This study aimed to explore the love experiences of sexual minority women through in-depth interviews with five individuals currently in same-gender romantic relationships. Using a phenomenological qualitative research method, 27 sub-themes and 8 main-themes were derived. Main themes included ‘resistance to and imitation of masculinity’, ‘the politics of same-gender love shaped by gender norms’, ‘emotional pain from unrecognized relationships’, ‘familial conflict’, ‘relational instability’, ‘community-based tensions’, ‘personal transformation through relationships’, and ‘efforts toward self-acceptance and healing’. These findings help fill the gap in domestic research on the romantic experiences of sexual minority women and provide context-specific insights into how love and identity are constructed and sustained within sociocultural constraints. The study also discusses theoretical and clinical implications and offers suggestions for future research.
