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Cited by 93LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyGender and Feminist StudiesRacial and Ethnic Identity Research

Gender Nonconformity and Minority Stress Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: A Meta-Analytic Review

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Thoma, Brian C., Eckstrand, Kristen L., Montano, Gerald T., Rezeppa, Taylor L., Marshal, Michael P.·2021·Perspectives on Psychological Science
DOI 10.1177/1745691620968766PMC PMC7646043
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Abstract

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are less healthy than heterosexual individuals, and minority stress endured by LGB individuals contributes to these health disparities. However, within-groups differences in minority stress experiences among LGB individuals remain underexplored. Individuals are more likely to be categorized as LGB if they exhibit gender nonconformity, so gender nonconformity could influence concealability of sexual orientation among LGB individuals, carrying important implications for the visibility of their stigmatized sexual orientation identity and for how they experience and cope with minority stress. Through a meta-analytic review, we examined how gender nonconformity was associated with minority stress experiences among LGB individuals. Thirty-seven eligible studies were identified and included in analyses. Results indicate gender nonconformity is associated with experiencing more prejudice events, less concealment of sexual orientation, lower internalized homonegativity, and higher expectations of rejection related to sexual orientation among LGB individuals. Gender nonconformity is more strongly associated with experiencing prejudice events among gay and bisexual men than among lesbian and bisexual women. Gender nonconformity is systematically associated with minority stress experiences among LGB individuals, and future research must measure and examine gender nonconformity when investigating the role of minority stress in degraded health outcomes among LGB populations.

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  • Social penalization of those who violate gender expectations contributes to the marginalization of gender and sexual minority groups.

    “Individuals who violate these expectations are often socially penalized (Rudman et al., 2012), which contributes to the marginalization of gender and sexual minority groups (Thoma et al., 2021).”

    From A Sexist Language? Gender Differences in Attitudes and Use of Gender-Inclusive Pronouns (2025) · cites this paper as Thoma et al., 2021

    The Discussion reports that gender nonconformity among LGB individuals is associated with more prejudice events and greater expectations of rejection, supporting the claim about marginalization of sexual minorities. The paper’s stated scope is LGB individuals; these passages do not establish the claim for gender minority groups more broadly. The preceding point about social penalization is cited separately to Rudman et al. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Thoma, B. C., Eckstrand, K. L., Montano, G. T., Rezeppa, T. L., & Marshal, M. P.
Affiliations
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
Corresponding author
Thoma, Brian C.
ORCID
Venue
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-03
Volume
16
Issue
6
Pages
1165-1183
ISSN
  • 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-6924
DOI
10.1177/1745691620968766
PMC
PMC7646043
OpenAlex
W3133760531
Cited by
93
References
127
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 5
FWCI
13.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH117142)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Keywords
gender nonconformity, minority stress, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, concealment of sexual orientation, internalized homophobia, health disparities, gay men, bisexual men, lesbians, bisexual women
MeSH terms
Sexual and Gender Minorities, Bisexuality, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Male, Sexual Behavior, Homosexuality, Female

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