The purpose of the current study is to investigate how societal expectations of femininity relate to women’s mental health across sexual orientations. While existing research has examined the mental health outcomes associated with conformity to feminine norms among women, much of this work has focused primarily on heterosexual populations. As a result, the unique experiences of lesbian, bisexual, queer, and pansexual women who are often navigating both gendered expectations and sexual orientation-based stigma remain underrepresented in research. To address this gap, the study recruited female participants from Keene State College to participate in a survey containing the Depression Anxiety Stress scales (DASS-21) and the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CNFI45). Regression analyses were conducted to identify any relationships between the variables.
