoral office. Scholarship to date suggests that sexual orientation and gender identity function as important heuristics that influence voters’ thinking about LGBT candidacies. Some scholarship mines survey questions that inquire about respondents’ willingness to support hypothetical LGBT candidates for office. Others use experimental design to isolate the influences of sexual orientation and gender identity on political evaluation. Altogether, these studies demonstrate that LGBT individuals do not face a level playing field when they launch campaigns for office.

Effects of Gender, Parental Role, and Time on Infant- and Adult-Directed Read and Spontaneous Speech

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4001-4014
Author(s):  
Melanie Weirich ◽  
Adrian Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
First Year ◽  
Space Size ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Description Task

Purpose The study sets out to investigate inter- and intraspeaker variation in German infant-directed speech (IDS) and considers the potential impact that the factors gender, parental involvement, and speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech) may have. In addition, we analyze data from 3 time points prior to and after the birth of the child to examine potential changes in the features of IDS and, particularly also, of adult-directed speech (ADS). Here, the gender identity of a speaker is considered as an additional factor. Method IDS and ADS data from 34 participants (15 mothers, 19 fathers) is gathered by means of a reading and a picture description task. For IDS, 2 recordings were made when the baby was approximately 6 and 9 months old, respectively. For ADS, an additional recording was made before the baby was born. Phonetic analyses comprise mean fundamental frequency (f0), variation in f0, the 1st 2 formants measured in /i: ɛ a u:/, and the vowel space size. Moreover, social and behavioral data were gathered regarding parental involvement and gender identity. Results German IDS is characterized by an increase in mean f0, a larger variation in f0, vowel- and formant-specific differences, and a larger acoustic vowel space. No effect of gender or parental involvement was found. Also, the phonetic features of IDS were found in both spontaneous and read speech. Regarding ADS, changes in vowel space size in some of the fathers and in mean f0 in mothers were found. Conclusion Phonetic features of German IDS are robust with respect to the factors gender, parental involvement, speech material (read vs. spontaneous speech), and time. Some phonetic features of ADS changed within the child's first year depending on gender and parental involvement/gender identity. Thus, further research on IDS needs to address also potential changes in ADS.

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