Lesbesocial is a mobile application for same-sex attracted women, with the main purpose to strengthen the community and provide a safe environment for social interactions. Lesbesocial was designed with the intention of providing a space to discuss LGBTG-related topics, meet new people and find events. However, Lesbesocial struggles with participation among members. Lesbesocial is not the only online community, targeted to same-sex attracted women, that struggles in this way. While applications targeted to gay-males are thriving, similar applications for women are few with less downloads. Previous research on communities for same-sex attracted women have been emphasizing the importance of having them, because being in such communities can help to support identity formation and increase self-esteem. Furthermore, This paper utilizes a community-centered design approach to investigate how to improve lesbians’ participation in online communities. I do this through examining previous research on online communities and investigating fears and desires of the lesbian community in relation to being same-sex attracted. The analysis identifies six design implications to improve the application and engage users to participate. Social- and personal trust, as well as a sense of belonging, was found to be the most relevant aspects to consider when developing a community for same-sex attracted women. / Lesbesocial är en mobil applikation för bisexuella och lesbiska kvinnor, med huvudsyftet att stärka gemenskapen mellan dem och tillhandahålla en säker miljö för sociala interaktioner. Lesbesocial utformades med avsikt att ge utrymme för att diskutera HBTQ-relaterade ämnen, träffa nya människor och hitta event. Lesbesocial kämpar med att få medlemmarna att aktivt delta i communityn och är inte den enda communityn riktat till homo- och bisexuella kvinnor som, genom tiden, har gjort det. Medan liknande applikationer riktade till homosexuella män utvecklas och växer på marknaden, är liknande applikationer för kvinnor färre med mindre nedladdningar. Tidigare forskning om communityn för bi- och homosexuella kvinnor har betonat vikten av att ha dem, eftersom att communityn kan hjälpa till att stödja identitetsbildning och öka självkänsla hos de personersom deltar. I denna forskningsuppsats används en community-centrerad designmetod för att undersöka hur man förbättrar lesbiska kvinnors deltagande i en online-community. Jag gör det genom att undersöka tidigare forskning om onlinecommunityn och undersöker farhågor och önskningar hos lesbiska kvinnor i förhållande till att attraheras av samma kön. Analysen identifierar sex designimplikationer för att förbättra applikationen och engagera användarna till att delta. Socialt och personligt förtroende, liksom en känsla av tillhörighet, visade sig vara de mest relevanta aspekterna att överväga när man utvecklade en community för homo- och bisexuella kvinnor.

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A invisibilidade das lésbicas e das mulheres bissexuais, bem como a escassez de conhecimento científico a seu respeito ainda se faz presente no Brasil. Nas políticas de saúde brasileira elas são incluídas na Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher de 2003 e na Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transgêneros de 2010. No entanto, é imprescindível conhecer suas concepções e práticas de saúde, no sentido de possibilitar interpelar as políticas elaboradas e identificar desvantagens sociais relacionadas aos processos de discriminação a que são submetidas. Este trabalho, de vertente qualitativa, teve por objetivo analisar como as lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais vivenciam a sexualidade e experienciam o cuidado à saúde em geral e à saúde sexual, em particular, a partir da abordagem da interseccionalidade. Participaram da pesquisa 17 mulheres com 18 anos ou mais que se auto referiram lésbicas ou bissexuais. A produção dos dados empíricos se deu por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas seguindo roteiro temático previamente elaborado. Os cuidados éticos incluíram explicação detalhada acerca dos objetivos da pesquisa, de modo a garantir a participação voluntária e a assinatura do Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido. O estudo foi aprovado pelo comitê de ética da USP. Todas as entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas. Para análise dos dados utilizamos a abordagem da interseccionalidade, compreendendo como os marcadores sociais da diferença dialogam com o cuidado à saúde. A idade das participantes variou de 19 a 68 anos; seis eram negras, nove brancas e duas pardas; doze eram lésbicas e cinco bissexuais. Raça/cor e orientação sexual foram auto referidos. A diversidade na composição das