The Social Service Needs of Lesbians of Color

Abstract

The social service needs of lesbians of color are complex because of multiple oppressions. Their needs are ambiguous because the coping abilities of many lesbians of color can mask those needs. This article reports the findings of an exploratory study of social workers' perceptions of the social service needs of lesbians of color. The findings of that study are analyzed from the standpoint of lesbians of color as articulated within their writing. That writing highlights the struggle for personal wholeness, political visibility, and social justice within multiple, often conflicting cultures. The need for sociocultural structural change is emphasized.