Lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of sexuality-based discrimination and their appearance concerns

Abstract

Lesbian and bisexual women frequently experience sexuality-based discrimination, which is often based on others' judgements about their appearance. This short article aims to explore whether there is a relationship between lesbian and bisexual women's experiences of sexuality-based discrimination and their satisfaction with the way that they look. Findings from an online survey suggest that discrimination is negatively related to appearance satisfaction for lesbian women, but not for bisexual women. It is argued that this difference exists because lesbian appearance norms are more recognisable and distinctive than bisexual women's appearance norms.

Keywords:

• appearance
• bisexual
• discrimination
• non-heterosexual
• lesbian

Acknowledgements

The research reported in this article was conducted as part of my PhD research at the University of the West of England (UWE). My PhD was funded by a UWE Bursary and supervised by Emma Halliwell, Victoria Clarke and Nicola Rumsey. I must thank the four reviewers for their helpful comments on this article. My special thanks goes to the women who generously gave their time to take part in this study and to Emma and Victoria for their guidance, support and feedback on this article.

Notes

1. Non-heterosexual social space has traditionally been established and dominated by lesbians and gay men (D'Augelli & Garnets, 1995). Although bisexual-specific communities do exist and are gaining popularity, many bisexuals often still feel alienated and somewhat unwelcome in ‘LGB’ communities (Bower, Gurevich, & Mathieson, 2002).