State of sexuality in social sciences

What is the current state of sexuality research in each of their disciplines? Van Gent studies spatial inequality and mobility but feels the field is slow to acknowledge that sexual identity is foundational to the social order. Van Gent argues that sexuality does not only belong to a minority but is instead a meaningful social dimension affecting all. However, demography, class and ethnicity are seen as ‘the big three’ factors influencing spatial inequality and mobility. A small but advanced subfield of urban geography studied gay neighbourhoods and now brings forward a feminist critique of heteronormativity in geography. This raises new questions of how sexuality and sexual desire produce new geographies. Still, integration of sexuality as a meaningful category remains the largest challenge in this field. Van Gent advocates a new understanding of sexuality as a category. In doing so researchers need to collaborate. Engagement in comparative work will produce new theoretical insights upon which the discipline can build. 

Bos also emphasizes the need for collaboration in sexuality research. She studies the development of children with same-sex parents but lacks large national samples. Collaboration with other scientists is therefore crucial, since it allows for sharing datasets. Bos found that families with same-sex parents often experience stigmatization, and LGBTQI+ youth are more likely to suffer from severe psychological problems. These results emphasize the need to develop interventions in cooperation with, for example, psychological and medical research, which is not possible if research remains isolated within one discipline or methodology. 

Sexuality research is one of the key themes in anthropology and sociology.  Spronk explains how sexuality emerged from gay and lesbian- and women's studies since the 1960s. Today gender and sexuality studies produce a variety of empirical research on topics such as social movements of sexual minorities, homo nationalism, oversexualization of teenagers, sex panics, sex work, hook-up culture, sexual politics and sexual identity. Spronk acknowledges the necessity of interdisciplinary research.

Methodological boundaries

Yet Spronk also sees pitfalls; sexuality research tends to be located on an isolated island of self-righteousness, decreasing the motivation to participate in collaboration or debates with other disciplines. Different disciplines come with different methodologies; A combination is not easily accomplished, since they represent a system of beliefs and epistemological truths that hinder mutual understanding. Spronk illustrates this by pointing to the differences in language in sexuality research. The way gender and sexuality is seen at the VU medical centre, specialized in gender dysphoria, is fundamentally different than an anthropological approach. Asking their hospital team to separate gender from biological sexual characteristics is impossible, since it forms the scientific foundation for their work.

Even though the challenges for interdisciplinary research are daunting, all speakers agree that we should keep trying. Several suggestions for future steps are offered. Spronk sees interdisciplinary research as complementary research. For instance, scholars can use quantitative surveys from another discipline to complement that information with qualitative research to understand meaning and experience. Van Gent emphasizes that sexuality, as a research topic, needs to gain visibility by the formulation of specific research themes. Bos thinks we should not expect revolution in one night but instead should create opportunities for practical beginnings, such as supervising students across disciplines. Finally, discussions like these, where different methodological approaches and disciplines meet, will provide fruitful ground for future cooperation so that small steps may lead to big results.