title: Lesbian health and the assumption of heterosexuality: an organizational perspective.
abstract: This study used a qualitative research design to explore hospital policies and practices and the assumption of female heterosexuality. The assumption of heterosexuality is a product of discursive practices that normalize heterosexuality and individualize lesbian sexual identities. Literature indicates that the assumption of female heterosexuality is implicated in both the invisibility and marked visibility of lesbians as service users. This research adds to existing literature by shifting the focus of study from individual to organizational practices and, in so doing, seeks to uncover hidden truths, explore the functional power of language, and allow for the discovery of what we know and--equally as important--how we know.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daley
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018452:Homosexuality, Female; D006739:Hospital Administration; D015285:Hospital-Patient Relations; D006801:Humans; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010559:Personnel Management; D011287:Prejudice