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Prejudice and Discrimination as Social Stressors

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The Health of Sexual Minorities

Abstract

Lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGBs) vary in sociodemographic characteristics such as cultural, ethnic or racial identity, age, education, income, and place of residence as well as in the degree to which their LGB identities are central to their self-definition, their level of affiliation with other LGB people, and their rejection or acceptance of societal stereotypes about and prejudice against homosexuality. In that diversity, it is difficult to describe many common themes. Despite the many differences that separate them, LGB people share remarkably similar experiences related to prejudice, stigma, discrimination, rejection, and violence directed toward them across cultures and locales (Espin, 1993; Fullilove & Fullilove, 1999; Herek, 2000; Diaz et al., 2001). Even after a historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the criminalization of homosexuality is unconstitutional, gay men and lesbians continue to be subjected to legal discrimination in housing, employment, and basic civil rights—most prominent in recent years are discrimination related to family law, including marriage and adoption.

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  1. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

    Ilan H. Meyer

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  1. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Ilan H. Meyer PhD  & Mary E. Northridge PhD, MPH  & 

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Meyer, I.H. (2007). Prejudice and Discrimination as Social Stressors. In: Meyer, I.H., Northridge, M.E. (eds) The Health of Sexual Minorities. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31334-4_10

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