What might the voices of the second generation tell us?

When I read the first question in the call for contributions for this special issue of Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review - ‘what shapes do queer families take?’ - I had an unexpected moment of recognition. I have a queer family of origin (a few years after I was born, my mother and father separated, and my father came out as a gay man). I am also queer (I came out as a lesbian in my teens). I had never thought about my sexuality in intergenerational terms before. I’m second generation queer . I had not at that stage read anything about the experiences of a so-called second generation. The little I have read since researching this piece makes me wonder about the silence around the experiences of the lesbian/gay children of lesbian/gay parent(s). One obvious reason for this silence is the desire not to give ammunition to the enemy. That children may grow up to adopt a lesbian/gay subjectivity is a popular argument drawn on by those who oppose lesbian and gay parenting (Clarke, 2001; Clarke & Kitzinger, 2004; Hicks, 2003, 2005; Riggs, 2004). I do not want to use this piece to unpick reasons for this silence. Rather, I would like to use this opportunity to reflect on my own experiences as a 2nd gen-ner, to suggest some of the ways in which our experiences may be sufficiently different to 1st gen-ners, as to warrant specific attention and research

Is there a problem with the status quo? Debating the need for standalone ethical guidelines for research with people who use alcohol and other drugs

In 2011, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) initiated an inquiry to determine whether there is a need for expanded ethical guidance in the form of a discrete guidance document for alcohol and other drug (AOD) research. An issues paper was developed to frame the inquiry. AOD researchers, Human Research Ethics Committees and others were invited to discuss whether there are distinctive ethical issues facing researchers and Human Research Ethics Committees in the AOD setting. Based on the public submissions, the NHMRC recommended that no AOD research-specific guidance is required. The inquiry and the NHMRC decision were not widely publicized, and we feel there is a need for further discussion. In order to do so, we have analysed the public inquiry submissions and described the central themes. Few submissions in the inquiry explicitly agreed AOD research warrants a specific guidance framework. Most were concerned that the NHMRC issues paper unfairly targeted people who use drugs as complex research participants. The inquiry highlights tensions around research governance and ethics review boards dealing with illicit and stigmatised behaviours. While we agree that a specific guidance framework for AOD research is not needed and could potentially be harmful and restrictive, we are concerned that the wholesale rejection of a guidance framework has closed the door to much needed debate. There remains, we argue, a need for alternative strategies and tools to support ethical research, inform and streamline institutional ethics approval, and engage and protect participants. Keywords: ethics; research; guideline; drug; Human Research Ethics Committe

Negotiating desire and sexual subjectivity: Narratives of young Lesbian Avengers

This paper examines the negotiation and interpretation of first experiences of sexual desire in a group of 8 young women who identify as Lesbian Avengers, using in depth narrative interviews. Accounts of desire and its relationship to sexual subjectivity were organised under 4 broad themes: Is this lesbian desire? describes the difficulty in categorising first experiences of desire towards another woman as sexual; My desire makes me a dyke examines desire leading to sudden self-identification as a lesbian; or conversely, to the repression of desire and avoidance of lesbian identity; Lesbian desire is dangerous considers the negative representation of lesbian desire as perverse, sex being seen as central to lesbian identity, and the experience of being subjected to condemnation and abuse; Dealing with dangerous desire looks at the main strategies adopted in response to the above: the positioning of self as outsider, but strong because of it; embracing a transformation of self through becoming lesbian; or remaining in the closet. Key words: Desire; Lesbian; Subjectivity; Sexuality; Narrative

Ethical review and qualitative research competence: guidance for reviewers and applicants.

It is difficult to consider, describe or address the ethical issues particular to qualitative research without experience and understanding of the technicalities of qualitative methodologies. The Australian National Statement on the Ethical Conduct of Research Involving Humans charges researchers with a responsibility to demonstrate that they have the appropriate experience, qualifications and competence for their proposed research. Ethical review committees have the responsibility to judge claimed research competence. This paper provides practical guidance to researchers and review committees on using formal qualifications and training, explicit claims of competence, and markers of in/competence to assess qualitative research competence. Keywords: Qualitative research; ethical review; research ethics; competence; methodolog

“Little Annabel Harvey and her fight with cancer”: healthy young people’s representations of youth cancer

Our recent work on the Growing Up with Cancer project showed that a cancer experience profoundly changes relationships between young people (YP) and their peers. YP can experience a sense of social dislocation as peer groups move on, important social markers are missed, or YP develop different life priorities. As part of understanding these experiences we were keen to examine the perspective of the peers who occupy the social worlds that YP return to after cancer treatment.Aim: To investigate the cultural discourses or representations about cancer and young people circulating among adolescents.Conclusions: Few participants drew on personal knowledge about a young person with cancer; their imagining of youth cancer was based on experiences of cancer in older relatives and through the media (this likely accounts for the perception that cancer inevitably leads to death in young people). Participants showed empathy for the experiences of young cancer survivors, particularly in relation to identity and relationship changes. Young cancer survivors may find these insights useful when returning to school and other peer group settings, while healthcare professionals could harness this support to smooth the young people's transitions across social worlds

Parenthood in young cancer survivors is more than a combination of motivation and capacity