participantes foi uma escolha metodológica para abarcar diferentes marcas identitárias quanto à raça, classe social, geração e orientação sexual. A intersecção entre sexualidade e geração opera vulnerabilizando mulheres jovens, pois estão expostas a intenso sofrimento psíquico em função da dependência financeira de familiares. Questões raciais surgiram no discurso de mulheres negras como marca identitária e de opressão em situações para além de contexto de saúde. O sentido e a visibilidade em torno da orientação sexual dependem, entre outras coisas, de experiências racistas. Finalmente, o intercruzamento entre sexualidade e classe social foi apreendida a partir da noção de territorialidade. A periferia de São Paulo parece interferir na maneira como as mulheres se apropriam e performatizam gênero. Percebemos relação entre regiões centrais e maior flexibilidade na expressão de gênero e de orientação sexual. No tocante aos temas relativos à saúde e à saúde sexual, os resultados apontam para a invisibilidade bissexual no contexto clínico. As dificuldades de lésbicas e bissexuais na consulta ginecológica vão desde receios quanto à exposição da orientação sexual até a não validação de sua sexualidade, quando sua vivência sexual com mulher é classificada como não sexo pelo profissional que a atende. A consulta em ginecologia opera com preponderância dos aspectos reprodutivos em detrimentos dos sexuais e é marcada por pressupostos heteronormativos. A intersecção entre orientação sexual e gênero pode produzir invisibilidade às bissexuais, que são lidas socialmente enquanto heterossexuais ou homossexuais / The invisibility of lesbians and bisexual women, as well as the scarcity of scientific knowledge about them, is still present in Brazil. In Brazilian health policies, they are included in the National Policy for Integral Attention to Women\'s Health of 2003 and in the National Policy of Integral Health Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transgender of 2010. However, it is imperative to know their conceptions and health practices, in order to make it possible to question the policies elaborated and to identify social disadvantages related to the discrimination processes to which they are submitted. This qualitative study aimed to analyze how lesbians and bisexual women experience sexuality and experience general health care and sexual health, in particular, from the intersectionality approach. The study was attended by 17 women aged 18 years or over who reported on lesbians or bisexuals. The production of the empirical data was done through semi-structured interviews following the thematic route previously elaborated. Ethical care included a detailed explanation of the research objectives, in order to guarantee voluntary participation and the signing of the Informed Consent Term. The study was approved by the ethics committee of USP. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. To analyze the data we use the intersectionality approach, understanding how the social markers of difference dialogue with health care. The participants\' ages ranged from 19 to 68 years; six were black, nine were white, and two were brown; twelve were lesbian and five bisexual. Race / color and sexual orientation were self-reported. The diversity in the composition of the participants was a methodological choice to embrace different identity marks regarding race, social class, generation and sexual orientation. The intersection between sexuality and generation operates by vulnerabilizing young women, as they are exposed to intense psychological suffering due to the financial dependence of their families. Racial questions have emerged in the discourse of black women as an identity mark and oppression in situations beyond a health context. The sense and visibility of sexual orientation depend, among other things, on racist experiences. Finally, the interbreeding between sexuality and social class was apprehended from the notion of territoriality. The periphery of São Paulo seems to interfere with the way women appropriate and performatize gender. We perceive the relationship between central regions and greater flexibility in the expression of gender and sexual orientation. Regarding health and sexual health issues, the results point to bisexual invisibility in the clinical context. The difficulties of lesbians and bisexuals in the gynecological consultation range from fears about the exposure of sexual orientation to the non-validation of their sexuality, when their sexual experience with women is classified as non-sex by the professional who attends her. The consultation in gynecology operates with preponderance of the reproductive aspects in detriments of the sexual and is marked by heteronormative assumptions. The intersection between sexual orientation and gender can produce invisibility to bisexuals, who are read socially as heterosexual or homosexual

