Intersectionality

I used an intersectionality perspective as a secondary overarching theoretical framework across all three qualitative studies presented in this thesis.

Psychologists have been increasingly interested in the use of an intersectionality framework to examine multiple social identities and their associated statuses (Cole, 2009; Settles, 2006; Shields, 2008; Warner, 2008). A fundamental

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proposition of intersectionality perspective is that "intersectional identities are defined in relation to one another" (Shields, 2008, p. 303). Intersectionality approach has its origin in the feminist and racial critical theory U.S. scholars who saw themselves as women of colour and claimed for the incorporation of race and class into the gender discussion (Cole, 2009; Shields, 2008). Since the 1980 feminist scholars have focused on how gender is shaped by other social identities such as race/ethnicity, class or sexual orientation (Shields, 2008). For example, social identities such as black and woman, should not be considered as

independent categories but as mutual interactional identities that shape a "Black woman’s" identity (Settles, 2006). Thus, intersectionality perspective assumes that identity cannot be reduced to a summary of different social identities (Warner, 2008), although, additive aspects of identities are also included in intersectional analyses (Bowleg, 2008).

Intersectional perspective assumes that the intersection of identities such gender, class and sexuality affect people's perceptions, experiences and opportunities as societies are stratified among different social dimensions (Cole, 2009). Hence, the experiences of different social groups might vary and be asymmetrical to one another. Intersectionality analysis then focuses on how individuals of a particular group experience their social statuses simultaneously (Cole, 2009). For example, a researcher using an intersectionality approach might focus on how women might experience subordination to men as group (Shields, 2008) but with a particular focus on how different groups of women, such White and Black, might experience subordination differently in relation to the intersection of gender and

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multiple categories of identity, difference/similarity, and the particular (dis)advantages according to an individual's group membership (Cole, 2009).

To address an internationality framework then it is necessary to understand the cultural, historical, and the social structural context that produces social group disadvantages and oppression (Bowleg, 2008; Warner, 2008). This contextual analysis can enable the exploration of hierarchies of privilege and power that structure social life and shape the experiences of social inequality and stigma (Cole, 2009). Thus, an intersectionality approach it is a fruitful framework to address psychological research questions at individual, interpersonal, and social- structural levels (Cole, 2009; Shields, 2008). Intersectional identities have

significant psychological implications such as on how people define themselves in relation to others' views and expectations (Settles, 2006) and qualitative

psychological methods have been considered useful research tools to address an inquiry into intersectionality (Bowleg, 2008; Cole, 2009; Shields, 2008).

Intersectionality also has been considered as a useful framework for the psychological study of sexual orientation and its interaction with other social dimensions of identity such as gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and age, and multiple other dimensions of the identity (Bowleg, 2008; Warner & Shields, 2013). In particular, the contribution of intersectional analyses focused on the lived experiences of "black lesbian women" has been essential to the

understanding of intersectional identities (Babbitt, 2013; Bowleg, 2008). For example, research has revealed that Black lesbian women might experience more prejudice than their White peers from both White lesbian and from the Black community who see Black lesbian as having brought on the community disgrace

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or “sold out” to White sexual practices (Brooks, Bowleg & Quina, 2009). Thus, from an intersectionality perspective, sexual orientation is considered as another social dimension of identity that interacts with gender and race/ethnicity to create inequality and oppression (Babbitt, 2013; Bowleg, 2008).

To date, few psychological research studies of lesbian as mothers have used an intersectionality framework to examine intersection of different social identities. For example, a study with white lesbian women adopting racial/ethnic minority children in the U.S. found that lesbian mothers described worries about the discrimination their children might encounter because of their racial/ethnic minority status (Richardson & Goldberg, 2010). Nevertheless, being part of a White privileged group and their previous experiences as sexual minority women were elements that these lesbian mothers noted as strengths to prepare their children to cope with racial/ethnical discrimination. In spite of the small number of studies that have used an intersectionality framework to explore the lived experiences of lesbian mothers, research with “non-White” (Moore & Brainer, 2013), and “non-Western” (Lubbe, 2013) LGBT families have revealed the various challenges and disadvantages these families encounter when they navigate in the mainstream society as detailed in Chapter 2.

Notwithstanding, research beyond Western-White European conceptualisations of LGBT families is still scant and more research is needed with a particular focus on intersectional analysis of multiple social identities. Indeed, scholars in the field of LGBT families studies within psychology have called attention to the

consideration of an intersectionality framework when conducting research with LGBT families in order to examine the intersection of gender, sexuality,

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(dis)abilities, race/ethnicity, class, place, nationality, and other variable of stratification, oppression and privilege (Goldberg & Allen, 2013; Tasker, 2010, 2013).

Following an intersectional framework, I seek to examine how different social identities interact to influence participants' narratives, expectations and views related to lesbian motherhood. Study 1 examines how identities of

"woman", "lesbian" and "mother" have interacted over participants' life courses to give form to their narratives of lesbian motherhood. Study 2 investigates how identities of "woman", "lesbian/bisexual" and "prospective mother" interact to influence participants' thoughts about a future motherhood project. Study 3 explores the ways in which identities of "woman" and "heterosexual" interact to create heterosexual participants' sense of lesbian motherhood in the context of Chilean society. Furthermore, other identities that might be relevant for the analysis will be considered in each result chapter.