Heterosexual

Is The Bachelor anti-feminist, or is conventional heterosexual romance the real problem?

Matty J, the current Bachelor in the Australian version of the franchise, prepares to reward one of his suitors with a rose. Network 10/Warner Bros. International Television Production Beatrice Alba, Monash University The Bachelor attracts widespread criticism for being old-fashioned, anti-feminist, and humiliating to women. The show involves a group of women competing for the attention of “the bachelor” — the single male star. He offers a rose to those who win his affections, enabling them to stay in the competition. Is this courtship ritual old-fashioned and outdated? Or does it accurately reflect modern, mainstream norms around heterosexual romance? Will you accept this rose? Everyday norms surrounding heterosexual dating and relationships dictate clear gender roles, with distinct expectations for men and women. On the dating scene, men are generally expected to approach women, and to invite women on a date. When a man “takes” a woman out to dinner he will typically off…

Home for the holidays? LGB youth report lower parental support than heterosexual youth

LGTBQ Asian Community marches with QUEER ASIAN YOUTH banner at the 2017 Toronto Pride Parade. Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock Hilary Rose, CFLE, Concordia University During the holidays, most people — including young people — spend more time at home and with their families. But home and family can feel different based on varying levels of support from one’s family. Our research found LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) youth’s perceptions of family support remained the same or, in fact, worsened from 1998 to 2013. Our study’s trend analyses show that, generally, youth’s perceived parental support and family relations have improved steadily since 1998. As hopeful as that might be, the LGB youth in our study — average age 14¾ years — don’t see their parents and families as being as supportive as their heterosexual peers do, or indeed as they used to. It’s a striking difference when you consider that attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people have generally improved over time. Missing Support and …

Right-swipes and red flags – how young people negotiate sex and safety on dating apps

For many young people, app dating is just part of regular dating life. freestocks.org/Unsplash

Kath Albury, Swinburne University of Technology and Anthony McCosker, Swinburne University of Technology

Popular commentary on dating apps often associates their use with “risky” sex, harassment and poor mental health. But anyone who has used a dating app knows there’s much more to it than that.

Our new research shows dating apps can improve young people’s social connections, friendships and intimate relationships. But they can also be a source of frustration, rejection and exclusion.

Our study is the first to invite app users of diverse genders and sexualities to share their experiences of app use, safety and well-being. The project combined an online survey with interviews and creative workshops in urban and regional New South Wales with 18 to 35 year olds.

While dating apps were used to meet people for sex and…

Men feel stressed if their female partners earn more than 40% of household income – new research

Shutterstock/5 second Studio Joanna Syrda, University of Bath The best marriages are probably based on teamwork. But it seems individual contributions do matter – specifically, who earns how much of the household income. My research shows that in, heterosexual couples, men are happier when both partners contribute financially – but much prefer to be the main breadwinners. With stress levels high when they are sole breadwinners, men appear to be more relaxed when their wives or partners earn anything up to 40% of the household income. But their distress levels increase sharply as their spouse’s wages rise beyond that point. And they find it most stressful when they are entirely economically dependent on their partners. The findings are based on an analysis of over 6,000 married or cohabiting heterosexual couples over a period of 15 years. Levels of distress are calculated based on feeling sad, nervous, restless, hopeless, worthless, or that day to day life is an effort. M…

How many Australians are not heterosexual? It depends on who, what and when you ask

Who identifies as non-heterosexual varies on who, what and when you ask. AAP/Joel Carrett Francisco Perales, The University of Queensland and Alice Campbell, The University of Queensland Almost two years after the heated discussions accompanying the 2017 marriage equality postal survey, LGB Australians remain at the centre of public debates. For example, there are ongoing issues around religious freedoms, and homosexuality was at the centre of Israel Folau’s controversial statements. But one aspect about the Australian LGB populations that is often ignored is who, and how many, belong to them. In fact, there is a large degree of uncertainty internationally about the share of the non-heterosexual population. The accuracy of early US studies by Alfred Kinsey has been largely discredited. More recent work by demographer Gary Gates provided more robust information, but left many questions unanswered. Read more: Marriage equality was momentous, but there is still muc…