Elizabeth Peel

The second edition of this award-winning textbook provides an accessible and engaging introduction to the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer psychology. Comprehensive in scope and international in outlook, it offers an integrated overview of key topical areas, from history and context, identities and fluidity, families and relationships, to health and wellbeing. The second edition has been extensively revised to address substantial developments and emerging areas, such as people born with intersex variations, transgender and non-binary genders, intersectionality, and gender-diverse children. It also includes new pedagogical features to support learning and to facilitate discussion and reflection, with feature boxes throughout that explain important concepts, provide concise overviews of cutting-edge research, and offer first-person narratives that bring topics to life. This pioneering textbook is an essential resource for undergraduate courses on sex, gender, and sexuality in psychology and related disciplines, such as sociology, health studies, social work, education, and counselling.

Psychologies of Ageing offers a diversity of contemporary perspectives on ageing in a balanced and comprehensive way. This book addresses ageing issues in social and critical psychology, cognitive and biological psychology, and community and political psychology. Key topics include ageing identities, sexualities, palliative care, stress, health behaviour and dementia, frailty, resilience, ageing in place, transport, independence and community participation. Written in an accessible style suitable for students as well as ageing researchers in psychology and the social sciences, the book showcases key theoretical, empirical, and practical issues in later life.

Studies of kinship have increasingly sought to critique the normative assumptions that often underpin how caring relationships between humans are understood. Critical Kinship Studies adds a further dimension by bringing together posthumanism and studies of kinship to elaborate an account of western human kinship practices that encourages the reader to consider who is included in the categories of ‘human’ and ‘kinship’, who is excluded from these categories, and how a critical lens may broaden our understand of caring relationships. Bringing together a diverse array of analytic foci and theoretical lenses, Critical Kinship Studies opens up new avenues for understanding what it means to be in relationships with others, and in so doing challenges the human exceptionalism that has often limited how we think about family, loss, love and subjectivity. CONTENTS: Chapter 1, Introduction. Chapter 2, Objects of Critiques. Chapter 3, Tools of Critique. Chapter 4 ,Reflecting (on) Nature: Cross Species Kinship. Chapter 5, Donor Connections. Chapter 6, Kinship and Loss. Chapter 7, Motherhood and Recognition. Chapter 8, Kinship in Institutional Contexts. Chapter 9, Conclusions.

This book showcases developments in theory, research and practice regarding sexuality and ageing, considering the differences as well as similarities between and among ageing heterosexual and LGBT older people. Identifying the questions central to future social scientific research on ageing and sexuality, it focuses on the important, emerging dimensions of sexuality and ageing: embodiment, the diversification of the ageing context and the intersections of care and sexuality.

With attention to the different forms of sexualities, particularly at their intersection with gender, this volume explores the importance of spatial and relational contexts, whether individual, residential or virtual, with authors offering studies of online dating, sexuality in the context of residential care and the relationship between sexuality, legal frameworks and social policy. Interdisciplinary in scope and offering the latest research from scholars in the UK, Australasia and Africa, Ageing and Sexualities constitutes an integrated approach to the conceptual and practical challenges of understanding the interplay of ageing and sexuality in contemporary society.

As such, it will appeal to scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, including sociology, cultural studies, socio-legal studies, social gerontology, psychology, medicine and health care.

CONTENTS.

Introduction: Ageing and Sexualities, (Rosie Harding and Elizabeth Peel)

1. Ageing and Sexuality in Western Societies: Changing Perspectives on Sexual Activity, Sexual Expression and the ‘Sexy’ Older Body, (Sharron Hinchliff and Merryn Gott)

2. Ageing Sexualities in UK Regulatory Contexts, (Sue Westwood)

3. Inclusion and Representation of Older People and Sexual Health in sub-Saharan Africa within Contemporary Population Health Research, (Gloria Chepngeno-Langat and Victoria Hosegood)

4. Becoming Visible: De-marginalising Older Lesbians in LGBT Ageing Discourse, (Jane Traies)

5. Sexual Identity Labels and their Implications in Later Life: The Case of Bisexuality, (Rebecca Jones)

6. Older People and Sexuality in Residential Aged Care: Reconstructing Normality, (Michael Bauer, Linda McAuliffe, Deirdre Fetherstonhaugh)

7. "I am Getting Old and That Takes Some Getting Used To": Dimensions of Body Image for Older Men, (Allan Tyler, Nuno Nodin, Elizabeth Peel and Ian Rivers)

