How to capture the complexity of sexual diversity in public health and social sciences... and why we should care

   9th May 2017

Lecture by Dominic Beaulieu-Prévost, followed by discussion
on 9 May (Tuesday), 2017, 1p.m.
Venue: Institute for Sociology, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest 9., Tóth Kálmán u. 4. B.1.15.

Abstract:
Sexual orientation his now widely recognized as an important predictor of social and health inequalities. Among other things, sexual minorities tend to face more discrimination and violent crimes, and to experience mental health issues such as psychological distress and suicidal thoughts more frequently. However, the inequalities seem to vary widely according to the way sexual orientation is measured and defined, and between different subgroups of sexual minorities. It thus becomes important to find a way to adequately translate the complexity of sexual diversity into a useful and relevant measure that could help identify and fight the various inequalities. 
The main two objectives of this talk are to present a series of recent studies in which the author tried to tackle this problem, and second, discuss the implications of the findings for social and health research. This will be preceded by a brief history of the question of sexual orientation in research and a presentation of the emerging challenges associated with the postmodern fragmentation of sexual identities.

Dominic Beaulieu-Prévost, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the department of sexology at Université du Québec à Montréal and a member of the the Research Chair on homophobia, in Québec (Canada). He was trained in social and clinical psychology, and studies sexual diversity since more than a decade. His current research projects also concern topics such as digital intimacy, social and health inequalities, victimisation, mental health, identities and communities, and alternative subcultures.