Intersectionality and Racism

Abstract

Abstract The gay male population in the United States is not monolithic. Besides generational differences, there is a great and rich diversity along the lines of race, ethnicity, culture, and class. To understand the lives of gay men we must consider the multiple intersectional identities that gay men hold that define and shape their lives, their health, and their coming out. Gay men of color, including black and Latino gay men as well as first-generation men, often experience even greater challenges in terms of gay identity development than white men, created in part by lower levels of acceptance and understanding within ethnic and racial minority communities including immigrant populations. Gay men of color also experience racism within society at large and also from other gay men who stereotype and objectify men of color. As is the case with conceptions of masculinity, members of the Queer Generation espouse clearer understandings and appreciation of the intersection of gay identity with matters of race, ethnicity, class, and culture.