A National, Qualitative Study of Sexual Decision Making by Teenage Girls who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or who have Another Nonheterosexual Identity

Abstract

Objective: To address the significant dearth of literature that examines how girls who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or who have another nonheterosexual identity (LGB+) decide when and with whom to have sex; and to explore why inexperienced LGB+ girls might have sex with girls or boys.

Study design: We conducted 8 online, asynchronous, bulletin board-style focus groups with 160 adolescent girls 14-18 years of age. The transcripts were analyzed using a thematic analysis of each girls' responses to the questions. Analyses were focused on increasing our understanding of sexual health decision making among LGB+ teenage girls (eg, "What was the reason you had sex for the first time?"). Participants' responses reflected their day-to-day experiences and roles of cisgender LGB+ girls inside a dominant heteronormative social structure.

Results: Some LGB+ girls talked about the perception that LGB+ girls were presumed or expected to be hypersexual, and that they did not feel they could be accepted as LGB+ without being sexually active. Developmental aspects of identity were also salient: Girls considered or engaged in sexual encounters as a way of figuring out to whom they were attracted as well as confirming or disconfirming the identity labels they used for themselves. Same-sex encounters could be offered as "proof" that one really was LGB+. Similarly, unsatisfying experiences with guys could serve as evidence that they were not attracted to guys.

Conclusion: Sexual decision making among LGB+ girls is often driven by aspects of their sexual minority identity.

Keywords: LGB+ girls; adolescence; sexual decision making; sexual health; sexual minority girls.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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