Bisexual women report rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) that are significantly higher than lesbian and exclusively heterosexual women. Regardless of their perpetrator’s gender, bisexual women also experience more critical healthcare needs after experiencing IPV than other women. Existing research on opposite-gender and lesbian couples suggests that power imbalances underpin IPV; however, the relationship dynamics of bisexual women’s same-gender relationships have been scarcely studied. The purpose of this dissertation study is to explore the sources and impacts of power imbalances in bisexual women’s intimate relationships with other women, particularly as it pertains to IPV. This dissertation uses a community-engaged research method – concept mapping – to explicate power imbalances in these relationship dynamics, with study participants and researchers analyzing the mixed methods data together. Participants engaged in a three-stage concept mapping process: 1) brainstorming, 2) sorting and rating, and 3) interpretation sessions. Brainstorming was conducted via GroupWisdom, an online concept mapping software platform. Participants generated responses to the following prompt: In queer relationships, what are things women say or do to show they have power over their partner? After a master list of 87 responses was created, participants then sorted and rated these statements to create clusters that visually represented similar ideas or themes. Using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis, the concept mapping platform generated a point map and the research team determined that a seven-cluster solution best fit the data. Finally, in-depth, one-on-one interviews were conducted with participants to analyze the cluster maps and determine whether these clusters were representative of their experiences. During these three phases, participants most commonly described the exploitation of queer experiences as the main source of power imbalances in their same-gender relationships. Namely, participants described their partners using their comparably limited history of dating women to gain control over them. There were also power dynamics related to one partner being “out” about their sexual orientation, while the other was closeted. Additionally, hegemonic gender roles traditionally seen in heterosexual couples were often replicated in bisexual women’s same-gender relationships, with the more masculine partner often being perceived as the power holder. White privilege and other racial dynamics were persistent experiences of the woman of color in this sample. Participants described a variety of impacts that these power imbalances had on them, such as feeling uncertain and insecure regarding their identities and being hesitant to enter new intimate relationships. Underlying these experiences of power imbalances, emotional manipulation and abuse was reported by many participants, characterized by verbal insults and their partners’ binegativity. Overall, this study engaged bisexual women in various phases of the research process, including analysis, to ensure their experiences were reflected in research on relationship power and IPV. Findings from this study implore future violence and health equity researchers to address bisexual women as a distinguishable group from other sexual orientations. These are women with unique experiences and health profiles, and as such, their relationship dynamics look different than those of heterosexual and lesbian couples.
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