Navigating Queer Street: Researching the Intersections of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Identities in Health Research

Health researchers engaged in the project of identifying lesbian, gay, bisexualand trans (LGBT) health as a distinct topic for study have often emphasised thedifferences in health and health care from heterosexuals and similarities amongLGBT people. This work has sometimes rendered invisible the experiences ofdisabled, black and minority ethnic and other groups and has contributed towardsthe homogenisation of LGBT communities. In this paper, intersection theory isused to explore how diverse identities and systems of oppression interconnect.As a theory, intersectionality requires complex and nuanced thinking aboutmultiple dimensions of inequality and difference. Drawing on the work ofCrenshaw (1993), I use three types of intersectionality: methodological,structural and political to explore how the meanings of being lesbian may bepermeated by class and gender and how racism and heterosexism intersect in thelives of black and minority ethnic gay men and women. Intersection theory offerspossibilities for understanding multiple inequalities without abandoning thepolitics of social movements.