The Health of Sexual Minorities

Some books break myths. Others break silences. A few break new ground. The Health of Sexual Minorities achieves all three aims.

The first book of its kind, this resource offers a multidimensional picture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health across clinical and social disciplines to give readers a full and nuanced understanding of these diverse populations. Here are real-world matters of definition and self-definition (including sexual identity, gender identity, and anti-identity), meticulous analyses of stressor and health outcomes, a extensive coverage of research methodology concerns, and critical insights into the sociopolitical context of LGBT individuals’ health and lives.

- Developmental issues across the lifecourse

- Human rights and ethical issues

- Global perspectives of LGBT health

- Physical and mental health issues

- Issues and concerns of racial/ethnic minority groups

- Health concerns of lesbian and bisexual women

- Prejudice and homophobia as social stressors

- A comprehensive review of quantitative and qualitative research methodology

- Tobacco, alcohol, and substance use issues

- The current state of LGBT health care and strategies for improvement

- The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on LGBT communities

The Health of Sexual Minorities is an advanced-level text whose scope and accessibility makes it useful to a broad audience. Over 50 contributors have made this a work of crucial importance to public health and health care professionals and biomedical and social science researchers. The Health of Sexual Minorities encourages clear thinking, informed practice, and effective, progressive policy for improved health and well-being of LGBT individuals and communities.

"The Health of Sexual Minorities is a welcome and much needed comprehensive text focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender(LGBT) populations, chiefly in the U.S. but also globally. Of use to researchers, practitioners, and advocates alike, the text covers key conceptual, methodological, and substantive issues. Its critical analysis of how unjust sexual hierarchies harm health exemplifies why LBGT health and health care issues must be analyzed and addressed in context: in relation to gender, class, racism, and the ways in which sociopolitical conditions shape LGBT identity and health."

--Nancy Krieger, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health

• Access to health care
• Gender
• HIV prevention
• LGBT
• Nation
• Public Health
• School of Public Health
• Stress
• gay
• lesbian
• prevention
• risk behavior
• transgender
• sexual behaviour

From the reviews:

"The official ‘identification’ of homosexuality as a disorder led to shame and fear for many men and women and their families. … The book is particularly good at questioning stale ideologies about growing up gay and challenging assumptions about how people manage their identities at different stages of their lives. … this is a serious and useful book that should be required reading for public health professionals." (Michael King, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 356 (23), 2007)

"This volume … is a must read for those passionate about servicing LGBT clients or researching the population. There is valuable information contained herein. Several contributors make it clear that there are many research areas and subpopulations that are underrepresented in the literature and that there is a paucity of program offerings to meet the needs of many. The volume therefore provides a guide for those interested in pursuing or expanding a career that focuses on the physical and mental health of LGBT persons." (Michele K. Lewis, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 52 (44), 2007)

"This comprehensive volume, unique in its scope, takes a systematic approach to the current health care of sexual minorities in the field of public health. … The research methodologies are detailed and thorough. … Summing Up: Recommended. Large medical libraries, graduate public health programs, graduate programs in the social and behavioral sciences, and GLBT study programs; graduate students and above." (J. King, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), July, 2007)

"... the Meyer-Northridge compilation assembles contributions from practitioners who are considered thought leaders in their area of expertise ... the overall content provides an authoritative survey of the field." (Michael Gross and Stewart Landers, Sex Roles)

• Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA

  Ilan H. Meyer, Mary E. Northridge

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