Welcome to episode 131 of the Sexology Podcast! Today I’m excited to welcome Jes L. Matsick, Ph.D and Anna C. Salomaa, M.S. to the podcast. In this episode they speak to me about defining sexual orientation, addressing the challenges around minority distress and the best practice for identifying sexual identity for clinicians.
Jes L. Matsick, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan. In her research, she studies sexuality, gender, and prejudice, and much of her work is centered on the perspectives and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals. Dr. Matsick is the director of the Underrepresented Perspectives Lab at Penn State, where she trains undergraduate and graduate students to conduct psychological research with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ issues. Her lab uses social psychological and feminist theories and methodologies to examine contemporary social issues, such as heterosexism, bisexual prejudice, allyship, health disparities, and intergroup relations. Since 2010, she has published more than 25 scientific papers and book chapters in which she examines sexual diversity and the psychological experiences of adults with sexually stigmatized identities. In the classroom at Penn State, she teaches courses that draw on her expertise in sexuality, gender, and health (e.g., Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, Women’s Health Issues, Human Sexuality, and Psychology of Gender). Dr. Matsick’s research has been funded by the American Institute of Bisexuality, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
Anna C. Salomaa, M.S. is in her final year as a doctoral candidate at The Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Psychology; her area of focus is clinical psychology. The overarching goal of her research is to translate mapping the complexities of sexuality to the improvement of sexual minority health. Her primary areas of expertise include (1) issues in measuring sexual orientation in clinical and research settings and (2) mechanisms behind and interventions against bisexual prejudice in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual individuals that contribute to health disparities in bisexual people. In 2019, she received the Pennsylvania Psychological Foundation’s Student Multicultural Award. Anna is also the recipient of the 2018 Bisexual Issues Committee Foundation Award by APA's Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity). Anna integrates her research focus into her clinical work with sexual and gender minority clients by facilitating nuanced identity development.
In this episode, you will hear:
- How they became interested in this area of research
- Addressing the challenges around minority distress
- How do they define sexual orientation?
- Measuring sexual orientation and asking the right questions for quality research
- The way in which our sexual orientation can change over our lifetime
- The fluidity of sexuality
- How Bi-Sexual people will experience social isolation
- How many people still view being Bi-Sexual as just a pre-cursor to becoming gay
- What are some of the best practice for identifying sexual identity for clinicians?
