Lesbian Health Issues

The quality of lesbian health is directly related to the overall quality of a lesbian’s life: her self acceptance and how out she is, her acceptance by her family and the greater community, laws that guarantee her rights, and the knowledge and sensitivity of her healthcare system. Ideally, lesbian health would be no different than that of heterosexual women.

Probably due to the greater stressors in her life, a lesbian is twice as likely to be a heavy smoker than her heterosexual sister, somewhat more likely to be obese, and more likely to be a problem drinker. However, in the past twenty years, all of these unhealthy lifestyle problems that impact lesbian health have lessened and probably reflect the greater level of “outness,” more legal rights, and greater social acceptance.

There is still a ways to go and lesbians have higher levels of anxiety and depression due to:

- Social stigma
- Rejection by family member
- Abuse and violence
- Being treated unfairly by the legal system
- Hiding some or all aspects of one’s life
- Lack of health insurance

Lesbians are less likely to get Pap smears because they and many doctors hold the mistaken belief that lesbians don’t get cervical cancer. Lesbians are just as likely as heterosexual women to get the virus for genital warts, the precursor to cervical cancer. In addition, many butch women are loath to have pelvic examinations and require doctors who are sensitive to their needs.

Unless she uses contaminated needles or has sex with men, a lesbian is at low risk for HIV. However, she can get all the other sexually transmitted infections that the heterosexual woman is prey to.