Multiple identities, diverse stories: A focus group study on the experiences of sex education among queer individuals with multiple marginalized identities

The current study addresses the lived experiences of individuals with multiple marginalized identities with sex education, adopting an intersectional queer theory approach. Queer adults (N=22) residing in Italy who live with chronic illness, disability and/or are neurodivergent, participated in online 2-hour semi-structured focus groups. We analyzed data using reflexive Thematic Analysis and identification of negative cases. The five identified themes were Assumed Heterosexuality, Erasure, Sex-Positive education, Validation, and Long journey to self-discovery. The findings call for a rethinking of sex education as an affirming space for multiple marginalized identities, with the purpose of eventually improving sexual health for all. In this perspective, sex education has the potential to become a space of validation and recognition, where diverse identities, bodies, and lived experiences are acknowledged and affirmed. Beyond these substantive findings, the study illustrates how attending to multiplicity throughout the research process can surface dimensions of experience, which are entangled rather than additive, that might otherwise go unnoticed.