Sexual Well-Being of Sexual Minority Women

My former graduate student, Jacqueline Cohen, and I have conducted research examining the sexual well-being of sexuality minority (lesbian, bisexual, queer, unlabelled, etc) women. In our first study,  we examined the sexual rewards and costs experienced by a sample of lesbians  (and gay men). Both the women and the men identified relationship factors (e.g., communication) and social factors e.g., lack of cultural recognition of same-sex relationships) as key to their sexual relationships. This work has recently been published in the Internaitional Journal of Sexual Health.  

For her dissertation research, Jacquie conducted a web-based study involving sexual minority women.  One goal of this research was to 

For her dissertation research, Jacquie conducted a web-based study of sexual minority women who were diverse in their sexual identities. One goal was to  characterize their sexuality.  Participants were 586 women (87% White) in a same-sex relationship of between 1 and 36 years in duration. They completed measures assessing their sexual behavior (frequency of non-genital and genital sexual activities), motivation (sexual desire), and cognitive-affective responses (sexual satisfaction, sexual esteem, sexual anxiety, negative automatic thoughts). On average, the women reported experiencing their sexuality positively across all domains. Regardless of relationship duration, most of the women reported engaging in both genital and non-genital sexual behaviors with their partner once a week or more; few reported that they had not engaged in sexual activity in the previous month. A multiple regression analysis indicated that frequency of genital sexual activity, sexual desire, sexual anxiety, and automatic thoughts contributed uniquely to the prediction of sexual satisfaction over and above the other sexuality variables. These findings challenge: (a) the idea that lesbians have sex less frequently than other couple types and that sexual frequency declines rapidly in lesbian relationships (i.e., “lesbian bed death”); and, (b) descriptions of sexual-minority women’s sexuality that suggest that genital sexual activity is not important to sexual satisfaction.

The main focus of this study, however, is  the impact of minority stressors such as  internalized homonegativity and a history of victimization on the sexual well-being of lesbian and bisexual women. We are currently preparing a manuscript based on her results.

Publication and presentations based on this work:

Cohen, J. N., & Byers, E. S. (in press). Beyond lesbian bed death: Enhancing our understanding of the sexuality of sexual-minority women in relationships. Journal of Sex Research.

Cohen, J. N., Byers, E. S., & Walsh, L. P. (2008) Factors influencing the sexual relationships of lesbians and gay men. International Journal of Sexual Health, 20, 162-176.

Cohen J. N. & Byers, E. S. (2006, November). Minority stress, resilience, and sexual functioning in lesbian and bisexual women. Paper presented at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Convention, Chicago, IL. [Winner of the LBGT SIG Student Research Award].

Cohen, J. & Byers, E. S. (2005, July).  Factors influencing the sexual relationships of lesbian women.  In Women’s sexual well-being:  Sources of stress and resilience, E. S. Byers (Chair).  Symposium presented at the meeting of the World Association of Sexology, Montreal, QC.