Embodied Injustice: Comparing Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer and Heterosexual Women’s Accounts of Unwanted Sex

Abstract

Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women experience disproportionately high rates of unwanted sex, including sexual assault. The literature has noted LBQ women's elevated risk for sexual victimization compared to heterosexual women, but little research has compared LBQ women's processing of sexual violations to those of heterosexual women. To address this gap, this article examines accounts of unwanted sex among 20 LBQ and 38 heterosexual college women (57 cisgender; 1 transwoman). We use both studies of embodiment and queer theory to understand socially patterned differences between LBQ and heterosexual women’s accounts of unwanted sex. Our findings indicate that heterosexual women’s multiple experiences with men (violent and not) often lead to explanations of sexual violations focused on men’s individual characteristics, for example, certain men are better/worse than others. In contrast, LBQ women’s experiences with women/non-binary partners produce a broader critique of heterosexuality. We find suggestive evidence that this difference helps LBQ women move away from self-blame toward a position of naming injustice.