Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men

Bringing into dialogue conceptual literature on bisexuality, intimacy, and personal community, this article illuminates the lived experiences of 80 bisexual women and men in the UK. The data were collected through questionnaire and individual interview. The article discusses two empirical themes, be...

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Main Authors: Toft, Alex, Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck
Format: Article
Published: Sage 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41493/
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author Toft, Alex
Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck
author_facet Toft, Alex
Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck
author_sort Toft, Alex
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Bringing into dialogue conceptual literature on bisexuality, intimacy, and personal community, this article illuminates the lived experiences of 80 bisexual women and men in the UK. The data were collected through questionnaire and individual interview. The article discusses two empirical themes, beginning with the participants’ narratives on their engagement with the dominant sexual and gender order – which hegemonizes ‘monosexuality’ and ‘compulsory monogamy’ – in their negotiation of relational intimacy. This is followed by an exploration of the features and functions of their personal communities, especially the significance of friendships. The article argues that, despite the ambivalence and misperception surrounding bisexuality, the participants enacted creative agency in negotiating intimacy and social support in their everyday lives.
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spelling nottingham-414932020-05-04T19:30:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41493/ Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men Toft, Alex Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck Bringing into dialogue conceptual literature on bisexuality, intimacy, and personal community, this article illuminates the lived experiences of 80 bisexual women and men in the UK. The data were collected through questionnaire and individual interview. The article discusses two empirical themes, beginning with the participants’ narratives on their engagement with the dominant sexual and gender order – which hegemonizes ‘monosexuality’ and ‘compulsory monogamy’ – in their negotiation of relational intimacy. This is followed by an exploration of the features and functions of their personal communities, especially the significance of friendships. The article argues that, despite the ambivalence and misperception surrounding bisexuality, the participants enacted creative agency in negotiating intimacy and social support in their everyday lives. Sage 2018-02-01 Article PeerReviewed Toft, Alex and Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck (2018) Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men. Sexualities, 21 (1-2). pp. 233-250. ISSN 1461-7382 Bisexual Christian Intimacy Personal community Relationship http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460716679793 doi:10.1177/1363460716679793 doi:10.1177/1363460716679793
spellingShingle Bisexual
Christian
Intimacy
Personal community
Relationship
Toft, Alex
Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck
Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title_full Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title_fullStr Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title_full_unstemmed Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title_short Intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
title_sort intimacy negotiated: the management of relationships and the construction of personal communities in the lives of bisexual women and men
topic Bisexual
Christian
Intimacy
Personal community
Relationship
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41493/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41493/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41493/