Abstract
ABSTRACTThis study sought to develop knowledge about understandings of sexuality and appearance by using a story completion task combined with an innovative visual methodology. Fifty-four (mainly female) participants were randomly assigned to complete a story about a fictional bisexual, lesbian, or heterosexual character who is going on a date, and then asked to build a Bitstrips online avatar of their character. Our social constructionist thematic analysis identified that looking good was a common feature of the stories and that this was understood in largely heteronormative terms. This imperative was also clear in stories of the date, which relied on traditional notions of gender and heterosexuality. Finally, individuality and authenticity were rewarded in participants’ stories, yet this was simultaneously constrained by (dominant) heteronormative narratives. We conclude that combining story completion with visual methods enabled deeper insights into representations of appearance, dating, and relationships, than a textual method alone.
Highlights
Dress and appearance is a meaningful aspect of our identities (Brennan, 2011; Clarke & Turner, 2007; Hayfield, Clarke, Halliwell & Malson, 2013)
Researchers have reflected on whether lesbian and gay appearance norms may be becoming less distinctive than they once were (Clarke & Spence, 2013; Clarke & Smith, 2015; Huxley, Clarke & Halliwell, 2013). This has been attributed to the mainstreaming of tattoos and piercings (Huxley, Clarke & Halliwell, 2013), alongside an increase in metrosexual men who invest in styling and grooming in ways more commonly associated with gay men, to the extent that these practices may be somewhat normative (Casanova, Wetzel & Speice, 2016; Clarke & Smith, 2015)
Female characters were consistently represented through traditionally feminine attire, including dresses, long hair, and make-up (Gonzalez & Spencer, 2015; Hayfield, 2013). This was common across the dataset, regardless of whether the character was bisexual, lesbian, or heterosexual
Summary
Dress and appearance is a meaningful aspect of our identities (Brennan, 2011; Clarke & Turner, 2007; Hayfield, Clarke, Halliwell & Malson, 2013). This has been attributed to the mainstreaming of tattoos and piercings (Huxley, Clarke & Halliwell, 2013), alongside an increase in (heterosexual) metrosexual men who invest in styling and grooming in ways more commonly associated with gay men, to the extent that these practices may be somewhat normative (Casanova, Wetzel & Speice, 2016; Clarke & Smith, 2015) This mainstreaming of lesbian and gay looks could be related to social and legal changes which have improved equality and promoted the acceptance of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) identities (Huxley, Clarke & Halliwell, 2013). We anticipated that SCTs combined with a visual element would be ideally suited to explore our research question which was what are people’s understandings of cultural norms of bisexual, lesbian, and heterosexual women’s appearance?
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