8. Troubling Identities? Examining Older Lesbian, Gay and/or Bisexual People’s Membership Categorisation Work and its Significance, (Andrew King)

9. Towards the Inquiry into Aged Care and Beyond: The Promise and Challenge of a New Era in LGBTI Ageing, (Mark Hughes)

10. Internet Dating, Sexual Intimacy and Older People, (Chris Beasley and Mary Holmes)

There is very little collaborative literature between LGB-affirmative psychologists and psychotherapists in the United States and the United Kingdom. British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies: Theory, Research, and Practice may well be a crucial beginning step in building dialogue between these two countries on important LGB psychotherapy developments. Leading authorities comprehensively examine the latest studies and effective therapies for LGB individuals in the United Kingdom. Practitioners will discover an extensive survey of the most current developments to supplement their own work, while educators and students will find diverse expert perspectives on which to consider and broaden their own viewpoints. This unique book offers an informative introduction to British psychosocial perspectives on theory, research, and practice. British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies provides a critical exploration of the recent history of LGB psychology and psychotherapy in the United Kingdom, focusing on key publications and outlining the current terrain. Other chapters are organized into two thematic sections. The first section explores theoretical frameworks in United Kingdom therapeutic practice, while the second section examines sexual minority identities and their needs for support and community. Topics in British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies include: - similarities and differences between LGBT psychology and psychotherapy in the United States and United Kingdom - gay affirmative therapy (GAT) as a positive framework - existential-phenomenological approach to psychotherapy - core issues in the anxiety about whether or not to “come out” - object relations theory - exploring homo-negativity in the therapeutic process - aspects of psychotherapy that lesbians and gay men find helpful - research into how the mainstreaming of lesbian and gay culture has affected the lives of LGB individuals - study into LGB youth issues - difficulties of gay men with learning disabilities—with suggestions on how to offer the best psychological service - a study on gay athletes’ experiences of coming out in a heterosexist world British Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Psychologies takes a needed step toward sharing valuable psychosocial perspectives between countries. This useful, enlightening text is perfect for educators, students, psychologists, psychotherapists, and counselors working in the field of sexuality. CONTENTS.

Section 1: Introducing LGB psychosocial theory and practice in the UK.
1. Introduction to LGB psychosocial perspectives in psychological and psychotherapeutic theory, research and practice in the UK,
Elizabeth Peel, Victoria Clarke & Jack Drescher.

2. LGBT Psychosocial Theory and Practice in the UK: A Review of Key Contributions and Current Developments,
Victoria Clarke & Elizabeth Peel.


Section 2: Exploring Theoretical Frameworks in UK Therapeutic Practice.

3. Gay Affirmative Therapy: A Theoretical Framework and Defence,
Darren Langdridge.


4. Being Sexual: Existential Contributions to Psychotherapy with Gay Male Clients,
Martin Milton.

5. Facilitating Gay Men’s Coming Out: An Existential-Phenomenological Exploration,
Colin M Clarke.

6. Gay Subjects Relating: Object Relations Between Gay Therapist and Gay Client,
Aaron Balick.


Section 3: Exploring LGB Identities, and Needs for Support and Community.

7. “The Difference That Make a Difference”: What Matters to Lesbians and Gay Men in Psychotherapy,
Maeve Malley & Fiona Tasker.

8. Community in the 21st Century: Issues Arising from a Study of British Lesbians and Gay Men,
Sonja J Ellis.

9. Safe Spaces and Sense of Identity: Experiences of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People,
Colm Crowley, Rom Harré & Ingrid Lunt.



10. Gay Men with Learning Disabilities: UK Service Provision,
Sören Stauffer-Kruse.

11. Coming Out in the Heterosexist World of Sport: A Qualitative Analysis of Web Postings by Gay Athletes,
Brendan Gough.

This article explores how partners keep the conversation going with people living with dementia (PLWD) when speaking about shared memories. Remembering is important for PLWD and their families. Indeed, memory loss is often equated with identity loss. In conversation, references to shared past events (co-rememberings) can occasion interactional trouble if memories cannot be mutually recalled. This article analyses partners' interactional practices that enable progressivity in conversations about shared memories with a PLWD. In previous research, both informal and formal carers have reported that they can find interacting with PLWD difficult. Identifying practices used by partners is one way to begin addressing those difficulties. Analytical findings are based on over 26 hours of video data from domestic settings where partners have recorded their interactions with their spouse/close friend who is living with dementia.

