Moving beyond heterosexism? The good, the bad and the indifferent in accounts of others’ reactions to important life events

Elizabeth Peel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Latterly the psychology of sexualities has diversified. There has been increased engagement with queer theory and a heightened focus on sexual practices alongside continued interrogation of heteronormativity via analyses of talk-in-interaction. In this article, I offer an argument for juxtaposing the incongruent in order to further interrogate manifestations of heterosexism in lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) people’s lives. In this case, accounts of others’ reactions to a happy event and to a sad experience. By drawing on two contrasting data corpuses – 124 people planning or in a civil partnership and 60 women who had experienced pregnancy loss – there is increased potential for understanding variation in ‘normative’ and/or heteronormative interpretations of LGBTQ lives. I suggest that, despite significant legal and structural gains for LGBTQ communities in a number of Western countries in recent years, and lively internal debates within the psychology of sexualities field, critical examination of manifestations of heterosexism should remain a central focus.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)34
Number of pages46
JournalPsychology of Sexualities Review
Volume3
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Bibliographical note

Peel, E. (2012). Moving beyond heterosexism? The good, the bad and the indifferent in accounts of others’ reactions to important life events. Psychology of sexualities review, 3(1), 34.
© The British Psychological Society

Keywords

  • LGBTQ psychology
  • qualitative methods
  • civil partnership
  • miscarriage
  • pregnancy loss

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