Exploring lesbian, bisexual and queer women’s health and wellbeing

Ruby Grant, Jennifer Power

An estimated 4.5% of people in Australia aged 16+ identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+). Women make up a substantial portion of LGBTIQ+ communities, yet both women’s health and LGBTIQ+ policy and research can often neglect the specific needs and experiences of this population.

We aim to try to fill this gap by assessing the health and wellbeing needs of women in LGBTQA+ communities, and advancing a research agenda that addresses these needs.

2025

A briefing paper

This new briefing paper from ARCSHS, launched for International Women's Day 2025, brings together key findings from major Australian studies, alongside other national health data, and international research, to provide an evidence-based overview of lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women’s health outcomes.

Current research highlights significant disparities in mental health, reproductive health, substance use, and violence. It is important to acknowledge that these poorer health outcomes are not caused by LBQ women’s sexual orientation or gender, but are driven by external factors related to stigma, discrimination and marginalisation. In many instances it is not that LBQ women are more likely than heterosexual women to experience a specific health condition (although sometimes they are), but that there are significant barriers to them accessing safe, knowledgeable and affirming healthcare to address the health issues that matter to them.

QSOX - Queer women's substance use over time

2022-2025

Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women have high rates of alcohol and tobacco use, yet understandings of why this is the case are often simplistic and fail to capture the complexities of what these substances really mean to LBQ women. Subsequently, smoking cessation and alcohol-related supports may not adequately meet the needs of this population.

QSOX is a longitudinal qualitative study exploring alcohol, tobacco, and vaping among LBQ women in Victoria and New South Wales. The study will follow the lives of LBQ women over the course of 18 months to understand the cultural practices of substances in LBQ women’s communities and how these may change over time. In doing so, QSOX aims to inform future health-related interventions that better meet the needs of this population.

Publications from the QSOX project include:

• Psychological, social and cultural influences on smoking among lesbian, bisexual and queer women
  While coping with minority stress was a common factor influencing some lesbian, bisexual and queer women's smoking behaviours, participants in this study also described how smoking offered pleasurable opportunities for gender expression, affirmation and rebellion. Smoking also enabled participants to experience ‘marginalised connectivity’, a form of social solidarity fostered through the sharing of a stigmatised practice by an oppressed or stigmatised community.
• Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Identifying Women: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study Protocol
  This paper outlines our approach to the QSOX study, detailing the rationale and methods that we plan to use to provide a more in-depth understanding of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women’s lived experiences of drinking, smoking, and vaping over time.
• ‘All the dykes I know drink beer’: Sexuality and gender performance through alcohol consumption among lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in Australia
  This article explores the role that alcohol plays in LBQ women and non-binary people’s lives, including how drinking shapes gender expression, intimacy, and sense of safety.
• Perceptions and Cultural Practices of Vaping Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women in Australia
  This article explores LBQ women and non-binary people's motivations for using e-cigarettes or vaping, including stress-relief and gender expression. It also highlights challenges, such as stigma, risk perceptions, and harms.

LGBTQ+ women's health: Insights from ARCSHS

2023

Broadsheet

This broadsheet, published for the 2023 LGBTIQ+ Women's Health Conference, brings together key findings from the Private Lives 3 (adult) and Writing Themselves In 4 (youth) studies of LGBTQA+ health and wellbeing, regarding women's health and wellbeing, as well as regarding issues such as cervical cancer screening.