Gender Nonconformity, Homophobia, and Mental Distress in Latino Gay and Bisexual Men

Abstract

This study explored whether gender nonconformity in gay and bisexual men is related to mental distress and if so, whether this relationship is mediated by negative experiences that are likely associated with gender nonconformity, including abuse and harassment. To study this question, data were analyzed from face-to face interviews with 912 self-identified gay and bisexual Latino men in three major U.S. cities collected by Diaz and colleagues (2001). Gay and bisexual Latino men who considered themselves to be effeminate had higher levels of mental distress and more frequently reported various negative experiences, compared with gay and bisexual Latino men who did not identify as effeminate. Higher levels of mental distress in effeminate men seemed to primarily result from more experiences of homophobia. Findings suggest the need for more attention to gender in research as well as counseling of sexual minority men.

Acknowledgment

Data analysis and report writing was supported by the NIMH center grant P30-MH43520 to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies. The authors would like to thank Dr. Kenneth J. Zucker and two anonymous reviewers for their feedback and welcome suggestions.

Notes

^†Controlling for age, acculturation, and recruitment site. AOR = Adjusted Odds Ratio, CI = Confidence Interval, B = Unstandardized Regression Coefficient, SE = Standard Error, SD = Standard Deviation.

*P ≤ .10;

**P ≤ .05;

***P ≤ .01.

^†Controlling for age, acculturation, and recruitment site. B = Unstandardized Regression Coefficient, SE = Standard Error.

*P ≤ .001.

^†Controlling for age, acculturation, and recruitment site.

*P ≤ .001.

¹ Traditionally, effeminacy refers to (traditionally) female qualities in men that are considered to be inappropriate to men, while the more neutral “femininity” refers to female qualities regardless of people's gender. In line with how gender nonconformity was assessed, we will use the term “effeminacy” and its respective adjective instead of “femininity.”

² Throughout the rest of this article, we use the overall term gay to refer to these men who have sex with men. In the Latino community, these men self-identify with different words or categories that suggest a homosexual or bisexual orientation, such as gay, homosexual, bisexual, queer, joto, pato, maricon, pansexual, or poliamorous. Based on qualitative studies, Diaz (1998) showed that, regardless of specific identifier, the majority of these men feel they belong to a diverse “gay world” or “gay community,” sometimes referred to as “de ambiente” (“of the ambiance”). This world is perceived as distinct from the straight/heterosexual world or community, and the men perceive themselves as very different from heterosexually identified men who, for reasons other than sexual orientation, may engage with sex with other men.