Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Trans Research Articles

Risk Factors Related to Intimate Partner Violence in Same- and Different-Sex Couples

Despite its high prevalence in same-sex couples, the study of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been mostly focused on different-sex couples. When lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) samples are considered, similarities between same- and different-sex couples arise, as well as some specificities regarding same-sex couples. Although several studies report a higher IPV prevalence among LGB couples in comparison to heterosexual couples, less research focuses on the differences among the violent dynamics and the influence of risk factors, and most do not consider a Spanish sample. After being recruited on social networks and Spanish lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) associations, a sample of 605 Spanish people participated in this study (71.7% female and 35.7% engaged in a same-sex relationship) through an online survey that included self-reported measures on IPV experiences and behavioral risk factors (witnessing interparental violence; risky sexual behaviors; tobacco, alcohol, and drug consumption). Results suggest a similar IPV prevalence between same- and different-sex couples. Moreover, different IPV types presented comparable prevalence among individuals engaged in gay and lesbian couples. Multinomial logistic regressions showed IPV and partner’s sex have a significant effect on an individual adopting risky sexual behaviors and consuming alcohol, with those behaviors having a higher prevalence in individuals engaged in same-sex couples. These results differed by sex, as the impact of IPV and partner’s sex on adopting risky sexual behaviors and consuming alcohol only existed among female participants. Our findings accentuate the need to consider the different pressures and IPV experiences among same- and different-sex couples while creating interventions.

"There isn't anybody else like me around here": the insider-outsider status of LGBT residents in housing with care schemes for older people.

The intersections between aging, social minority status and housing needs in later life is a neglected area of sociological exploration, even more so for older people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT). Recent sociological findings indicate that older LGBT people in housing schemes stress the importance of bonding social capital and look to other people in their social networks who reflect their identities and experiences as sources of support. In this paper, we examine the insider-outsider status occupied by older LGBT residents living in housing schemes that provide some form of care and support, for example extra care and independent living schemes. We present qualitative findings generated from a mixed-methods study of social inclusion practices in housing with care in England and Wales (UK) (2019-22). In this study 15 LGBT residents participated in semi-structured interviews (55-79 years of age) across a total of 31 interviews. Through a queer gerontological lens we examine how older LGBT people are socially situated within mainstream housing schemes in which they experience partial visibility while also encountering exclusionary pressures that locate them as "the other." This insider-outsider status undermines the premise of housing with care schemes to provide safe, secure spaces to grow old. We discuss three core themes: (1) how LGBT residents navigate their outsider status in scheme life and how the intersection of disability and minority status amplifies this social location; (2) the exclusionary practices exercised by other residents that reinforce boundaries of sexual and gender normalcy; and, (3) the heightened importance of maintaining external social connections among LGBT residents. We conclude by introducing an alternative notion of marginal aging and expanding on the implications for housing providers, reflecting on their responsibilities for promoting and maintaining queer-friendly environments.

Long-Term Care Preferences and Sexual Orientation-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The number of sexual and gender minority older adults who require long-term care is steadily increasing. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the evidence related to preference for long-term care with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. Systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Ovid/PsycINFO, and Web of Science from inception to July 2020 (updated in July 2021). Search terms embraced 3 themes (1) sexual and gender minorities, (2) long-term care, and (3) preferences. Quantitative studies of the adult population were included. Screening, data extraction, and quality assessment followed the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. The proportions were pooled using meta-analysis and random effects models. A total of 17 articles were included out of 5944 studies of potential relevance. The perception of nursing homes (NHs) that emerges from these studies is predominantly negative for heterosexuals and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) individuals (n= 11). Across 6 studies (10 outcomes), the pooled estimate for the proportion of individuals with a preference to move into a NH was 10.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 7.88%‒13.22%, I2= 97.4%]; 13.7% (95% CI 8.6%‒18.7%) for LGBT individuals and 7.3% (95% CI 3.14%‒11.50%) for heterosexuals. LGBT-friendly NHs were preferred by between 55% and 98% of LGBT respondents. Informal care provided by partner or family was one of the preferred options (n= 6). It was preferred by 33% to 70% of various groups of LGBT respondents. The preference to move into a NH is relatively low among both heterosexuals and sexual and gender minority adults. Findings showed negligible differences in preferences to move into a NH between heterosexuals and sexual and gender minorities. LGBT-friendly long-term care facilities where every member feels welcomed and not discriminated against seem to be one of the favorable long-term care choices among LGBT individuals. This knowledge is important to inform nursing services and policy makers about the preferred long-term care options. Providing LGBT-friendly facilities is usually less expensive than providing care in newly created LGBT-only facilities.

