A Feminist Perspective of Resilience in Lesbian Couples

Lesbian couples experience a tremendous amount of societal stressors; yet demonstrate great resilience in rebounding from adversity. This article explores the stressors of cultural oppression, the implications of gender role socialization, the maintenance and coordination of identity disclosure, and the review, renewal and creation of family. It then highlights ways that lesbian couples exhibit resilience in long- term relationships. This article applies a feminist family therapy perspective to the stressors and resilience shown by lesbian couples with the hope of expanding theoretical understanding, sharpening clinical skills, and increasing effective and ethical work with this population. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.