In this feminist narrative study using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and a multistaged narrative analytic approach, a racially and economically diverse sample of 45 lesbians conveyed their health care experiences. Participants recounted a total of 332 health care interactions across a wide range of health care facilities, health care providers, and health conditions; 23% of these interactions they evaluated positively and 77%, negatively. In their stories, lesbians described the pivotal dimensions offace-to-face health care from their perspective as clients. Each of these interactional dimensions is defined by afundamental experiential contrast gleaned from their descriptions of caring and noncaring clinical situations. They are as follows: existence: reflection versus facelessness; bodily integrity: intimate care versus intrusion; emotional integrity: sheltered versus shamed; worth: sustained versus abandoned; expression: voiced versus silenced; and power: solidarity versus dominance.
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