It’s all about identity: The identity constructions of LGBT entrepreneurs from an intersectionality perspective

This article illustrates how lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) entrepreneurs engage in identity construction from an intersectionality perspective. Our empirical findings suggest that the sexual identities of our interviewees are essential aspects of their daily business lives in terms of their entrepreneurial identities and their motivations, key success factors and the barriers they face. By analysing their experiences from an intersectionality perspective, we illustrate how the sexual minority entrepreneurs in our study internalise and respond to dominant societal ideas characterising ‘the entrepreneur’ as masculine, heterosexual and male, vis-à-vis ‘the homosexual’, constructed as feminine, weak and different. We discuss two predominant manifestations of their responses to these contextual forces, portrayed in their identities as entrepreneurs and sexual minorities simultaneously and the ways these identities are experienced. Our study contributes to the literature on minority entrepreneurship, specifically the LGBT entrepreneurship literature, and on intersectionality and career sustainability, focusing on how LGBT entrepreneurs conduct entrepreneurship at the intersection of their sexuality and gender.

Community perspectives on ideal bacterial STI testing services for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study

BackgroundInnovation is needed to produce sustained improvements in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing given suboptimal access and uptake among sexually active gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men (GBM). Yet, the STI testing processes and technologies that best address local testing barriers among GBM in Toronto is unknown. We aimed to explore men’s perspectives regarding STI testing services for GBM to identify and prioritize new STI testing interventions in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.MethodsWe conducted four focus groups with twenty-seven GBM in 2017: two with cisgender men living with HIV, one with cisgender HIV-negative men, and one with transgender men. Twenty-seven men participated in the focus groups with 40% 18–30 years of age, 48% self-identifying as white, and the remainder self-identifying as Middle Eastern, Latino/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, South Asian, First Nations, African/Caribbean/Black, or mixed race. 59% of participants self-identified as living with HIV. Participants were asked about their STI testing experiences in Toronto, barriers and facilitators to testing, and ideal STI testing process. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsCore concepts included how clinical context, bacterial STI testing delivery, and interactions with healthcare providers can create barriers and recommendations for ways to improve. Regarding clinical context, participants desired more clinics with accessible locations/hours; streamlined testing that minimized use of waiting rooms and wait times; and improved clinic ambience. Bacterial STI testing delivery recommendations included standardization to ensure consistency in sexual history intake, tests offered, follow-up and public health reporting between clinics. Men also recommended reducing the multistep process testing by offering components such as lab requisitions and results online. Participants also recommended interactions with healthcare providers be professional and non-judgmental, offer compassionate and competent care with destigmatizing and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) affirming communication.ConclusionConcrete and practical solutions for improving existing sexual health services and facilitating optimal STI testing include streamlining testing options and providing patient-centred, LGBT-affirming care to enable optimal STI testing.

Is LGBT homelessness different? Reviewing the relationship between LGBT identity and homelessness

This article explores existing evidence concerning the causes and experience of homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people. A total of 88 sources, published after 2000, were included in the review. This represents the most comprehensive evidence review to date on the issue, mapping out what is known about LGBT homelessness and identifying gaps in knowledge for future research. With a few notable exceptions, the experiences of homeless LGBT people have been neglected in UK housing and homelessness literature. Despite this caveat, we found clear evidence that LGBT people are overrepresented among homeless populations. We argue, however, that the how and why of LGBT identity increasing a person’s chance of becoming homeless is complex and not yet well understood. The article therefore calls for a future research agenda that offers theoretically informed causal analyses to better understand the intersections of LGBT identity and homelessness.