A invisibilidade das lésbicas e das mulheres bissexuais, bem como a escassez de conhecimento científico a seu respeito ainda se faz presente no Brasil. Nas políticas de saúde brasileira elas são incluídas na Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher de 2003 e na Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transgêneros de 2010. No entanto, é imprescindível conhecer suas concepções e práticas de saúde, no sentido de possibilitar interpelar as políticas elaboradas e identificar desvantagens sociais relacionadas aos processos de discriminação a que são submetidas. Este trabalho, de vertente qualitativa, teve por objetivo analisar como as lésbicas e mulheres bissexuais vivenciam a sexualidade e experienciam o cuidado à saúde em geral e à saúde sexual, em particular, a partir da abordagem da interseccionalidade. Participaram da pesquisa 17 mulheres com 18 anos ou mais que se auto referiram lésbicas ou bissexuais. A produção dos dados empíricos se deu por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas seguindo roteiro temático previamente elaborado. Os cuidados éticos incluíram explicação detalhada acerca dos objetivos da pesquisa, de modo a garantir a participação voluntária e a assinatura do Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido. O estudo foi aprovado pelo comitê de ética da USP. Todas as entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas. Para análise dos dados utilizamos a abordagem da interseccionalidade, compreendendo como os marcadores sociais da diferença dialogam com o cuidado à saúde. A idade das participantes variou de 19 a 68 anos; seis eram negras, nove brancas e duas pardas; doze eram lésbicas e cinco bissexuais. Raça/cor e orientação sexual foram auto referidos. A diversidade na composição das participantes foi uma escolha metodológica para abarcar diferentes marcas identitárias quanto à raça, classe social, geração e orientação sexual. A intersecção entre sexualidade e geração opera vulnerabilizando mulheres jovens, pois estão expostas a intenso sofrimento psíquico em função da dependência financeira de familiares. Questões raciais surgiram no discurso de mulheres negras como marca identitária e de opressão em situações para além de contexto de saúde. O sentido e a visibilidade em torno da orientação sexual dependem, entre outras coisas, de experiências racistas. Finalmente, o intercruzamento entre sexualidade e classe social foi apreendida a partir da noção de territorialidade. A periferia de São Paulo parece interferir na maneira como as mulheres se apropriam e performatizam gênero. Percebemos relação entre regiões centrais e maior flexibilidade na expressão de gênero e de orientação sexual. No tocante aos temas relativos à saúde e à saúde sexual, os resultados apontam para a invisibilidade bissexual no contexto clínico. As dificuldades de lésbicas e bissexuais na consulta ginecológica vão desde receios quanto à exposição da orientação sexual até a não validação de sua sexualidade, quando sua vivência sexual com mulher é classificada como não sexo pelo profissional que a atende. A consulta em ginecologia opera com preponderância dos aspectos reprodutivos em detrimentos dos sexuais e é marcada por pressupostos heteronormativos. A intersecção entre orientação sexual e gênero pode produzir invisibilidade às bissexuais, que são lidas socialmente enquanto heterossexuais ou homossexuais / The invisibility of lesbians and bisexual women, as well as the scarcity of scientific knowledge about them, is still present in Brazil. In Brazilian health policies, they are included in the National Policy for Integral Attention to Women\'s Health of 2003 and in the National Policy of Integral Health Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transgender of 2010. However, it is imperative to know their conceptions and health practices, in order to make it possible to question the policies elaborated and to identify social disadvantages related to the discrimination processes to which they are submitted. This qualitative study aimed to analyze how lesbians and bisexual women experience sexuality and experience general health care and sexual health, in particular, from the intersectionality approach. The study was attended by 17 women aged 18 years or over who reported on lesbians or bisexuals. The production of the empirical data was done through semi-structured interviews following the thematic route previously elaborated. Ethical care included a detailed explanation of the research objectives, in order to guarantee voluntary participation and the signing of the Informed Consent Term. The study was approved by the ethics committee of USP. