Navigating Queer Street: Researching the Intersections of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Identities in Health Research

Abstract

Health researchers engaged in the project of identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) health as a distinct topic for study have often emphasised the differences in health and health care from heterosexuals and similarities among LGBT people. This work has sometimes rendered invisible the experiences of disabled, black and minority ethnic and other groups and has contributed towards the homogenisation of LGBT communities. In this paper, intersection theory is used to explore how diverse identities and systems of oppression interconnect. As a theory, intersectionality requires complex and nuanced thinking about multiple dimensions of inequality and difference. Drawing on the work of Crenshaw (1993), I use three types of intersectionality: methodological, structural and political to explore how the meanings of being lesbian may be permeated by class and gender and how racism and heterosexism intersect in the lives of black and minority ethnic gay men and women. Intersection theory offers possibilities for understanding multiple inequalities without abandoning the politics of social movements.