Teaching and Researching the History of Sexual Politics at San Francisco State, 1969–1970

This essay summarizes the methods and results of a collaborative student-faculty research project on the history of sexual politics at San Francisco State University. The collaborators collected and analyzed 160 mainstream, alternative, student, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans) media stories. After describing the project parameters and process, the essay discusses six themes: (1) LGBT history; (2) the Third World Liberation Front strike; (3) feminist sexual politics; (4) the history of heterosexuality; (5) sex businesses, commerce, and entrepreneurship; and (6) sexual arts and culture. The conclusion discusses project ethics and collaborative authorship. The essay’s most significant contributions are pedagogical, providing a model for history teachers interested in working with their students on research skills, digital methodologies, and collaborative projects. The essay also makes original contributions to historical scholarship, most notably in relation to the Third World Liberation Front strike. More generally, the essay provides examples of the growing visibility of LGBT activism, the intersectional character of race, gender, and sexual politics, the complicated nature of gender and sexual politics in the “movement of movements,” the commercialization of sex, and the construction of normative and transgressive heterosexualities in this period.

Challenging the logic of progressive timeline, queering LGBT successes and failures in Ireland and Russia

This article offers a critical view of progressive timeline that is a characteristic trait of composing LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans*) world maps and, in general, of thinking about queerness globally. I regard linear narratives of time as the manifestations of power that assign progress to the imagined ‘West’ and backwardness to the ‘East’. In this effort, I, therefore, advance critical scrutiny of spatio-temporal notion of progress, but centre on time rather than space which has been the focus of previous studies. The discussion of the work of Muñoz and Edelman helps to propose criticism of progress inherent even in queer approaches to time. Conclusions from the review of this discussion are then used to study developments of ‘LGBT progress’ in two countries, namely Ireland and Russia. My analysis shows that evaluation of the countries’ experiences on the progressive timeline fails to account for nuances and heteronormativity still present in both contexts regardless of their spatial polarisation.

Analysing African Advances Against Homophobia in Mozambique: How Decriminalisation and Anti-Discrimination Reforms Proceed Without LGBT Identities

Mozambique experienced a ground-breaking decriminalisation of same-sex sexual acts in 2015, of importance across Africa, and this article provides the first critical analysis to situate that event in colonial and wider socio-political contexts. The struggles of peoples outside heterosexual sexuality and gender norms in the "Global South" generally occur in the tension between transnational discourses of sexual orientation and gender identity or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) human rights, and the renewal of pre-colonial forms of sexuality and gender. In sub-Saharan Africa, state homophobia has increased in many countries, but has often been analysed in former British or French colonies, making Mozambique a rare and significant case of decriminalisation in the Lusophone context shaped by Portuguese colonialism. Drawing on new data, the article investigates apparently contradictory contestations, where legislation favourable to LGBT populations (including an anti-discriminatory Labour Law) coexists with the State’s refusal to legally recognise the only LGBT association: Lambda. The Mozambique case distinctively reveals both decriminalisation and repression, partly explained by a history of relatively loose regulation of sexuality by Portuguese colonial authorities, with Christian renewals moderated by the Maoist Marxist-Leninism ideological heritage of the Frelimo party, favouring social equality without discreet political identities. This has yielded a government strategy of discursive silence accompanied by quiet reforms that avoid explicit recognition of LGBT identities. The study demonstrates insights that can be drawn from analysis concerning gender and sexuality attending to specific colonialities and political discourses in African societies.

