People who are voluntarily childless, or “childfree,” face considerable stigma. Researchers have begun to explore how these individuals respond to stigma, usually focusing on interpersonal stigma management strategies. We explored participants’ responses to stigma in a way that is cognisant of broader social norms and gender power relations. Using a feminist discursive psychology framework, we analysed women’s and men’s computer-assisted communication about their childfree status. Our analysis draws attention to “identity work” in the context of stigma. We show how the strategic use of “choice” rhetoric allowed participants to avoid stigmatised identities and was used in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, participants drew on a “childfree-by-choice script,” which enabled them to hold a positive identity of themselves as autonomous, rational, and responsible decision makers. On the other hand, they mobilised a “disavowal of choice script” that allowed a person who is unable to choose childlessness (for various reasons) to hold a blameless identity regarding deviation from the norm of parenthood. We demonstrate how choice rhetoric allowed participants to resist stigma and challenge pronatalism to some extent; we discuss the political potential of these scripts for reproductive freedom. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ's website at http://pwq.sagepub.com/supplemental

The emotion of disgust is suggested to be an adaptation that evolved to keep us away from sources of infection. Therefore, individuals from populations with greater pathogen stress should have a greater disgust sensitivity. However, current evidence for a positive relationship between disgust sensitivity and the intensity of infectious diseases in the environment is limited. We tested whether disgust and contamination sensitivity changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disgust was assessed in 984 women in 2017 (before pandemic) and 633 women in 2020 (during pandemic) by a set of photographs depicting sources of infection and Pathogen and Moral of Three-Domain Disgust Scale. Further, contamination sensitivity among participants in two waves was measured by Contamination Obsessions and Washing Compulsions Subscale of Padua Inventory. State anxiety was measured with the Polish adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) only during the second wave of data collection. Women from the COVID-19 pandemic group assessed the photographs depicting sources of infection as more disgusting, scoring higher on Padua Inventory, but lower on Moral Disgust Domain as compared to women from before the pandemic. In addition, anxiety levels during pandemic positively correlated with scores from Pathogen Disgust Domain, Padua Inventory, and the ratings of the photographs. The participants of the study scored higher in state anxiety than the norms determined for the Polish population. Summarizing, we present evidence for differences in individual levels of disgust sensitivity in relation to pathogen stress, supporting the idea that disgust evolved to serve as protection from pathogens.

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Bear subculture exists within a larger gay community, which has been recognized by public health experts as disproportionately burdened with stigma and related health adversities. Bears are distinguished by a particular body look—body hirsuteness and heavy-set physique. Previous research documented the various health risks, and the exposure to both sexual minority and weight stigma, of this population. In this study we focused on the determinants of self-esteem in Bears. We explored the significance of such predictors as: perceived sexual minority and weight stigma, age, resilience, and physique as reflected by the BMI. Our sample consisted of 60 men from the Polish Bear community (i.e., Bears, Cubs, Otters, Wolves). Linear regression models were performed for the entire sample (N = 60) and for Bear-identified men (N = 31). Perceived sexual minority stigma negatively, and resilience positively, predicted self-esteem. In the case of Bear-identified men, age, perceived exposure to weight discrimination, and BMI were also significant predictors of self-esteem. Higher BMI in the case of Bear-identified men predicted higher self-esteem. Our results suggest that although Bear-identified men are characterized by their similarities to other gay men, subcultural identities create unique social contexts that are important for health and health interventions in this population.

Cel pracyCelem przeprowadzonego badania była adaptacja i weryfikacja psychometrycznych właściwości polskiej wersji Kwestionariusza Codziennych Doświadczeń Heteroseksizmu (Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire - DHEQ) stworzonego przez amerykański zespół pracujący pod kierunkiem Kimberly Balsam (2013). Zastosowany kwestionariusz w oryginalny sposób ujmuje przejawy uprzedzeń i dyskryminacji w codziennym funkcjonowaniu osób LGBT (lesbijek, gejów, osób biseksualnych i transpłciowych).MetodaW badaniu internetowym zgromadzono dane pochodzące od 197 osób LGBT. Średni wiek uczestników badania wyniósł 31 lat (M = 31,93; SD = 8,37). Blisko 17% (N = 33) osób określiło się jako transpłciowe, nieco ponad 19% (N = 38) jako nieheteroseksualne kobiety, podczas gdy pozostali uczestnicy (N = 127; 64%) opisali się jako homoseksualni, biseksualni lub panseksualni mężczyźni.WynikiNajwyższe średnie wyniki uzyskano w obrębie czynnika Zastępczej traumy, co sugeruje, że dowiadywanie się o przemocy i dyskryminacji dotykającej inne osoby LGBT jest ważnym stresorem w życiu osób LGBT. Innymi kluczowymi przejawami heteroseksizmu okazały się czynniki Wyobcowania oraz Czujności, które opisują uczucia samotności oraz wysiłek wkładany w ukrywanie tożsamości LGBT. Z wszystkich grup osoby transpłciowe okazały się w największym stopniu eksponowane na przejawy heteroseksizmu.WnioskiPolska adaptacja kwastionariusza DHEQ charakteryzuje się dobrymi właściwościami psychometrycznymi. Większość czynników kwestionariusza znajduje zastosowanie na gruncie polskim.

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