Feminist reflexivity aims to (re)consider and challenge power differentials that exist in the research process. This activity is well represented in, for example, research into heterosexism. In this article we expand feminist reflexive practice in relation to cisgenderism through a (re)examination of interview transcripts conducted by a cisgender
researcher on the topic of cisgenderism in media representations of trans and intersex sportspeople. Drawing on interviews with 18 cisgender and trans and non-binary participants, we analyse three forms of researcher collusion in cisgenderism, namely: 1) perpetuating
cisgenderism in the selection of media materials; 2) assuming trans women are the referent; and 3) disunifying assumptions about trans sportspeople. This reflexive analysis is discussed with regard to how analytical insights can be generated into the operation and functioning of prejudice. In so doing, we further the conception of prejudice
as a ubiquitous and latent activity in research practices.

Building on Bakhtin's work on discourse, this paper uses the concept of polyphony to explore capacity law praxis. Drawing on everyday interaction about power of attorney, we demonstrate how legal, lay, and medical understandings of capacity operate dialogically, with each voice offering distinct expressions of legality. Analysing lay and medical interactions about Lasting Power of Attorney-the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of a person who loses the mental capacity to make their own decisions-we argue power of attorney holds a 'polyphonic legality'. We argue that legal concepts (like power of attorney) are constructed not solely through official law, but through dialogic interaction in their discursive fields. We suggest 'polyphonic legality' offers an innovative approach to understanding how law works in everyday life, which is attentive to the rich texture of legality created by and through the multiple voices and domains of socio-legal regulation.

An ageing demographic in Western societies as well as globally has made public health issues, such as dementias, subject to hyperbolic metaphor such as " tsunami " and " time bomb. " This chapter reviews the state of knowledge regarding language, sexualities, ageing, and chronic illness. In particular, we focus on discursive research from across the social sciences that furthers understandings of older people's lives and experiences. We highlight research that has focused on ageism and chronic conditions impacting older people (specifically, dementia and type 2 diabetes), including empirical research on these conditions, and on manifestations of heterosexism and heteronormativity in these contexts. Using illustrative examples that emphasize the intersection of discourse and issues that relate to ageing, we foreground this area as an important element of language and sexuality scholarship. Last, we indicate future directions for the development of research focusing on these topics.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities have a long history of memorializing loss—The NAMES Project or AIDS memorial quilt, the Transgender Day of Remembrance, and art and fiction memorializing the Stonewall riots. Yet as Heather Love cautions in Feeling Backward, queer losses are frequently hard to identify or mourn since many aspects of historical gay culture are associated with the pain and shame of the closet (2). The subject of reproductive loss—the personal, and sometimes communal, experiences of miscarriage, infant death, and failed adoptions—has often been a silent burden for LGBTQ parents, one frequently intensified by fears of homophobia and heterosexism. Queer losses are also overlooked (or perhaps avoided) in most academic and popular books on LGBTQ reproduction, and queer experiences remain absent from most self-help books on recovering from reproductive loss (Peel and Cain). J. Halberstam has argued that " failure " to meet conventional standards of success (in this case bringing children into a family, albeit a queer one) can offer creative, cooperative, and surprising ways of challenging heteronormative understandings of love and life (2). Furthermore, Juana María Rodríguez advocates a reconceptualization of a queer sexual politics informed by both utopian longings and everyday failures (7). This chapter takes up the everyday experiences of queer reproductive losses and the memorialization of these experiences through physical memorials, religious and/or spiritual services, and commemorative tattoos.

Since the introduction of same sex marriage, there have been two parallel institutions (marriage and civil partnership) for the legal recognition of same sex relationships in England, Wales and Scotland. The current study aimed to examine how those in a civil partnership or a same sex marriage perceive civil partnership in the context of marriage equality. Eighty-two respondents completed a qualitative online survey and their responses were analysed thematically. The respondents were divided between those who viewed civil partnership as: 1) a stepping stone to equality, and felt that civil partnerships should be discontinued; 2) a form of legal recognition free from cultural baggage, and argued the Government should make civil partnership available for all; or 3) those who displayed ambivalence and conflicting views. We conclude by discussing how the principle of formal equality underpinned opinions on all sides, and what implications this might have for how we understand discrimination.

