Set 2 - Quarter 2
Your SapphicSavvy Therapist Says...
Salutations Sapphics,
It’s a beautiful day over at SapphicSavvy HQ because we get to share the results of Set 2 Quarter 2 with you 2day! For those of you who read these regularly (love you), you already know how this works. For anyone new to my data dumps, welcome to my wild wonderings where I while away my day writing about the wonderful ways y’all answered this week. As always, my speculations remain unfounded on anything other than my whims. That is to say, I pull this shit out of thin air based on raw numbers, so buckle up and enjoy.
Mental Modulation
Did you know that half of our users go to therapy at least once a month? It kinda seems like you did actually, the guesses were pretty spot on overall, especially by age group. We’re happy to see so many of you doing the work!! This is a really fantastic number, especially considering the national average amongst women for going to therapy in a given year is around 28.2% as of 2024. We’re showing nearly double that number for monthly appointments 💅
Y’all were spot on with the guesses! Self-aware and correct on the cultural climate! There weren’t too big of differences by age either, and this made me really happy to see. I feel like there’s been a pretty significant push to combat the stigma around treating mental health in the past decade or so, and I love that the effect is not limited to younger generations.
There were some small differences by identity group, but not significantly so. Statistically speaking, we have a smaller group of queer and bisexual users than of lesbian users and as such real differences may be smaller than they appear. Ultimately, our users are united in usurping the national average. We persist!
Identity Iterations
Labels are funny things. A box, being a 3-dimensional shape, can also accurately be called a cube should we so wish. However, sometimes there is utility in specificity that may prompt us to use one term over another. You know what is not box-shaped? Sexuality. As much as labels can help us find community, they can also be tricky. Human sexuality is fluid and for many, it shifts throughout our lives. A label we may adopt early on may not accurately describe our experiences later in life, and that’s okay. What is life without the ability to adapt, right?
There were pretty sizable differences by age group and by identity group. There could be a very wide range of reasons why this might be so, but I think this speaks to the evolution of the queer community at large as changes happened over time. Greater societal changes ushered in by those who fought for inclusivity and representation may have allowed people at all ages to more openly navigate the range of their sexuality. Self-discovery isn’t necessarily linear. A label now is just as good as a label later. You’re more than a box.
Which leads to another potential reason for the difference by identity group. As our labels shift over time, our own experiences may lead us to develop a certain narrative about the temporality of an earlier label. I’m sure all of us are familiar with the bisexual-to-lesbian pipeline stereotype. For those whose experience this fits, that’s okay! And those for whom the bisexual label is decidedly not temporary, you’re doing amazing! But it could conceivably make sense that there are lesbian/queer women who may originally come out as bi as they navigate heteronormativity before eventually settling into their current identities. This experience is subsequently different from people who continue to identify with bisexuality because it is an enduring identity, and thus could lead to the results we see from last week. Whatever the reason, no matter what category or cube you fit into, I think we can all agree we love box. <3
Pet Proliferation
Two’s company, three’s a pack! Across the board we saw that people have an average of two pets in their household. Pets can kinda be like children in this way I think, a sibling can be character-building and a good way to alleviate boredom for pet and owner alike.
Younger people had a slightly lower average, but there is only time for growth! I love my cat. He is sitting so peacefully next to me as I write this, as if he did not have explosive diarrhea this weekend 🥰 Which leads me to say, vet visits can be expensive, and that is why I’m keeping it at one for the time being (I think this can be said for many other 20-somethings as well). For anyone wondering, he’s fine now! It was that damn churu that did him in.
There were some differing trends by identity group though! While guesses were very nearly identical, y’all reported slightly different averages. I actually have 0 ideas as to why this is. Maybe an artifact of more variability due to smaller group sizes? My google searches look crazy as I try to figure this out, so if anyone has any ideas, do let me know.
That’s all I have for you this week! Could you tell the theme was alliteration? Was the tone one of sophistication? Might rhyming be next week’s iteration? Only time will tell, but for now, be swell.
XOXO SapphicSavvy
P.s. here’s some additional links to readings about the topics from this week, if you’re so inclined:
Wlw and Therapy:
The fluidity of labels:
Wlw and their pets: