title: Towards an understanding of the cultural roots of homophobia in order to provide a better midwifery service for lesbian clients.
abstract: Research has indicated that homophobia amongst health professionals, including midwives, has negative consequences for the care received by lesbian clients. Social scientists recognise that homophobia is neither inevitable nor universal, rather it is culturally specific and culturally constructed. This recognition is potentially very positive, since it suggests that homophobia in midwifery practice may successfully be theorised and critiqued in order to support the development of better services for lesbian clients. In this paper discourse analysis methodology from the cultural and social sciences is used to interrogate textual evidence of the nature of homophobia in British and North American culture. The analysis results in the identification of five 'themes' underlying cultural expressions of homophobia: anxiety about sexual difference, fear of female sexuality, the sexualisation of lesbianism, the characterisation of lesbianism as 'sick' or 'unnatural', and the inability to identify lesbians with any certainty. In the context of midwifery, these themes emerge as particularly powerful, suggesting that, while the deep-rooted nature of homophobia is resistant to rapid change, midwives may be uniquely well placed to develop appropriate professional services for the growing minority of their clients who are lesbian.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Tamsin.Wilton@uwe.ac.uk
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilton
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018452:Homosexuality, Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media / Q000639:trends; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011287:Prejudice; D012736:Sex Education / Q000639:trends; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States