“We’d Be Free”: Narratives of Life Without Homophobia, Racism, or Sexism

Stigma and social inequality deprive disadvantaged social groups of a sense of social well-being. Stress researchers have
focused on prejudice-related events and conditions but have not described more intangible stressors experienced by sexual
minorities. We use narrative methods to examine how sexual minorities experience stigma and social inequality as we focus
on the more intangible stressors that are both pervasive and difficult to measure. Three themes emerged in the narratives
of our ethnically diverse sample of 57 adult sexual minority women and men: (a) stigma deprived them of access to critical
possibilities and opportunities; (b) stigma deprives them of safety and acceptance; and (c) despite this, the experience of
stigma is also related to the adoption of a positive and collective orientation towards their stigmatized identities. Recognizing
these stressors and related resilience can direct policy makers toward interventions that go even beyond eliminating prejudice
by including goals to strengthen minority communities.