The needs of LGBT people living with dementia are poorly recognised due, in part, to assumptions that all older people are heterosexual, together with persistent ageist stereotypes that older people are asexual. LGBT older adults are more likely to reside in care homes as a quarter of gay and bisexual men and half of lesbian and bisexual women have children, compared to 90% of heterosexual women and men. Older LGBT people may be unwilling to express their identity within care settings and this can have an impact on their ongoing care. Recognition of the members of an older person’s informal care network is crucial for their ongoing involvement in the life of a person resident in a care setting. However, healthcare professionals may not always appreciate that LGBT people may rely more on their family of choice, or their wider social network, than their family of origin. This article explores socio-legal issues that may be encountered when caring for older LGBT people living with dementia, including enabling autonomy, capacity and applying the legal frameworks in ways which support the identities and relationships of these older people in care.

Dementia is a challenging, progressive set of conditions which present a large care burden to informal, familial carers. A complex array of health and social care services are needed to support people living with dementia. Drawing on the interlinked ‘Duties to Care’ and ‘Dementia Talking’ projects, in this article we focus on British carers’ talk about health and social care services. We explore data from a mixed-method questionnaire (n = 185), four focus groups and eleven interviews with informal carers of people living with dementia using thematic discourse analysis. Three themes are discussed: (1) services as a ‘maze’; (2) services as overly limited – ‘beyond our remit’; and (3) the battle and fighting discourse deployed by these carers. Our analysis highlights that carers find navigating systemic issues in dementia care time-consuming, unpredictable and often more difficult than the caring work they undertake.

When parents and researchers talk of queer perspectives on pregnancy, birth and parenting, an issue that we often avoid is queer experiences of loss during pregnancy, birth or adoption. This chapter centers on the personal narratives collected by two researchers—an American anthropologist and a British psychologist —who met online after their own experiences with pregnancy loss as queer women. We present the stories of queer people—primarily lesbian and bisexual women, but also several gay men and transpeople—as they have experienced reproductive loss. These stories are drawn from Peel’s online survey of 60 non-heterosexual women from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia and Craven’s 40 interviews with LGBTQ people who had experienced loss in the USA and Canada. We argue that for LGBTQ people, challenges in achieving conception and adoption amplify stories of loss, and that both grief and hope suffuse stories of reproductive loss. We identify several factors, such as the severely under-researched experiences of non-gestational or “social” parents, financial concerns about loss following assisted reproduction or adoption expenses, and fears of further marginalization as non-normative parents. These issues are particular, if not unique to queer experiences of reproductive loss. As most research and existing resources for support have focused heavily on the experiences of married, heterosexual (primarily white, middle-class) women, we conclude by suggesting ways for medical professionals and support groups to better serve LGBTQ people following reproductive loss.

We undertook a longitudinal qualitative study involving of 20 patients from Scotland who had type 2 diabetes. We looked at their perceptions and understandings of why they had developed diabetes and how, and why, their causation accounts had changed or remained stable over time. Respondents, all of whom were white, were interviewed four times over a 4-year period (at baseline, 6, 12 and 48 months). Their causation accounts often shifted, sometimes subtly, sometimes radically, over the 4 years. The experiential dimensions of living with, observing, and managing their disease over time were central to understanding the continuities and changes we observed. We also highlight how, through a process of removing, adding and/or de-emphasising explanatory factors, causation accounts could be used as “resources” to justify or enable present treatment choices. We use our work to support critiques of social cognition theories, with their emphasis upon beliefs being antecedent to behaviours. We also provide reflections upon the implications of our findings for qualitative research designs and sampling strategies.

Objective  To examine patients’ perceptions and experiences over time of the devolvement of diabetes care/reviews from secondary to primary health-care settings.

Design  Repeat in-depth interviews with 20 patients over 4 years.

Participants and setting  Twenty type 2 diabetes patients recruited from primary- and secondary-care settings across Lothian, Scotland.

Results  Patients’ views about their current diabetes care were informed by their previous service contact. The devolvement of diabetes care/reviews to general practice was presented as a ‘mixed blessing’. Patients gained reassurance from their perception that receiving practice-based care/reviews signified that their diabetes was well-controlled. However, they also expressed resentment that, by achieving good control, they received what they saw as inferior care and/or less-frequent reviews to others with poorer control. While patients tended to regard GPs as having adequate expertise to conduct their practice-based reviews, they were more ambivalent about nurses taking on this role. Opportunities to receive holistic care in general practice were not always realized due to patients seeing health-care professionals for diabetes management to whom they would not normally present for other health issues.

Conclusions  It is important to educate patients about their care pathways, and to reassure them that frequency of reviews depends more on clinical need than location of care and that similar care guidelines are followed in hospital clinics and general practice. A patients’ history of service contact may need to be taken into account in future studies of service satisfaction.

Background: Physical activity is particularly important for people with type 2 diabetes, as evidence suggests that any reduction in sedentary time is good for metabolic health.
Aim: To explore type 2 diabetes patients’ talk about implementing and sustaining physical activity.
Design of study: Longitudinal, qualitative study using repeat in-depth interviews with 20 patients over 4 years following clinical diagnosis.
Setting: Patients were recruited from 16 general practices and three hospitals across Lothian, Scotland.
Results: Discussion, and salience, of physical activity was marginal in patient accounts of their diabetes management. Patients claimed to have only received vague and non-specific guidance about physical activity from health professionals, and emphasised a perceived lack of interest and encouragement. Aside from walking, physical activities which were adopted tended to attenuate over time. Patients’ accounts revealed how walking a dog assisted this kind of activity maintenance over time. Three main themes are highlighted in the analysis: 1) incidental walking; 2) incremental physical activity gains; and 3) augmenting physical activity maintenance. The problems arising from walking without a dog (for example, lack of motivation) are also examined.
Conclusion: Asking patients about pet preferences might seem tangential to medical interactions. However, encouraging dog walking or identifying another interest that promotes a regular commitment to undertake physical activity may yield long-term health benefits.

Keywords
behaviour change; exercise; patients’ perspectives; physical activity; qualitative study; type 2 diabetes.

This paper provides an analysis of respondent’s perceptions about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships (N=1538). An online survey was developed to assess views regarding same-sex marriage and civil partnership, using statements rated on a forced-choice Likert-type scale with space for qualitative comments and collection of demographic information. Strategic opportunistic sampling and snowball sampling were used to achieve a large sample, derived from 27 different countries. Most respondents identified as lesbian or gay (69.4 per cent) and were currently in a same-sex relationship (67.2 per cent). Analysis indicates that the legal recognition of same-sex relationships is perceived as an important equality issue for lesbians, gay men and bisexual (LGB) people, and more support is evident for marriage than for civil partnership (particularly from those residing in North America). Heterosexuals are more likely to support civil partnership than LGB people, and lesbians are as positive about legal relationship recognition as gay men. Liberal formal equality arguments are better understood and more accepted than substantive equality or radical arguments. Our findings highlight that whilst LGB people strongly support the legal recognition of same-sex relationships they are especially in favour of same-sex marriage, and believe that all individuals (regardless of sexuality) should have access to the same relationship choices/statuses.
Keywords: civil partnership, equality, gay men, legal recognition, lesbians, marriage, relationships.

Since their introduction in 2005, thousands of same-sex couples in the UK have had a civil partnership. However, many other couples have chosen not to have one. This qualitative study explores why some same-sex couples are choosing not to have a civil partnership. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people (five couples and two individuals) who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, and analysed using discourse analysis. Participants’ accounts were characterised by ambivalence about civil partnership, and three main paradoxes were identified: the ‘good but not good enough’ paradox, the ‘unwanted prize’ paradox and the ‘legal rights v. social oppression paradox. A major source of ambivalence was support for rights but resis- tance to assimilation into dominant heteronormative cultural frameworks. Participants negotiated this ambivalence in a variety of ways, including considering how to have a civil partnership that is different from ‘marriage’, and adopting a pragmatic position. The analysis highlights the importance of social recognition and support for a range of relationship forms and identities, as well as for an ongoing critical debate about civil partnerships and same-sex marriage.

The growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes is placing Scottish health services under considerable strain. Consequently, diabetes services are undergoing a major process of reorganisation, including the devolvement of routine diabetes care/diabetic review from secondary to primary healthcare settings. This qualitative study was devised to explore newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients' perceptions of their disease and the health services they receive at a time when this restructuring of services is taking place. The sample comprised 40 patients resident in Lothian, Scotland, who had diverse experiences of services, some receiving GP-based care only, others having varying contact with hospital diabetes clinics. In-depth interviews were undertaken with patients, three times at six monthly intervals over 1 year, enabling their experiences to be tracked at critical junctures during the post-diagnostic period. Disease perceptions and health service delivery were found to be mutually informing and effecting. Not only did (different types of) health service delivery influence the ways in which patients thought about and self-managed their disease, over time patients' disease perceptions also informed their expectations of, and preferences for, diabetes services. We thus argue that there is a need for a reconceptualisation within the medical social sciences to take into account the context of healthcare and the economic/policy factors that inform health service delivery when looking at patients' disease perceptions. We also discuss the logistical and ethical challenges of drawing upon patients' perspectives, preferences and views in the design and delivery of future health services.

