“How Will That Consent Play Out?”: Factors Involved in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals’ Understandings of Sexual Consent

Abstract

Due to a lack of research on sexual consent in sexual minority communities, we know little about how and what individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) learn about consent. To this end, a convenience sample of 25 LGB adults (N = 25) was interviewed about the factors that have shaped their perceptions and approaches to sexual consent. Data was analyzed using a constant comparative approach wherein data was collected and analyzed simultaneously. Participants identified interpersonal resources, such as past partners, friends, and family, as influential in their views of consent. They also described the lack of inclusive sexual health resources and inadequacies in school-based sexual education as obstacles in the learning process.

Keywords:

• Sexual consent
• LGBTQ
• sexual education
• interpersonal communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

This study received IRB approval on 6/27/19 from North Carolina State University’s Institutional Review Board (Protocol 18002; IRB Board Registration 00000330).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.