Lisa M. Diamond is an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. She is a professor of

developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...

health psychology Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and il ...

and gender studies at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. Her research focuses on

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

development, sexual identity, and bonding. She is best known for her 2008 book, ''Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire''. In this book, she discusses the fluidity of

female sexuality Human female sexuality encompasses a broad range of behaviors and processes, including female sexual identity and sexual behavior, the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, and spiritual or religious aspects of sexual activ ...

, based on her study of 100 nonheterosexual women over a period of 10 years.

Early life

Diamond became interested in

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

after

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan (; February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book '' The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the s ...

gave a talk at her high school. She studied feminist theory at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and joined the board of the Chicago

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

. During this time, she

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as gay and decided to pursue research into homosexuality instead of activism. In 1993, she received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Chicago. She then started graduate work with

Ritch Savin-Williams Ritch C. Savin-Williams (born 1949) is professor ''emeritus'' of developmental psychology at Cornell University who specializes in gay, lesbian, and bisexual research involving adolescents. Education Savin-Williams earned his Bachelor of Arts in ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where she earned her M.A. in 1996, and her Ph.D. in 1999, both in human

Work

At the

, Diamond was an assistant professor from 1999 to 2005, and an associate professor from 2005 to 2012. She became a professor of psychology and gender studies in 2012. She serves on the editorial boards of ''

Developmental Psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...

'', ''

Archives of Sexual Behavior The ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research. History The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served a ...

'', and various other journals. Her research focuses on homosexuality, adolescent females and

human bonding Human bonding is the process of development of a close relationship, close interpersonal relationship between two or more homo sapiens sapiens, people. It most commonly takes place between family members or friends, but can also develop among gr ...

. In her studies of

sexual fluidity Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity (sometimes known as sexual orientation identity). Sexual orientation is stable for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience ch ...

, she has found that some women report variability in their sexual orientation identity. Diamond is clear that sexual orientation is not chosen, but that identity can shift involuntarily for some women. The sexually fluid women she studied did not "experience those changes as willful", and some even resist them. Diamond says that

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

cannot remove same-sex attraction. Describing herself as a feminist scientist, Diamond says "there are a lot of scientists who just cling to the scientific method and believe they are totally objective and I think they are full of bunk. But, I have met a lot of feminists who say there is not a way to collect data without being oppressive, that data has no meaning, the world is socially constructed and I think that is bunk too." Diamond has also researched

attachment theory Attachment theory is a psychological and evolutionary framework, concerning the relationships between humans, particularly the importance of early bonds between infants and their primary caregivers. Developed by psychiatrist and psychoanalys ...

as the basis for love and sexual orientation, and the association between relationships and psychobiological health. Diamond was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the APA Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns in 2011; the Distinguished Book Award by the International Association of Relationship Research (IARR) in 2010; and the Distinguished Book Award for her book ''Sexual Fluidity'' by the American Psychological Association, Division 44 in 2009. ''Sexual Fluidity'' was also a finalist for the

Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature The Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Literature is an annual literary award, presented by the Lambda Literary Foundation, that awards books with bisexual content. The award can be separated into three categories: bisexual fiction, bisexual nonfi ...

References

External links

Diamond at University of Utah
(scientific articles to download)
Interview (hour-long) on Radio West focusing on Diamond's research on sexual fluidity, 2014List of Diamond's publications
The University of Utah {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Lisa M. American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists American feminists American LGBTQ scientists Psychology writers on LGBTQ topics Cornell University alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Utah faculty American lesbian writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Lesbian academics Lesbian scientists American women academics 21st-century American women writers