Does partner gender influence relationship quality among non-monosexual women?

ABSTRACT

Non-monosexual women (i.e. those attracted to more than one gender) may encounter distinct sexual orientation-based challenges depending on the gender of their current relationship partner. Literature suggests that non-monosexual women in relationships with a male partner may often be assumed to be heterosexual by default, and may struggle with invisibility and lack of validation of their sexual minority identity. The aim of the present study was to examine if non-monosexual women in different-sex relationships experienced increased relationship strain relative to those with same-gender partners, and the potential mechanisms through which this effect may occur. A community sample of 169 non-monosexual women currently in a single partner relationship were recruited. Results indicated that although there was no direct link between partner gender and relationship strain, having a male partner was indirectly linked to greater relationship strain via less outness and less LGB community connectedness, and subsequently greater social isolation and depression. Unexpectedly, those with a male partner also reported greater social isolation independent of their level of outness and LGB community connectedness, suggesting the presence of additional pathways by which partner gender impacts one's sense of social isolation. These findings highlight distinct challenges faced by non-monosexual women in different-sex relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Non-monosexual
• sexual minority women
• outness
• LGB connectedness
• relationship strain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Given that “queer” as an identity can be used to designate a non-monosexual or monosexual identity (Morandini, Dar-Nimrod, & Blaszczynski, 2017), bisexual/pansexual/queer identified women who reported being “exclusively same-sex” or “exclusively opposite-sex” attracted were excluded from further analyses – as these participants did not currently report non-monosexual attractions. Five queer-identified women and one bisexual-identified woman were excluded from analysis due to reporting exclusive same-sex attraction.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

James S. Morandini

James Morandini is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on sexual orientation and transgender issues in psychology using mixed methodologies including self-report and psychophysiological measures. Rebecca Pinkus is currently a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydey. Her research interests are in social cognition within close relationships. In particular, she is interested in how individuals balance concerns about the self with concerns about the relationship. She is also interested in how partners can help or hinder one another's health outcomes. Ilan Dar-Nimrod is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney. His main line of research examines the effects of perceived genetic aetiology for various phenomena - examining how communication of theories that emphasize genetic explanations (including those relevant to sexual orientation) can affect a wide variety of psychological outcomes.