Public PhD Defense of Mafalda Esteves

Mafalda Esteves, a PhD candidate in the Doctoral Program in Psychology, will defend the thesis titled "Sexualidades invisíveis: Cidadania íntima e bem-estar psicossocial na bissexualidade". The public defense is scheduled for April 15, 2026, 10:30 at Sala de Provas, B327 (Building 4) of Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon.

Information about online participation and any updates should be consulted at Iscte's website.

Abstract:

This thesis examines the experiences of bisexual people in Portugal, addressing the scientific, social, and political invisibility that characterises this population. Despite formal advances in LGBTQI+ rights, bisexuality remains marked by symbolic, epistemic, and relational marginalisation, calling into question the conditions for the full exercise of citizenship. Adopting a qualitative approach, this research brings together contributions from critical health psychology, social psychology of citizenship, and LGBTQI+ psychology, conceptualising bisexuality as a relational experience that is culturally situated and shaped by power structures such as monosexism. Empirically, the thesis comprises three studies. Study 1 consists of a scoping review of bisexual experiences in Southern Europe, highlighting persistent patterns of invisibility and significant theoretical gaps. Study 2 explores public participation and the construction of citizenship through interviews with bisexual activists, revealing practices of resistance and collective agency. Study 3 analyses how experiences of binegativity affect well-being and how everyday strategies of resistance emerge within intimate relationships. The findings show that bisexual citizenship is configured as partial and ambiguous: legally included within the LGBTQI+ space, yet culturally, politically, and relationally constrained. Bisexual people mobilise strategies of visibility, identity affirmation, and resistance across institutional, community, and intimate contexts, negotiating stigma, delegitimation, and structural tensions. This thesis contributes theoretically to the development of the concept of bisexual citizenship, methodologically to qualitative approaches, and, in terms of practical implications, to the formulation of public policies, community practices, and professional interventions sensitive to the needs of this population within the Southern European context.

Members of the jury:

• President: Margarida Vaz Garrido (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)

• Eduarda Ferreira (Universidade Nova de Lisboa)

• Miguel Ángel López-Sáez (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)

• João Manuel de Oliveira (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)

• Carla Moleiro (Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa)