As a society, we often think that being gay is just about sexual orientation, but it's much more than that. It's also about how you identify yourself and your place in society. Being gay can mean different things to different people, so it's important to understand what it means for each person before judging them based on their identity.
Social stigma refers to negative attitudes towards an individual or group based on certain characteristics such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, physical ability, mental health status, or political affiliation. Social stigma has been shown to have detrimental effects on mental health outcomes for individuals who are members of marginalized groups because they may experience discrimination due to these characteristics. The term "social stigma" was originally coined by Erving Goffman in his book Stigma. He defined social stigma as a label that assigns meaning to a person based on their membership in some group or characteristic. In other words, a social stigma is a mark of disgrace or disapproval placed upon someone due to perceived deviations from societal norms.
Discrimination is prejudice or discriminatory treatment of an individual or group, usually based on racial, religious, sexual orientation, or cultural differences. Discrimination involves denying opportunities, rights, privileges, or rewards to others based on stereotypical assumptions about those attributes. This type of behavior can lead to various mental health problems including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse issues, suicidal thoughts/behavior, eating disorders, and self-harming behaviors.
The relationship between social stigma and discrimination and mental health outcomes has been well documented. Research shows that social stigmas and discrimination affect LGBT people's mental health differently depending on the degree of exposure they receive from society at large.
Studies show that gay men report higher levels of depressive symptoms than heterosexual men but lower rates of anxiety. Lesbians have higher levels of both types of symptoms compared with heterosexuals. Studies also suggest that bisexuals experience greater negative effects than either gay or straight individuals when it comes to psychological distress related to coming out experiences. Transgender individuals face significantly high levels of discrimination which has led them to engage in a number of self-destructive behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, smoking cigarettes, engaging in unprotected sex, and being more likely to be victimized by violence than their cisgender counterparts.
There are many ways in which social stigma and discrimination interact with each other to influence mental health outcomes for LGBT individuals. First, social stigma creates feelings of isolation, loneliness, and rejection which may increase vulnerability to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Secondly, social stigma can lead to increased fear of rejection and discrimination resulting in avoidance behaviors (i.e., avoiding public places) which further contributes to mental health issues.
Social stigma can lead to internalized homophobia whereby one develops negative attitudes towards themselves based on society's perceptions about their sexual orientation. This type of internalized stigma is associated with poorer mental health outcomes including higher rates of suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth.
How do social stigma and discrimination interact to affect mental health outcomes for LGBT individuals?
Social stigmatization is defined as “the perception that someone or something has undesirable characteristics and thus they should be avoided. ” Discrimination refers to treating a particular group of people unfairly based on their social identity, such as sexual orientation. Both of these phenomena have been found to contribute to poorer mental health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.