LGBT discrimination, harassment and violence in Germany, Portugal and the UK: A quantitative comparative approach

This article examines the incidents of discrimination, harassment and violence experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) individuals in Germany, Portugal and the UK. Using a large cross-national survey and adopting an intra-categorical intersectional approach, it documents how the likelihood of experiencing discrimination, harassment and violence changes within LGBT communities across three national contexts. Moreover, it explores how individual characteristics are associated with the likelihood of experiencing such incidents. The results show that trans people are more at risk compared to cisgender gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals to experience discrimination, harassment and violence. However, other factors, such as socioeconomic resources, also affect the likelihood of individuals experiencing such incidents. The three countries in our study show some nuanced differences in likelihood levels of experiencing discrimination, harassment and violence with regard to differential categories of sexual orientation and gender identity.

A narrative systematic review of sexualised drug use and sexual health outcomes among LGBT people.

Chemsex is a specific form of sexualised drug use (SDU) that is an emerging public health issue among men who have sex with men (MSM). Although the recent focus on chemsex is a reflection of the associated harms it is important to understand SDU more broadly and its associations with risk behaviours. Additionally, some of the reasons suggested for MSM engagement in SDU are also likely to apply to women who have sex with women (WSW) and trans people. The aim of this review was to investigate SDU, including chemsex, among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people internationally in relation to sexual health outcomes (HIV status, STI diagnosis, condom use). Papers that were published between January 2010 and June 2020 reporting SDU in MSM, WSW, or trans people were identified through Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus and Web of Science. Results were synthesised using a narrative approach. The search identified 2,710 publications, of which 75 were included in the final synthesis. The majority of studies measured SDU among MSM (n=71), and four studies measured SDU among trans people. Research into SDU had been conducted in 55 countries and 32 countries had recorded the use of a chemsex drug among MSM, although the drugs used to define chemsex varied. Among studies that researched MSM, SDU was most commonly investigated in relation to condomless anal intercourse (n=42), followed by HIV prevalence (n=35), and then STI diagnoses (n=27). Drug use was generally associated with sexual health outcomes, but particularly in chemsex studies. SDU research is lacking among WSW and trans people, despite trans women having a high HIV prevalence. Among MSM, most drugs were associated with sexual health outcomes, and therefore it is important to include both chemsex drugs and other drugs in SDU research.

Supporting people with learning disabilities who identify as LGBT to express their sexual and gender identities

People with learning disabilities experience many barriers that prevent them from expressing their sexuality and developing loving and sexual relationships, particularly if they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT). This article explores the challenges faced by people with learning disabilities who identify as LGBT in expressing their sexual identities and having sexual relationships, as well as the challenges faced by support workers and health and social care staff in supporting clients in those aspects of their lives. The method used consisted of combining the lived experiences of participants in a Twitter chat with an exploration of the recent literature.The themes that emerged from these combined sources included the importance of love and sexual relationships, the policy context, legal framework, barriers in practice and the concept of intersectionality. This article discusses these themes and outlines implications for practice and research, including the training needs of staff.

A healthier way to meet people: the experiences of LGBT people exercising with a peer group.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) individuals have been shown to have poorer health when compared to those who identified as heterosexual. Additionally, they encounter barriers that deter participation in sports. To understand the experiences of LGBT individuals who participate in physical activity with peers. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative (EDQ) study with data collected via face-to-face interviews from 12 participants. Data were thematically analysed to identify findings. exercising with peers represents a healthier way to meet people. Participants experienced improved physical, mental and social health. Engaging with a peer group for physical activity can have a transformational effect on members of the LGBT community, impacting on all aspects of their wellbeing. Nurses, and other health professionals, should be aware of the multifaceted benefits that exercising with a peer group can have, using their regular interactions with this patient group to recommend peer-supported exercise.

Applying a Capabilities Approach to Understanding Older LGBT People's Disclosures of Identity in Community Primary Care.

