Minority Stressors and Connectedness Among Urban Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men

Among sexual minority men, gay, bisexual, and queer men (GBQM) may experience differences in terms of their sense of belonging to a sexual minority community (community connectedness), outness about their sexual identity, and their experiences of proximal and distal sexuality-based stressors. Although group membership can confer unique benefits to members of marginalized groups, including GBQM, these benefits are likely unequal across the range of identity groups included in this acronym. We analyzed data from 1,827 human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV)-negative cisgender men living in Canada to examine how three different sexual identities, gay, bisexual, and queer, are associated with minority stress, social variables, and outness. Compared with gay and bisexual men, queer men scored lower on measures of identity concealment and internalized homonegativity, were more open about their sexuality in their social networks and reported higher community connectedness. Compared with queer and gay men, bisexual men reported higher rates of identity concealment and internalized homonegativity, were less open about their sexuality and reported less perceived social support and lower community connectedness. Although bisexual men overall also reported less discrimination, bisexual identity moderated the association between distal stress and proximal stress, such that bisexual men who experienced more distal stress were particularly sensitive to its impact and experienced higher proximal stress. Future research with sexual minority men should attend to identity diversity within this group, as minority stressors, social variables, and outness differ between GBQM. Public Significance Statement The major finding from the current work is that the men included under the umbrella of "men who have sex with men" represent distinct groups with different needs. Bisexual men continue to experience more marginalization compared to gay and queer men and may benefit from targeted interventions to build alternative sources of social support and buffer against the impact of heterosexist and monosexist minority stress. Although gay men and queer men scored similarly on several measures, gay men, compared to queer men, may still need additional support related to coping with negative feelings like internalized homonegativity. Future research with sexual minority men should attend to identity diversity within this group.