Schmidt et al. (2016) recently reviewed published literature on the reproductive intentions and parenthood motivations of cancer survivors. The authors highlight cancer survivors’ incentives for entering parenthood and concerns about having children post-diagnosis. This welcome addition to the literature on parenthood in survivors of cancer in adolescence and young adulthood throws into sharp relief an important gap in current research: the experiences of cancer survivors who do become parents after cancer diagnosis. Between 1998 and 2004, the relative survival rate for Australians aged 12–24 years diagnosed with cancer was 85% (AIHW 2011). In theory, most of these young survivors had many years to consider and/or become parents. In our recent study of young people’s experiences of ‘Growing up with Cancer’ (Lewis et al. 2013), we heard from two women who became mothers despite being told by their oncologist that they were infertile as a result of cancer treatment. They described parenthood as a positive experience, helping them find purpose in a life that had been destabilised by cancer, ‘motherhood gave me something more to look forward to in life. It’s also helping me to actually want to get on track’ (Lewis 2013). We also know from our research that some young cancer survivors face lifelong challenges managing the ongoing effects of illness and treatment including chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and the ever present apprehension of relapse or a second cancer

Sex as commodity: Single and partnered men’s subjectification as heterosexual men

Drawing on a discursive analysis of individual and group interviews with heterosexual men, this paper examines how men take up and resist discourses of sexuality and gender to (re)produce a recognisable heterosexual subjectivity. We being by exploring the commodification of sex in men’s accounts, and the various practices men undertake to obtain sex. We then draw on differences that emerged between single men and partnered men’s accounts, to argue that the contexts in which men (re)produce sexual subjectivity have significant implications for how they negotiate the discursive positions available to them. Three themes are explored in this section. In ‘just sex’, single men work to fix the meaning of the sex they are pursuing/having, thus resisting alternative meanings offered by women. In ‘more than just sex’, single men articulate a romantic discourse where sex is part of an emotional relationship. Finally, in ‘accounting for the lack of sex’ partnered men undertook work to remain recognisable as heterosexual men in the absence of sex. This paper explores the difficulties, dilemmas and ambivalences produced by the project of subjection, and how men resolve or accommodate them. Keywords: men, heterosexuality, subjectification, relationships, discourse analysis

LEADING COMMENT: Children of lesbian mothers: From the 1970s to the new millennium

In both the popular and academic media, lesbian and gay parenting is the issue of the moment. Recent examples include the case of two gay men fathering twins with a surrogate mother in the US; the results of a study of gay fathers by Gill Dunne at the London School of Economics (Guardian, January 12, 2000); and comments from Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Court, on the appropriateness of lesbian women and gay men as adoptive or foster parents (Guardian, October 16, 1999). These examples show that current debates focus on gay fathers, assisted reproduction and fostering/adoption. Does this mean that the concerns first raised in child custody disputes in the 1970's - that children raised in lesbian mother families would be at risk for psychological problems and atypical gender development – have been laid to rest? Psychological problems Concerns about the psychological well-being of children of lesbian mothers were based on the widely accepted view that some childhood experiences carry a risk of psychiatric disorder. This is predominately an argument about social acceptance; because lesbianism is not socially acceptable, the children of lesbian mothers will experience social disapproval. Thus, they will be likely to experience teasing and bullying by peers, which in turn may cause them to become socially withdrawn. Ultimately, it has been argued, the child will be unable to form and maintain friendships, an ability that has been shown to be important for self-esteem and psychological well-being in later life

Young lesbians and mental health: The closet is a depressing place to be

In this chapter we examine mental health issues in young lesbians, drawing on a recent interview study conducted with a group of Lesbian Avengers. Some of the difficulties that these young women experienced included rejection and hostility from family and friends, social isolation, and being positioned as lecherous because of being lesbian. However, we argue that mental health problems were not the inevitable result, as a number of strategies of resistance and coping were adopted. These include the positive adoption of a lesbian identity, support from other lesbians, and defiance of negative representations of lesbian sexuality

Smoking Cessation Programs for LGBTI People: A Systematic Review of Content and Effect

Despite widespread evidence of smoking’s harms to health, rising costs of tobacco products, and the visibility of public health interventions aimed at tobacco users, tobacco use remains high among lesbian women, gay men, bisexual people and transgender people (LGBT ) internationally, with US data showing at least double the smoking rates of the general population. [1-5] Although anecdotal evidence suggests similar rates internationally, no formal smoking data exist for intersex people, representing an important area for research.[6] There are many reasons why LGBT people may begin or continue smoking. Commonly cited reasons include minority stress due to the effects of discrimination, harassment, and violence; lack of social support; and fear of weight gain.[7,8] The NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012-17 stresses the importance of promoting smoking cessation and assistance to priority groups, i.e. those with high smoking prevalence.[9] Similarly to LGBT communities internationally, 30% of Australia’s LGB people smoke compared to 16% of the general population.[10-13] While smoking rates have declined among heterosexual people, the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey shows no significant change among LGB people since 2010.[10] There is little specific Australian data regarding smoking rates amongst trans people, but one study in 2006 reported smoking rates of 44% of trans men and 35% of trans women.[14] Applying existing public health interventions to marginalised populations without modifying, piloting, and evaluating them may lead to further inequalities. In 2014, ACON received a Cancer Institute NSW Evidence to Practice Grant to develop a smoking cessation intervention to address the high and stable smoking rate among sexual minority women in Australia. The current review is intended to guide development of that intervention and promote future research on smoking cessation interventions for LGBT people.The production of this report would not have been possible without the financial support from an Evidence to Practice grant provided by the Cancer Institute NSW – Australia’s first state-wide, government-funded cancer control agency, funding from ACON Health – New South Wales’s leading health promotion organisation specialising in HIV prevention, HIV support, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) health, and in-kind support from the School of Public, University of Sydney