Internationally, there is increasing recognition that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) populations experience substantial public health inequalities and require interventions to address these inequalities, yet data on this population is often not routinely collected. This paper considers the case study of the UK, where there are proposals to improve government and health data collection on LGBT populations, but also a degree of apparent uncertainty over the purpose and relevance of information about LGBT status in healthcare. This paper applies a health capabilities framework, arguing that the value of health information about LGBT status should be assessed according to whether it improves LGBT people’s capability to achieve good health. We draw upon 36 older LGBT people’s qualitative accounts of disclosing LGBT status within UK general practice healthcare. Participants’ accounts of the benefits and risks of disclosure could be mapped against multiple domains of capability, including those that closely align with biomedical accounts (e.g., longevity and physical health), but also more holistic considerations (e.g., emotion and affiliation). However, across all domains, individuals tend to assess capabilities at an individual level, with relatively little reference to population-level impact of disclosure. Clearer articulation of the benefits of disclosure and data collection for the collective capabilities of LGBT populations may be a beneficial strategy for improving the quality of information on LGBT populations.

The experiences of older LGBT+ people in social care settings

Nursing and Residential CareVol. 22, No. 4 CommentThe experiences of older LGBT+ people in social care settingsKathryn AlmackKathryn AlmackProfessor of Health, Young People and Family Lives, University of HertfordshireSearch for more papers by this authorKathryn AlmackPublished Online:18 Mar 2020https://doi.org/10.12968/nrec.2020.22.4.5AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View articleReferencesAlmack K, Yip A, Seymour J et al.. The Last Outing: exploring end of life experiences and care needs in the lives of older LGBT people. Final Report. 2015. University of Nottingham Google ScholarAlmack K. ‘I didn't come out to go back in the closet’: ageing and end of life care for older LGBT people. In King A, Almack K, Suen T-Y, Westwood S. Older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people: minding the knowledge gaps. London: Routledge: 2019;158–171 Google ScholarAlmack K, King A. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans ageing in a UK context: critical observations of recent research literature. Int J Aging Hum Dev, 2019. OnlineFirst https://doi.org/0091415019836921 Crossref, Google ScholarBenison L. Raising the bar against discrimination in social care. NRC. 2020; 22(1):12–17 Google ScholarCare Quality Commission. Lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people: a different ending: addressing inequalities in end of life care. 2016. www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20160505%20CQC_EOLC_LGBT_FINAL_2.pdf (accessed 5 February 2020) Google ScholarHafford-Letchfield T, Willis P, Almack K, Simpson P. Developing inclusive residential care for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people: an evaluation of the Care Home Challenge action research project. Health Soc Care Community. 2018; 26(2):e312-e320. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12521 Crossref, Google ScholarHafford-Letchfield T, Willis P, Almack K, Simpson P. Assessment and development tool for promoting LGBT&I inclusiveness in care settings. Middlesex University in association with Comic Relief. 2016. www.researchgate.net/publication/308723055_Assessment_and_Development_Tool_for_promoting_LGBTI_inclusiveness_in_care_settings?channel=doi&linkId=57ecfc7608ae93b7fa968879&showFulltext=true (accessed 5 February 2020) Google ScholarSimpson P, Almack K, Walthery P. ‘We treat them all the same’: a survey of attitudes, knowledge and practices of staff concerning LGB&T residents in care homes for old people. Ageing and Society. 2018; 38(5): 869–899. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X1600132X Crossref, Google ScholarWestwood SL, & Knocker S. One-day training courses on LGBT* awareness—are they the answer? In Westwood SPrice E (eds). Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* individuals living with dementia: concepts, practice and rights. London: Routledge: 2016:155–167 Crossref, Google ScholarWillis P, Almack K, Hafford-Letchfield T, Simpson P, Billings B, Mall N. Turning the co-production corner: methodological reflections from an action research project to promote LGBT inclusion in care homes for older people. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15(4):E695. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040695 Crossref, Google ScholarWomen and Equalities Committee, House of Commons. Health and social care and LGBT communities. First report of session 2019. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201920/cmselect/cmwomeq/94/94.pdf (accessed 5 February 2020) Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byCaring for older LGBT+ peopleDrew Payne1 July 2022 | British Journal of Community Nursing, Vol. 27, No. 7 2 April 2020Volume 22Issue 4ISSN (print): 1465-9301ISSN (online): 2052-2932 Metrics History Published online 18 March 2020 Published in print 2 April 2020 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Non-biological lesbian mothers' experiences of accessing healthcare for their children.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) parents may have negative experiences when accessing healthcare for their children as a result of homophobia, transphobia or other forms of prejudice. Patients and their families have reported receiving inappropriate comments from healthcare professionals about sexual orientation, despite policy and government recommendations advising healthcare professionals to provide care that demonstrates respect, dignity and compassion. The aim of this pilot study was to understand the experience of non-biological lesbian mothers accessing healthcare for their children and the types of attitudes and language they encountered. The pilot was also carried out to determine that the style of questioning allowed differentiation between sexuality and gender. This narrative enquiry pilot study used interviews conducted with three non-biological lesbian mothers aged 36-45 years. Two of the participants were a married couple with adopted children; the other had undergone in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with her partner. Of the three participants, two were the authors of this study. The data were coded using thematic analysis. The participants' interviews revealed mixed experiences with healthcare professionals' attitudes. Four common themes emerged: attitudes and managing healthcare experiences; acknowledgement of sexual orientation; professional standards; and family constellation. The study found that non-biological lesbian mothers experience positive and negative interactions with healthcare professionals but feel disenfranchised because of their non-biological status. A reason for the negative interactions could be a lack of training for healthcare professionals about the challenges that lesbian mothers face when accessing healthcare for their children.

