Sexual Consent and Communication Among the Sexual Minoritized: The Role of Heteronormative Sex Education, Trauma, and Dual Identities

• DOI: 10.1177/15570851211034560
• Date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Julianna Cheney,Brooke de Heer,Meredith Brown
• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

2021, Vol. 16(5) 701 –721

https://doi.org/10.1177/15570851211034560

Feminist Criminology

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/15570851211034560

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Article

Sexual Consent and

Communication Among

the Sexual Minoritized: The

Role of Heteronormative

Sex Education, Trauma,

and Dual Identities

Brooke de Heer1, Meredith Brown1,

and Julianna Cheney1

Abstract

Prior research and the #MeToo movement have recognized the complexities of sexual

consent and how it contributes to experiences of sexual violence. A heteronormative

perspective often dominates discussions on sexual violence at the expense of

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual minoritized individuals’

(LGBTQ+) experiences. Utilizing focus groups with LGBTQ+ people to discuss

sexual consent, themes relating to sex education, defining sex in queer relationships,

trauma and victimization, and overlapping gender and sexual orientation identities

emerged. Findings are presented in the context of feminist and queer theoretical

perspectives with particular focus on power inequity.

Keywords

sexual consent, sexual violence, LGBTQ, trauma, victimization

Sexual consent is a key element in understanding how sexual contact is negotiated,

yet attention to consent is scarce in the literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and

other sexually minoritized individuals’ (LGBTQ+) sexual experiences. Throughout

this paper, the term minoritized is used over minority to emphasize that social and

1Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA

Corresponding Author:

Brooke de Heer, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northern Arizona University,

PO Box 15005, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.

Email: brooke.deheer@nau.edu

1034560FCXXXX10.1177/15570851211034560Feminist Criminologyde Heer et al.

research-article2021

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structural forces marginalize certain groups and create systemic discrimination and

stigma (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2011; Smith, 2016). We use the term LGBTQ+ to

describe individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or

questioning, asexual, and/or any additional sexual orientations (e.g., pansexual

and demisexual), gender identities (e.g., nonbinary), and gender expressions (i.e.,

gender nonconforming). We want to highlight differences in social identity (simi-

lar to work by Schulze & Koon-Magnin, 2017) because it is critically important to

understand how different identities within the LGBTQ+ community experience

consent and sexual violence. We also utilize the term queer as an inclusive repre-

sentation of this diverse group.

The #MeToo movement was instrumental in amplifying stories of sexual victimiza-

tion, lack of consent, and the abuse of power and authority. Simultaneously, it popular-

ized the mainstream contemporary feminist agenda and provided a worldwide platform

for feminist advocates. While the #MeToo movement had remarkable collective power

in regard to the recognition of gender violence and quantifying the harm done (Jaffe,

2018), it was largely focused on violence against heterosexual white women by het-

erosexual men. Some have criticized the movement for not making a larger effort to

include the voices of survivors who are sexually minoritized and people of color (Ison,

2019; Onwuachi-Willig, 2018). This is a particularly compelling point given the high

rates of sexual victimization within these groups.

Recent research identifies LGBTQ+ people, along with other marginalized popu-

lations, as having elevated rates of sexual victimization (Beaulieu et al., 2017; Edwards

et al., 2015; Johnson et al., 2016; Jones et al., 2016; Walters et al., 2013). One study

found that LGBQ youth were almost twice as likely to experience sexual coercion

compared to heterosexual youth and transgender youth were more than three times as

likely to experience sexual coercion compared to cisgender youth (Dank et al., 2014).

Sexually minoritized adults also show elevated risk for sexual victimization (Rothman

et al., 2011; Walters et al., 2013). Additionally, much of the research on sexual consent

and violence has traditionally focused on heterosexual, cisgender interactions between

men and women. This is not without good reason, as women are the predominant

victims of sexual violence perpetrated by men across both student and community

samples (Koss et al., 1987; Krebs et al., 2016; Walters et al., 2013). Still, with an

understanding of the elevated risks of sexual violence among the sexually minoritized,

scholars, and activists recognize LGBTQ+ individuals as an understudied group in

need of additional attention and research focus. Utilizing feminist and queer theoreti-

cal approaches, the current research seeks to address that gap by examining sexual

consent within the queer community.

Consent

The concept and intricacies of sexual consent were emphasized within a much broader

conversation facilitated by the #MeToo. The movement and subsequent dialog

unearthed the truth about consent; it is murky, hard to pin down, and frequently mis-

understood. Law identifies lack of consent in its definitions of rape and sexual assault