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. To analyze the data we use the intersectionality approach, understanding how the social markers of difference dialogue with health care. The participants\' ages ranged from 19 to 68 years; six were black, nine were white, and two were brown; twelve were lesbian and five bisexual. Race / color and sexual orientation were self-reported. The diversity in the composition of the participants was a methodological choice to embrace different identity marks regarding race, social class, generation and sexual orientation. The intersection between sexuality and generation operates by vulnerabilizing young women, as they are exposed to intense psychological suffering due to the financial dependence of their families. Racial questions have emerged in the discourse of black women as an identity mark and oppression in situations beyond a health context. The sense and visibility of sexual orientation depend, among other things, on racist experiences. Finally, the interbreeding between sexuality and social class was apprehended from the notion of territoriality. The periphery of São Paulo seems to interfere with the way women appropriate and performatize gender. We perceive the relationship between central regions and greater flexibility in the expression of gender and sexual orientation. Regarding health and sexual health issues, the results point to bisexual invisibility in the clinical context. The difficulties of lesbians and bisexuals in the gynecological consultation range from fears about the exposure of sexual orientation to the non-validation of their sexuality, when their sexual experience with women is classified as non-sex by the professional who attends her. The consultation in gynecology operates with preponderance of the reproductive aspects in detriments of the sexual and is marked by heteronormative assumptions. The intersection between sexual orientation and gender can produce invisibility to bisexuals, who are read socially as heterosexual or homosexual

Embora a maternidade lésbica não seja novidade, nos últimos anos sua visibilidade vem aumentando. A ampliação da procura e acesso aos serviços de medicina reprodutiva por casais de mulheres acrescenta novos ingredientes a este cenário, que desperta crescente interesse social. Tão bem arraigada às construções de gênero, a maternidade figura como elemento de fundamental importância em nossa sociedade. Pretendendo tensionar como casais de mulheres que desejam ser mães a partir do acesso às técnicas de reprodução assistida se relacionam com a maternidade e com o serviço de saúde, realizamos entrevistas com cinco casais de mulheres residentes de cidades do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo, bem como com seis profissionais de saúde de um centro de medicina reprodutiva localizado na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Mesmo o processo tendo sido longo e dispendioso para muitas, parece a maternidade autorizar manipulações e intervenções profissionais. Ainda que os profissionais entrevistados recebam casais lésbicos e prestem atendimento, as desconfianças sobre a legitimidade desta composição familiar não são poucas. A maternidade ressignificou a vida dessas mulheres, acrescentando novas dinâmicas às relações familiares e conjugais. Todavia, sob olhares que desconfiam e tolhidas de direitos, estas famílias enfrentam lutas judiciais e se articulam para responder as desconfianças. / Although lesbian motherhood is not new, in recent years its visibility has increased. The increase in demand and access to reproductive health services for female couples adds new ingredients to this scenario, which arouses growing social interest. So well entrenched in the constructions of gender, motherhood appears an element of fundamental importance in our society. Aiming to tension how couples of women who want to be mothers using assisted reproduction techniques are related to motherhood and the health service, we conducted interviews with five pairs of women living in cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and six health professionals from a reproductive medicine center located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Although the process has been long and expensive for many women, it seems that motherhood allows professional interventions and manipulations. Although the respondents receive and provide care to lesbian couples, there are many suspicions about the legitimacy of this family composition. Motherhood re-signified the lives of these women, adding new dynamics to their family and marital relationships. However, under suspicious eyes and with curtailed rights, these families face judicial struggles and articulate themselves to respond to suspicions.