Sex and relationships education for LGBT+ young people: Lessons from UK youth work

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) inclusive sex and relationships education (SRE) is of growing interest. However, there is a lack of clarity about what LGBT inclusive SRE should/does look like in practice. This article addresses that uncertainty by examining original research findings on innovative youth work based SRE provided within an arts-based project run by a third sector organisation in the North East of England. The research is set within the context of three broad rationales for LGBT inclusive SRE: to support the mental health of LGBT+ young people; to tackle sexual health issues, and to address concerns about sexual encounters and intimate relationships. The article sets out research findings within four main themes concerning: young people’s experiences of formal SRE; young people’s attempts to acquire SRE informally; young people’s experiences of youth work based SRE; practitioners’ experiences of delivering youth work based SRE. It then draws on this data to make the case for dedicated youth work for LGBT+ young people, outlining its potential alongside school-based SRE.

Transgender Law in Pakistan: Some Key Issues

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has recently issued a Briefing Paper regarding the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2018 of Pakistan. Stating the passage of this Act a crucial progress, ICJ suggests that this enactment was made under an international law obligations of Pakistan. This paper, while not agreeing with this observation, argues that this law has been promulgated on misrepresented interpretation of the international law as presented in the ICJ Briefing Paper as well. Additionally, it undermines the rights of the indigenous gender-variant people of Pakistan as well as the legal and social framework of the country. The law is more aligned to the global movement of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities and contains serious definitional and conceptual flaws. This study suggests working out a scheme for mainstreaming gender-variant persons on the basis of the Constitution of Pakistan, guidelines of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the recognized principles of international law. This would require a thorough review of the current law with a changed approach and reference point.

Resisting the mainstreaming of LGBT equalities in Canadian and British Schools: Sex education and trans school friends

It is well established that schools are not neutral sites for gender and sexualities, shaping (often heteronormative) school spaces. This paper augments examinations of the implementation of inclusive school curricula by exploring heteroactivist opposition to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) equalities in Canadian and British schools. It examines resistances to institution of a revised and updated Health and Physical Education curriculum in Ontario schools in Canada, and in the UK, the use of the Rowe family’s opposition to the presence of trans children in their own child’s classroom. This paper shows that once-invisible heternormativities are now being challenged through LGBT curricula and support for trans students. This creates classrooms as pivotal, geographical, social and political spaces that operate at the juncture of the public/private spaces of the home, public spaces of the neighbourhood and the imagined space of the nation and nation-building citizenship. Oppositional ideologies can no longer be understood through the labels of ‘anti-gay’, ‘homophobic’ or ‘transphobic’, and these oppositions go beyond ‘anti-gender’, such that the term heteroactivism names the activisms and ideologies that seeks to reassert the superiority of monogamous, binary cis-gendered, coupled marriages as best for children and for society. These ideologies are inherently geographical, drawing both on local and individual circumstances, but also transcending national boundaries. We highlight three dominant heteroactivist themes, namely, parental rights, interactions between state/schools/home and gender ideologies. This offers insights into how new sexual and gender rights are contested and resisted in new ways to consider the political, legal and social implications of heteroactivist strategies in schools.

