by Leigh Huggins, MA, AMFT
How the next four years could impact sexual minority women
Amidst the current political focus and minority stress from attacks on transgender healthcare and civil rights, it is important to acknowledge the potential effects of a conservative government on sexual minority women (SMW). SMW include any person with a female or femme gender identity who claims any sexual identity other than heterosexual. Within the LGBQ umbrella are two terms that broaden traditional homosexual identities such as gay or lesbian: bisexual and pansexual. These identities are at particular risk of erasure in this political climate because they can experience minority stressors not only in the wider heteronormative community but also among their LGBQ peers. In order to investigate how the next four years could impact this specific community, we must first define these terms.
What is bisexuality?
Being bisexual (bi) can mean that someone is attracted to more than one gender identity or two or more genders. Unlike “lesbian” or “gay,” it is a term that can be used by anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community. Robyn Ochs, educator and grassroots activist for bisexuality, defines her experience: “I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge in myself the potential to be attracted — romantically and/or sexually — to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree” (2024).
What is pansexuality?
According to The Trevor Project (2024), “Pansexuality is defined as an attraction to people of any gender or to people regardless of their gender, with the prefix ‘pan’ coming from the Greek prefix for ‘all.’ Pansexuality isn’t a more evolved or ‘politically correct’ form of bisexuality; it isn’t more or less trans/nonbinary inclusive; it’s just a word to describe one kind of sexual orientation.”
What is minority stress?
Developed by Dr. Ilan Meyer (2003), the minority stress model “describes stress processes, including the experience of prejudice events, expectations of rejection, hiding and concealing, internalized homophobia, and ameliorative coping processes.” The initial problem he identified as needing exploration was that LGB persons statistically have a higher incidence of mental health disorders than heterosexual people (Meyer, 2003), and that this was due to minority stress.
Stressor 1: Reproductive healthcare
Anyone with reproductive potential, or anyone with a uterus, has already experienced minority stress due to the overturning of Roe V. Wade by the supreme court in 2022 (NPR). States continue to pass more restrictive laws surrounding reproductive healthcare and abortion. Extreme Christian nationalism continues to infiltrate our governing bodies. With a second Trump presidency looming, it can feel terrifying to be someone who could become pregnant. According to Nico Lang (2024) of Them, some members of the U.S. queer community have already left to seek greater safety and tolerance in other countries. Unfortunately, many don’t have that privilege.
According to Higgins et al., (2019) LGB women experience more violence and mental illness than straight women. Reproductive and sexual healthcare legislation is not only about pregnancy but also about regulating bodies. Decreasing access to affirming healthcare for bi and pan women not only increases risk for unintended pregnancy, but for sexually-transmitted infections and internalized homophobia (Makrides et al., 2022; Porsch et al., 2020). Even before the Dobb’s decision (Center for Reproductive Rights), there was an inherent paradox in gynecological providers. Either providers assumed their patients were straight women, or, knowing their queer identity, assumed they didn’t need protection (Higgins et al., 2019).
Stressor 2: Data privacy
The Dobb’s decision was a ruling primarily concerned with privacy: who has the right to keep what private under due process of the law. In 2022, the supreme court ruled that the constitution does not protect the right to privacy surrounding abortion (Center for Reproductive Rights). Additionally, Trump’s VP, J.D. Vance has repeatedly stated that he will advocate for a national abortion ban (Lang, 2024). Now, what information women are sharing, where, matters. Being a smartphone user means sharing data with corporations (Torchinsky, 2022). Be it through sharing one’s location, tracking health data, internet search histories, or sharing images or other information on social media, sensitive data can be purchased by third parties. This is especially concerning with apps that are dependent on advertisers for funding or apps that store data in “the cloud” (Torchinsky, 2022). According to NPR, apps will often cooperate with law enforcement in criminal cases. If states continue to push for criminalizing abortion, it is likely that period-tracking apps could become targets for investigations (Torchinsky, 2022).
For bi and pan women, this could lead to increased social isolation and disconnection from their bodies and sexuality. Women having less sex with cisgender men may fear that they could become targets for discrimination or oppression based on their reproductive ability. During his 2023 campaign, Trump ran on a platform allowing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (Aufiero & Thoreson, 2024). Thus, disclosing one’s sexual identity online is becoming more and more precarious for sexual minority women.