Embora a maternidade lésbica não seja novidade, nos últimos anos sua visibilidade vem aumentando. A ampliação da procura e acesso aos serviços de medicina reprodutiva por casais de mulheres acrescenta novos ingredientes a este cenário, que desperta crescente interesse social. Tão bem arraigada às construções de gênero, a maternidade figura como elemento de fundamental importância em nossa sociedade. Pretendendo tensionar como casais de mulheres que desejam ser mães a partir do acesso às técnicas de reprodução assistida se relacionam com a maternidade e com o serviço de saúde, realizamos entrevistas com cinco casais de mulheres residentes de cidades do Rio de Janeiro e de São Paulo, bem como com seis profissionais de saúde de um centro de medicina reprodutiva localizado na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Mesmo o processo tendo sido longo e dispendioso para muitas, parece a maternidade autorizar manipulações e intervenções profissionais. Ainda que os profissionais entrevistados recebam casais lésbicos e prestem atendimento, as desconfianças sobre a legitimidade desta composição familiar não são poucas. A maternidade ressignificou a vida dessas mulheres, acrescentando novas dinâmicas às relações familiares e conjugais. Todavia, sob olhares que desconfiam e tolhidas de direitos, estas famílias enfrentam lutas judiciais e se articulam para responder as desconfianças. / Although lesbian motherhood is not new, in recent years its visibility has increased. The increase in demand and access to reproductive health services for female couples adds new ingredients to this scenario, which arouses growing social interest. So well entrenched in the constructions of gender, motherhood appears an element of fundamental importance in our society. Aiming to tension how couples of women who want to be mothers using assisted reproduction techniques are related to motherhood and the health service, we conducted interviews with five pairs of women living in cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and six health professionals from a reproductive medicine center located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Although the process has been long and expensive for many women, it seems that motherhood allows professional interventions and manipulations. Although the respondents receive and provide care to lesbian couples, there are many suspicions about the legitimacy of this family composition. Motherhood re-signified the lives of these women, adding new dynamics to their family and marital relationships. However, under suspicious eyes and with curtailed rights, these families face judicial struggles and articulate themselves to respond to suspicions.

Cette recherche doctorale se consacre à l’homosexualité féminine et s’attarde sur les manières dont elle peut être vécue d’un milieu social à un autre. En France, de nos jours, à l’exception de quelques travaux, les travaux consacrés à l’homosexualité féminine apparaissent encore peu nombreux. À la croisée de la sociologie de l’homosexualité et de la sociologie de la famille, cette recherche s’intéresse ainsi à un objet d’étude encore mal connu. Les résultats rapportés dans cette recherche ont, en outre, pour originalité d’appréhender le vécu de l’homosexualité en termes d’appartenance sociale. Cette recherche se décompose en deux temps. La première partie s’intéresse à la pluralité des manières de vivre l’homosexualité observée entre les lesbiennes et qui, à l’échelle de l’individu, jalonne un « parcours homosexuel ». Le parcours est entendu comme un cheminement par lequel l’individu va découvrir et expérimenter ses préférences sexuelles, puis se construire et se positionner à l’égard de l’homosexualité. Il se décline en différents processus et invite à saisir l’affirmation des orientations homosexuelles par le biais d’une succession d’étapes. À cet égard, les analyses révèleront combien il apparaît important d’appréhender la place qu’occupe l’homosexualité dans la définition de soi, la conjugalité et les sociabilités au fil du parcours et de l’affirmation des préférences sexuelles. Evoluant dans le temps, cette place apparaît étroitement corrélée à la propension à la stigmatisation et à l’intériorisation du stigmate, deux éléments qui varient d’un milieu social à un autre. Cette recherche s’intéresse, par ailleurs, aux correspondances qui s’établissent entre les parcours homosexuels et les styles de conjugalité, entre les manières de vivre l’homosexualité et les manières de « faire couple ». L’analyse s’applique à dégager les différentes étapes du parcours menant à la stabilité conjugale et à pointer, en ce sens, l’interdépendance qui se noue entre la conjugalité et les parcours homosexuels. Il apparaît important d’appréhender les manières de faire couple et les manières de vivre l’homosexualité dans une même dynamique. La conjugalité est, par ailleurs, en partie étudiée par le biais de sa dimension matérielle. En s’intéressant à des couples lesbiens cohabitant, l’observation s’attarde, en effet, sur la pluralité des formes de conjugalité qui s’édifient au sein de l’habitat. Les investigations portent sur les formes de conjugalité contemporaines et sur le rôle d’acteur qu’endosse chaque conjoint dans l’élaboration de sa relation. De nos jours, la prise de distance