Disabilità intellettive e sessualità

Sexuality in one of the most important aspects of human life, and although people with intellectual disability (ID) have the same sexual needs as those without any disability, yet their sexuality is often restricted by reluctant attitudes and fears based on irrational beliefs. therefore, the sexuality of people with ID is a special case both from medical, pedagogical, psychological and ethical point of view. This review summarizes current knowledge and the heterogeneous studies about different areas of sexuality in adolescents and adults with ID. The article is divided into four paragraphs. In the first paragraph, qualitative studies are examined, in which it is described how people with ID face attitudinal and service barriers when attempting to form intimate relationships, while positive interpersonal relationships are beneficial, acting as a protective factor against social stigma and negative out-comes such as physical and mental health problems. The research findings demonstrate how poorly integrated people with ID disabilities are within main-stream society and raise questions about how best to support these people with sexuality and intimate relationships, increasing awareness of their sexual rights, of the importance of physical contact in the close relationships, and also their self-efficacy perceptions and performance of safer sex practices to prevent negative sexual consequences, promoting positive support arrangements. In the second paragraph, quantitative studies are analysed, investigating sexual activity and sexual health amongst people with ID. Although sexuality plays a major role in the socialization of people, few studies have examined the sexual behaviours of indi-viduals with developmental disabilities. The results of the most important studies underline that, on the whole, behavioural and sexual problems are more common in people with ID than in normal people. Moreover, most young people with ID have sex and are more likely to have unsafe sex than their peers. However, the phenomenon of sexuality of people with a higher degree of intellectual disability is an issue that needs further constant analysis. The research has also made it possible to detect what kind of sexual behaviour people with ID undertake and the val-ue of sexuality for such people. The results obtained emphasize the need to draw up educational programmes, differentiated according to gender and adapted to their reality, which include contents related with sexual health, sexual abuse and condom use, and to develop culturally sensitive interventions to improve knowledge and awareness of sexual needs. The third paragraph explores how lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people labelled with ID experienced their sexual identities. There are few recent studies and available findings are often contradictory and inconsistent. Often people who are LGBT face a whole range of rights violation when it comes to exercising their sexual identity and can face many challenges in society including accessing education, care and support ap-propriate to individual needs. Specific problems impact the lives of homosexual people with ID, namely the high prevalence of negative sexual experiences, the lack of support, training and sex education, and their search for a suitable partner. Therefore, there is a need for service providers and carers to be more responsive to the concerns of people with ID who identify as LGBT to improve their health and well-being by reducing stigma and discrimination and by increasing awareness of their care and support needs. The fourth paragraph provides a review about the inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) and the sexual abuse literature relevant to individuals with an ID. The incidence of ISB among the intellectually disabled is 15-33%, however, the nature tends to be more socially inappropriate than with violence intent, so many sex offenders commit other offenses such as vandalism or assault. The prevalence of sexual abuse is 6.10% when it is self-reported and 28.6% when is reported by professionals, and the findings confirmed that children and adults with an ID are at a higher risk of sexual abuse than non-disabled peers. People who self-reported cases of abuse present poorer quality of life, more nega-tive attitudes towards sex and a lower capacity to identify situations that entail a risk of sexual abuse. On the whole, these findings highlight the need to tackle the barriers to sexual knowledge faced by people with ID, and the need to take account of the broader social context of their lives when doing so. Providing sex and relationship education ID people would help them achieve a fulfilling and reward-ing sexual experience and make them less vulnerable to sexual abuse.