Aims  To explore newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes patients’ views about Scottish diabetes services at a time when these services are undergoing a major reorganization. To provide recommendations to maximize opportunities brought by the devolvement of services from secondary to primary healthcare settings.Methods  Qualitative panel study with 40 patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, recruited from hospital clinics and general practices in Lothian, Scotland. Patients were interviewed three times over 1 year. The study was informed by grounded theory, which involves concurrent data collection and analysis.Results  Patients were generally satisfied with diabetes services irrespective of the types of care received. Most wanted their future care/review to be based in general practice for reasons of convenience and accessibility, although they disliked it when appointments were scheduled for different days. Many said they lacked the knowledge/confidence to know how to manage their diabetes in particular situations, and needed access to healthcare professionals who could answer their questions promptly. Patients expressed a need for primary care professionals who had diabetes expertise, but who had more time and were more accessible than general practitioners. Patients who had encountered practice lead nurses for diabetes spoke particularly positively of these professionals.Conclusions  Nurses with diabetes training are particularly well placed to provide information and support to patients in primary care. Ideally, practices should run ‘one-stop’ diabetes clinics to provide structured care, with easily accessible dietetics, podiatry and retinopathy screening. Newly diagnosed patients may benefit from being made more aware of specific services provided by charitable organizations such as Diabetes UK.

BACKGROUND: Self-monitoring of blood glucose is controversial in the management of type 2 diabetes. Some research suggests that self-monitoring improves glycaemic control, whereas other research is sceptical about its value for people with type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin. Although blood glucose meters are widely available and used by this group, patients' own views are absent from the debate. AIM: To explore the pros and cons of glucose monitoring from the patients' perspectives. DESIGN OF STUDY: Qualitative repeat-interview study. SETTING: Patients were recruited from 16 general practices and three hospital clinics within four local healthcare cooperatives in Lothian, Scotland. METHOD: Interview data from 40 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the previous 6 months were analysed using thematic analysis informed by grounded theory. We report findings from round 1 and round 2 interviews. RESULTS: Glucose monitoring can heighten patients' awareness of the impact of lifestyle; for example, dietary choices, on blood glucose levels. Glucose monitoring amplifies a sense of 'success' or 'failure' about self-management, often resulting in anxiety and self-blame if glucose readings remain consistently high. Moreover, monitoring can negatively effect patients' self-management when readings are counter-intuitive. CONCLUSION: Our analysis highlights the importance of understanding the meanings that newly diagnosed patients attach to glucose self-monitoring. To maximise the positive effects of self-monitoring, health professionals should ensure that patients understand the purpose of monitoring and should clarify with patients how readings should be interpreted.

Objective To explore views of patients with type 2 diabetes about self monitoring of blood glucose over time.
Design Longitudinal, qualitative study.
Setting Primary and secondary care settings across Lothian, Scotland.
Participants 18 patients with type 2 diabetes.
Main outcome measures Results from repeat in-depth interviews with patients over four years after clinical diagnosis.
Results Analysis revealed three main themes—the role of health professionals, interpreting readings and managing high values, and the ongoing role of blood glucose self monitoring. Self monitoring decreased over time, and health professionals’ behaviour seemed crucial in this: participants interpreted doctors’ focus on levels of haemoglobin A1c, and lack of perceived interest in meter readings, as indicating that self monitoring was not worth continuing. Some participants saw readings as a proxy measure of good and bad behaviour—with women especially, chastising themselves when readings were
high. Some participants continued to find readings difficult to interpret, with uncertainty about how to respond to high readings. Reassurance and habit were key reasons for continuing. There was little indication that participants were using self monitoring to effect and maintain behaviour change.
Conclusions Clinical uncertainty about the efficacy and role of blood glucose self monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes is mirrored in patients’ own accounts. Patients tended not to act on their self monitoring results, in part because of a lack of education about the appropriate response to readings. Health professionals should be explicit about whether and when such patients should self monitor and how they should interpret and act upon the results, especially high readings.

In this article, the authors analyze participants’ accounts of why they took part in a repeat- interview study exploring newly diagnosed patients’ perceptions of diabetes service provision in Lothian, Scotland. The study involved three semi-structured in-depth interviews with each patient (N = 40), which spanned a year. The authors provide a thematic discursive analysis of responses to the question, Can I ask you what made you decide to part in the study and why you’ve stayed involved over the past year? The main themes are (a) recruitment within health contexts (“the nurse said it would help”), (b) altruism (“if it can help somebody”), (c) qualitative research being seen as inherently innocuous (“nothing to lose”), and (d) therapeutic aspects of interviewing (“getting it off my chest”). The analysis contributes both to the qualitative literature about generic research participation and to a germinal literature exploring qualitative health research participation.

Keywords: diabetes, repeat interviews, qualitative research, research participation

Illustrated slides presenting a summary of findings on body image issues for gay and bisexual men presented at the RaRE Research Conference on 26 March 2015 in London at The King's Fund with the Project for Advocacy, Counselling and Education (PACE).

Professor Elizabeth Peel, the Chair of the Psychology of Sexualities Section, has been involved in the Section
since its inception. She was the Editor of the Section’s previous publication, the Lesbian and Gay Psychology
Review, and has gone on to publish prolifically in the field. Liz has published three books in the psychology
of sexualities field including Out in Psychology (Clarke & Peel, 2007) which won a distinguished book
award in 2012 from the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 and the first undergraduate
textbook in lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) psychology (Clarke et al., 2010) which won a
British Psychological Society book prize in 2013. She has also won several prizes from the Section including
the 2012 research prize. Her latest book focuses on ageing and sexualities with Rosie Harding
(Peel & Harding, 2016). In March 2015, I interviewed Elizabeth about her role as Chair of the Section and
her views on the current state of the field. What follows is an edited version of our conversation. Full issue of Psychology of Sexualities Review available from: http://shop.bps.org.uk/publications/psychology-of-sexualities-review-vol-6-no-1-winter-2015.html

The traditional marriage initiation script entails male partners 'proposing' to female partners. However, little is known about how same-gender couples initiate a marriage or civil partnership. Drawing on qualitative survey data from 82 people in a UK civil partnership or same-gender marriage we identify two marriage initiation themes which foreground the reshaping of script norms for marriage proposals. The first theme, "queer proposals" entails an adaptation of the conventional script. The second theme "jointly negotiated initiations", foregrounds a fundamental departure from heteronormative scripts for initiating the legal formalisation of a relationship. It is argued that the non-normative status of such partnerships not only allow for alternative scripts to socially emerge, but offer a reconceptualization of a cultural script grounded in heteronormative relationship practices. The study therefore makes an important contribution to our understanding of same-gender relationship practices and has significant implications for sexual script theory.

Since the introduction of same-sex marriage, there have been two
parallel institutions (marriage and civil partnership) for the legal recognition
of same-sex relationships in England, Wales and Scotland. The
current study aimed to examine how those in a civil partnership or a
same-sex marriage perceive civil partnership in the context of marriage
equality. Eighty-two respondents completed a qualitative online survey,
and their responses were analysed thematically. The respondents were
divided between those who viewed civil partnership as: 1) a stepping
stone to equality, and felt that civil partnerships should be discontinued;
2) a form of legal recognition free from cultural baggage, and argued the
Government should make civil partnership available for all; or 3) those
who displayed ambivalence and conflicting views. We conclude by discussing how the principle of formal equality underpinned opinions on all
sides, and what implications this might have for how we understand
discrimination.

The commentators in this reappraisal describe The Social Construction of Lesbianism as ‘classic’ (Coylei), ‘exciting’ (Tiefer), ‘important’, (MacBride-Stewart), ‘fascinating’ (Snelling), a ‘remarkable achievement’ (Snelling), and an ‘engagingly-written, political tour de force’ (Coyle). Like some of the commentators (Coyle, Snelling), one of us (VC) owns a well-read copy of The Social Construction of Lesbianism, highlighted in all the colours of the rainbow and covered in (now) rather cryptic notes. This was the copy that passed back and forth between us as we completed our PhDs in lesbian and gay psychology, both of which were supervised by Celia Kitzinger. As young lesbian feminists, we were drawn to Celia’s radicalism and uncompromising political commitment. She was an inspiring, challenging, passionate and energetic PhD supervisor, and we are honoured and privileged to edit this reappraisal of The Social Construction of Lesbianism, a book based on her PhD.

