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Abstract
A queer phenomenology would involve an orientation toward queer, a way to inhabit the world that gives “support” to those whose lives and loves make them appear oblique, strange, and out of place. (CitationAhmed, 2006)
The climate of the health care system is a reflection of society, which often hesitates to support individuals who choose paths other than those, that are heteronormatively constructed. Consequences of such limited directedness include fear, misunderstanding, avoidance, and discrimination on the part of nurses toward individuals involved in same-sex partnerships (CitationGoldberg, 2005/2006). A feminist and queer phenomenological framework offers an approach for perinatal nurses to advance lesbian health and, in particular, lesbian couples’ experiences of birthing, in the context of nursing practice, research, and education.
Funding for this manuscript is provided by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation in partnership with the Canadian Nurses Foundation Nursing Care Partnership Program under the research Project: Bodies of Sameness in Places of Difference: Lesbian Couples Birthing in Relationship with Perinatal Nurses.
Notes
The fluidity of gender and sexual orientation allows the capacity for individuals to explore and identify beyond the confines of the masculine/feminine and queer/straight binary (CitationWilton, 2004; CitationZita, 1998).
The term body in the context of this article does not only refer to the physical body. CitationMerleau Ponty (1968) describes the body as “more than an instrument or a means; it is our expression in the world, the visible form of our intentions” (p. 5).
The team of investigators from Dalhousie University include L. Goldberg, J. Evans, S. Campbell, and B. Frank, research assistants A. Ryan and J. Sawchyn, and project coordinator D. Cann.