The queer sexual citizen : bisexual and queer young women's sexual health in Tasmania

Over the last three decades, the intersecting rise of neoliberalism and post-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™feminism has shifted how gender, sexuality, and citizenship are framed socially, politically, and economically in the West. At the same time, queer identities are becoming divorced from social movement politics and are increasingly situated in individualist rhetoric of homonormativity.‚ÄövÑvp Yet, few sociological studies examine queer young women's identity politics in the context of post-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™feminism and homonormativity. Furthermore, bisexual and queer women's sexual health is absent from most mainstream Australian public health research, policy, and practice. The small body of Australian scholarship in this area focuses on urban experiences, despite the well-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™documented health disparities of rural populations. This thesis provides an in-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™depth, feminist sociological account of how rural Australian bisexual and queer young women negotiate identity, sex, and health. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 15 Tasmanian women, this thesis examines the following research questions: 1) How do Tasmanian queer young women conceptualise, negotiate, and experience identity, health, and sexual citizenship in the context of neoliberal post-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™feminism? 2) How does heteronormativity impact Tasmanian queer young women's experiences of safe sex‚ÄövÑvp and sexual health? 3) What are the effects of these experiences on the health-¬¨‚ↂÄövÑv™seeking behaviours and sexual health outcomes of Tasmanian queer young women? 4) How do healthcare providers accommodate these experiences through inclusive practice? Using Jose Esteban Mu‚àö¬±oz's Disidentifications‚ÄövÑvp (1999) as a theoretical framework, this thesis explores key themes of labelling sexual identity, negotiating safe sex,‚ÄövÑvp and navigating rural sexual healthcare. I argue that while queer young women's reflexive identity and health politics are products of neoliberalism, their disidentifications offer scope for critical, queer sexual citizenship.