à l’égard des formes de conjugalité traditionnelle - certes relative d’un milieu social à un autre - invite les partenaires à inventer leur relation, à prendre une part active dans la construction de leur union. La recherche s’ancre dans la nouveauté de ces phénomènes observés. / This doctoral research is devoted to female homosexuality and focuses on the ways in which it can be lived/experienced from one social milieu/background to another. Currently, in France, there are few studies focusing on female homosexuality. At the crossroads of the sociology of homosexuality and the sociology of the family, this research is thus exploring a topic yet little known in sociology. Furthermore, the originality of this research lies in its approach as it apprehends the experience of homosexuality in terms of/from the standpoint of/from the perspective of social belonging.This research breaks down in two stages. The first part focuses on the plurality of homosexual livelihoods observed amongst lesbians which, at the individual level, punctuates a "homosexual journey". The journey is understood as a process through which the individual will discover and experience her sexual preferences, then build and position herself with regard to homosexuality. It comes in sequential processes leading to the affirmation of homosexual orientations. In this respect, the analyzes will reveal how important it is to understand the role played by homosexuality in self-discovery, conjugality and sociability during this journey and the emergence of sexual preferences. Evolving over time, this role appears to be closely correlated with the propensity to stigmatize and the internalizing of the stigma, two elements that vary from one social milieu to another.Furthermore, this doctoral thesis enquires the connections between a) the different homosexual pathways and the different styles of conjugality; b) the ways in which homosexuality is lived and the ways of "being a couple". The analysis aims at identifying the different stages of the path leading to conjugal stability and to point out, the interdependence between conjugality and homosexual pathways. It appears important to understand the ways to make a couple and ways of living homosexuality in the same dynamic. Otherwise, conjugality is partially studied through its material dimension. By looking at cohabiting lesbian couples, the observation dwells on the plurality of forms of conjugality that are built in the habitat. The investigations focus on the contemporary forms of conjugality and the role that each partner plays in the development of their relationship. Nowadays, a shift of focus from the forms of traditional conjugality - indeed varying from one social milieu to another - encourages the partners to invent their relationship and take an active part in the construction of their union. Research is rooted in the novelty of these observed phenomena.

This thesis is concerned with lesbian identity and community, with a specific focus on lesbians' own experiences, their accounts of the decision to identify as lesbian to themselves and possibly to other people, and their 'explanations'of their lesbianism. Studies of lesbians by feminist social scientists since the 1970s have provided a major corrective to the earlier medically-orientated literature which pathologised lesbianism. Challenging the demonisation of lesbians, they presented lesbianism as a politicised choice or as one of a range of equally valid sexual identities, and proposed typologies based on women's own accounts of their lives and experiences. However, as these studies were mostly based on a small number of informants,drawn from homogeneous social groups in terms of age, social class and education, their utility as generally applicable models or frameworks for understanding lesbians'experiences was compromised. Informed by feminist theory and methodology, this study seeks to test the validity or limitations of these earlier typologies, Focus groups were conducted with five groups of women in order to establish what lesbians themselves considered to be the key aspects of their identity. These topics were further explored in interviews with 65 self-identified lesbians from a wide range of backgrounds in terms of age, education, occupation and location,to examine the similarities and differences in the life-stories of women who wish to engage in relationships with other women, or who are doing so or have done so. Lesbians' accounts of their decisions about their 'sexual' identity and their own explanations of lesbianism demonstrate how both heterosexual hegemony and (ironically) also lesbian subcultural'norms' may restrict their choices in various aspects of their lives. The intention of this study was not only to provide an academic review of the accuracy and utility of earlier studies of lesbians' lives, but also to give lesbian women a voice, as a political act. It found that lesbians' accounts of their lives can indeed be classified into various categories on the basis of women's differing explanations of their lesbianism, as earlier studies had proposed. However, these studies were overly rigid and simplistic, doing scant justice to both the complexity of lesbians' experiences and their own explanations of their identity.

No description available.