In this paper, we outline some of the similarities and differences between lesbian and gay psychology (more recently known as LGBT psychology) and feminist psychology. Both fields developed in response to the oppressive practices of psychology; however, lesbian and gay psychologists have been far more willing to using the theoretical and methodological tools of mainstream psychology than have feminist psychologists. Feminist psychologists have enthusiastically embraced qualitative and critical approaches, whereas, until recently, lesbian and gay psychologists have been more cautious about adopting these approaches. Both feminist psychologists and lesbian and gay psychologists have debated which theories and methods best fits with their goals for social change, and both have fought for and won professional recognition. Feminist psychology and lesbian and gay psychology have remained largely distinct from each other; however, there have been some encouraging signs of late – including this Special Issue – that suggest the gap between these two fields may be lessening.

We are delighted to welcome readers to this collection of papers showcasing current developments in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) psychological and psychotherapeutic theory, research and practice in the United Kingdom. This is our second foray into the international arena, having published in Volume 7 of Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy a special volume entitled “The Mental Health Professions and Homosexuality: International Perspectives (issued in monograph volume as Lingiardi and Drescher, 2003). In that previous collection, our lone UK contributor, the late Daniel Twomey (2003), focused on psychoanalytic perspectives about and attitudes toward homosexuality in the UK. This volume expands upon that earlier contribution and introduces readers to a wider range of British mental health approaches.

This paper outlines the recent history of LGBT psychology and psychotherapy in the United Kingdom, focusing on key publications, and the current terrain, highlighting similarities and differences between the UK and the US contexts. The paper is divided into four sections: the first focuses on the early development of the field in the late 1960s. The second section explores the 1980s–a decade that witnessed the publication of two key texts that had a strong influence on the development of the field and, in particular, on the development of critical and discursive approaches. The third section details the rapid changes that occurred in the 1990s including the establishment of a Lesbian and Gay Psychology Section within the British Psychological Society. The final section considers the current terrain and the similarities and differences in the theoretical commitments of researchers and practitioners working in the UK and in the US.

EDITORS’ INTRODUCTION: CELIA KITZINGER – SPEAKING RADICALLY
ABOUT LESBIANISM
The commentators in this reappraisal describe The Social Construction of Lesbianism
(1987) as ‘classic’ (Coyle1), ‘exciting’ (Tiefer), ‘important’, (MacBride-Stewart), ‘fascinating’ (Snelling), a ‘remarkable achievement’ (Snelling), and an ‘engagingly written, political tour de force’ (Coyle). Like some of the commentators (Coyle, Snelling), one of us (VC) owns a well-read copy of The Social Construction of Lesbianism, highlighted in all the colours of the rainbow and covered in (now) rather cryptic notes. This was the copy that passed back and forth between us as we completed our PhDs in lesbian and gay psychology, both of which were supervised by Celia Kitzinger. As young lesbian feminists, we were drawn to Celia’s radicalism and uncompromising political commitment. She was an inspiring, challenging, passionate and energetic PhD supervisor, and we are honoured and privileged to edit this reappraisal of The Social Construction of Lesbianism, a book based on her PhD.

‘If we are liberated we are open with our sexuality. Closet queenery must end.
Come out.’1
‘We’re out. Where the fuck are you?’
‘Nobody knows I’m a lesbian.’
‘We’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it’.
‘Trans, out and proud.’
‘Blatantly bisexual.’
These pride slogans and rallying cries for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) movements – at once celebratory and confrontational – highlight the importance of ‘outness’ and visibility across a range of political eras and agendas. The title of this volume Out in Psychology: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer perspectives, draws attention to the centrality of visibility for LGBTQ psychologies, movements and politics. We chose this title to signal the presence, and increasing validation and acknowledgement, of research, theory and practice on LGBTQ concerns across the discipline of psychology. We are ‘outing’ psychology as a discipline that already, if sometimes ambivalently or unwillingly, incorporates LGBTQ perspectives. Although it is important to have a separate space to pursue research and practice, it is vital that we engage with, and contribute to, the broader discipline (Dworkin, 2002). LGBTQ psychologies of all varieties aim to support social change. This goal is realised both through making or assisting interventions into the world outside of academic psychology and through turning our attention back onto psychology and interrogating and challenging the homophobia and heteronormativity embedded in the discipline (see Hodges & McManus, 2006). We have come a long way in this endeavour (Greene, 2000), but there is still a long way to go.