Sexual Minorities’ Gender Norm Conformity and Sexual Satisfaction: The Mediating Effects of Sexual Communication, Internalized Stigma, and Sexual Narcissism

Abstract

Objective: Sexual satisfaction has implications for well-being and may be related to gender norms. This study was conducted to understand the relationship between U.S. sexual minority (SM) individuals’ gender norm conformity and levels of sexual satisfaction, as well as examining the following potential mediators: sexual communication, internalized stigma, and sexual narcissism. Methods and Results: A path analysis (N = 142) revealed that, for SM individuals, higher conformity to feminine norms was related to lower sexual satisfaction through higher internalized stigma. In addition, higher conformity to feminine norms for SM individuals was positively associated with sexual narcissism. Conclusion: Implications related to sexual satisfaction for SM individuals are discussed.

Keywords:

• Sexual minority
• sexual satisfaction
• gender conformity
• internalized stigma
• sexual communication
• and sexual narcissism

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Jesse Owen for his time in providing statistical consultation for this project.

Notes

1 See Biss and Horne (2005) for an exception.