Racialized Sexual Discrimination (RSD) in the Age of Online Sexual Networking: Are Young Black Gay/Bisexual Men (YBGBM) at Elevated Risk for Adverse Psychological Health?

Young Black gay/bisexual men (YBGBM) are a highly marginalized population across multiple health outcomes. Most research on YBGBM health has focused on HIV/sexual health, but there is a demonstrable need for research examining racism and psychosocial functioning among this population. Racialized Sexual Discrimination (RSD), also known as sexual racism, is an important but under‐investigated phenomenon that may have implications for the psychological health and well‐being of YBGBM. This paper provides an overview of empirical research on RSD as experienced by gay/bisexual men of color in online partner‐seeking venues. First, the researchers discuss how racialized experiences are a documented online phenomenon, with a variety of manifestations, and identify the potential effects that this phenomenon may have on the psychosocial health of YBGBM, and gay/bisexual men of color as a whole. Second, the researchers synthesize the RSD literature with a broader literature examining psychological well‐being across race and sexual orientation. Third, the researchers present a theoretically grounded conceptual model detailing the pathways between RSD and psychological well‐being using a stress and coping framework. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research on this topic, including scale development and hypothesis testing. Highlights Racialized Sexual Discrimination (RSD) is a multidimensional yet understudied construct. RSD, also known as sexual racism, is widely perpetuated in online hook‐up websites for gay men. RSD may negatively impact the psychological health of gay/bisexual men of color. There is an imperative to develop robust measurement tools to capture the full extent of RSD. A conceptual and analytic model to guide scientific inquiry into RSD is proposed.