Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, Vol 12(2), Jun 2025, 213-227; doi:10.1037/sgd0000657
Sexual satisfaction (i.e., feeling sexually fulfilled) and sexual pleasure (i.e., positive physical and emotional experiences during sex) are predominantly studied among heterosexual, white, cisgender samples; whereas, sex research using lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ+) samples has often taken a deficit-based approach (e.g., sexually transmitted infection, engagement in risky sex). By studying this population predominantly within a deficit-based approach, the risk of pathologizing them rises, especially among multiply marginalized LGBQ + individuals. Among the studies that do employ a sex-positive lens with LGBQ+ samples, existing scholarship has not been systematically reviewed to determine the representation of plurisexual individuals (i.e., bisexual and pansexual), how these studies depict their intersecting marginalized racial and gender identities, or the inclusion of LGBQ + -specific variables (i.e., internalized homonegativity [IH], internalized binegativity [IB], identity pride [IP]). To address these questions, we conducted a 38-year (1983–2021) content analysis of literature studying sexual satisfaction and/or sexual pleasure among LGBQ + individuals. Of 75 articles analyzed, sexual satisfaction was measured more frequently (N = 65) than sexual pleasure (N = 10). While roughly half of the articles (N = 39) included bisexual participants, on average they comprised only 10.58% of the sample. Pansexual (N = 5) or queer (N = 9) identities were significantly less represented within samples. Twelve articles included IH, one article included IB more specifically, and two articles included identity affirmation or pride. Only 12 articles included samples that were not predominately white and 11 articles included transgender or gender-expansive participants. Implications for future research among plurisexual samples will be discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)