Stressor 3: Identity erasure
Bi and pan women and femmes make up the majority of the LGBQ umbrella, but face high rates of stigma in straight and queer communities (Morgenroth et al., 2021; Timmins et al., 2020).
Harmful stereotypes of bisexual women include that they:
- Are going through a phase
- Are a fetish for straight men
- Can’t choose who they’re attracted to
- Could be unfaithful
- Are only being sexual with other women to seek attention from men
According to Morgenroth et al., (2021), these stereotypes are widespread even in the LGBTQIA+ community and encourage prejudice against bi and pan women.
Higgins et al., (2019) also details how sexual minority women could experience shame and fear of judgement for engaging in heterosexual intercourse. Internalizing this shame could lead to doubts about the validity of one’s sexual identity and right to belong to the LGBTQIA+ community. Schools are already banning discussions and lessons involving diverse sexual identities (Aufiero & Thoreson, 2024). With increasing policing of sexual minorities, it could feel safer for bi and pan women to go back into the closet. However, that could also increase minority stressors such as dysphoria, shame, internalized biphobia, and social isolation (Timmins et al., 2020).
How therapy can help with minority stress:
Engaging in therapy with an affirming provider who understands minority stressors and how they can impact mental health outcomes could be game-changing in navigating the next four years. Be that through individual therapy or group therapy with others who claim similar sexual identities. Therapy can help bi and pan women feel less alone, and safer to explore their sexuality in an increasingly dangerous political climate. Learn more at the Out Couch.
References
Aufiero, P., & Thoreson, R. (2024, Nov. 19). Trump poses more threats to rights of LGBT people: Bracing for increased attacks on trans people’s rights, healthcare access [Interview]. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/19/interview-trump-poses-more-threats-rights-lgbt-people
Clayton, E. W., Embí, P. J., & Malin, B. A. (2022). Dobbs and the future of health data privacy for patients and healthcare organizations. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 30(1), 155–160. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocac155
Higgins, J. A., Carpenter, E., Everett, B. G., Greene, M. Z., Haider, S., Hendrick, C. E. (2019). Sexual minority women and contraceptive use: Complex pathways between sexual orientation and health outcomes. Am J Public Health, 109(12), 1680–1686. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305211
Hoskin, R. A., Serafini, T., & Gillisepie, J. G. (2023). Femmephobia versus gender norms: Examining women’s responses to competing and contradictory gender messages. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 191-207. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.2023-0017
Lang, N. (2024, Nov 6). What You Need to Know About Trump’s Extreme Anti-LGBTQ+ Agenda for a Second Term. Them. https://www.them.us/story/donald-trump-jd-vance-president-vice-president-2024-election
Makrides, J., Matson, P., Arrington-Sanders, R., Trent, M., & Marcell, A. V. (2023). Disparities in Sexually Transmitted Infection/HIV Testing, Contraception, and Emergency Contraception Care Among Adolescent Sexual Minority Women Who Are Racial/Ethnic Minorities. The Journal of adolescent health, 72(2), 214–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.08.030
McCammon, S., & Totenberg, N. (2022, June 24). Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion upheld for decades [radio show]. NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological bulletin, 129(5), 674–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674
Morgenroth, T., Kirby, T. A., Cuthbert, M. J., Evje, J., & Anderson, A. E. (2021). Bisexual erasure: Perceived attraction patterns of bisexual women and men. European Journal of Social Psychology, 52(2), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2773
Porsch, L., Zhang, H., Paschen-Wolff, M., Grosskopf, N., & Grov, C. (2020). Dimensions of Sexual Orientation as Predictors of STI-Related Outcomes Among Women: An Examination of 2011-2017 National Survey of Family Growth Data. Journal of women’s health (2002), 29(11), 1385–1391. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2019.8289
Timmins, L., Rimes, K. A., & Rahman, Q. (2020). Is being queer gay? sexual attraction patterns, minority stressors, and psychological distress in non-traditional categories of sexual orientation. The Journal of Sex Research, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1849527
Torchinsky, T. (2022, June 24). How period tracking apps and data privacy fit into a post-Roe v. Wade climate. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097482967/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-abortion-period-apps