Gendered accounts of managing diabetes in same-sex relationships: A discursive analysis of partner support

The gendered dimensions of partner support in relationships where one partner has a chronic condition has been a recurring focus within the literature on gender and health. Such literature however typically focuses exclusively on heterosexual couples while same-sex relationships are rendered invisible, leading to the discourse around partner support being heteronormative. This article examines gendered dimensions within accounts of lesbian, gay and bisexual people with diabetes using a discursive psychological approach. The analysis identifies how participants drew upon a range of interpretative repertoires including notions that women are more caring; that men can take control in an emergency; gay men are more caring; grown men can take care of themselves and; gay men are more independent. It is argued that rather than simply dismissing heteronormative repertoires of gender and health, non-heterosexuals draw upon them in ways that display ideological tensions.