Abstract
In their review, Remedios and Snyder (2015) articulated how models of stigma fall short of explaining stigmatization of women of color, because they do not consider intersectionality of multiple stigmatized identities. Using the example of the intersection of race and gender, they reviewed literature on how targets of stigma detect and respond to prejudice (making prejudice attributions, the role of identity processes such as centrality), highlighting the complexity of these processes once multiple identities (namely non-prototypical categories of race and gender) are considered. In response, we provide more in depth discussion of the challenges to inclusion and intersectionality including current and traditional psychological science approaches and the perceived politicization of intersectional research, as well as the complexity of integrating multiple identities (social class, sexual orientation and gender diversity) into stigma research, including recruitment, measurement, and analysis. We offer practical suggestions in the areas of recruitment, measurement, and analysis, to facilitate more inclusive and intersectional research, given that such work would provide a more complete understanding of the experience of stigma.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arcia, A. (2014). Facebook advertisements for inexpensive participant recruitment among women in early pregnancy. Health Education & Behavior, 41, 237–241. doi:10.1177/1090198113504414.
Babbitt, L. G. (2013). An intersectional approach to black/white interracial interactions: The roles of gender and sexual orientation. Sex Roles, 68, 791–802. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-0104-4.
Balsam, K. F., Molina, Y., Beadnell, B., Simoni, J., & Walters, K. (2011). Measuring multiple minority stress: The LGBT people of color microagressions scale. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17, 163–174. doi:10.1037/a0023244.
Barefoot, K. N., Rockard, A., Smalley, K. B., & Warren, J. C. (2015). Rural lesbians: Unique challenges and implications for mental health providers. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 39, 22–33. doi:10.1037/rmh0000014.
Berg, J. A. (1999). Gaining access to underresearched populations in women’s health research. Health Care for Women International, 20, 237–243. doi:10.1080/073993399245737.
Bieschke, K. J., Hardy, J. A., Fassinger, R. E., & Croteau, J. M. (2008). Intersecting identities of gender-transgressive sexual minorities: Toward a new paradigm of affirmative psychology. In B. Walsh (Ed.), Biennial review of counseling psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 177–208). New York: Psychology Press.
Blaine, B., & Williams, Z. (2004). Belief in the controllability of weight and attributions to prejudice among heavyweight women. Sex Roles, 51, 79–84. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000032315.95890.d9.
Bonilla, L., & Porter, J. (1990). A comparison of Latino, black and non-hispanic white attitudes toward homosexuality. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12, 437–452. doi:10.1177/07399863900124007.
Bowleg, L. (2008). When black + lesbian + woman ≠ black lesbian woman: The methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative intersectionality research. Sex Roles, 59, 312–325. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9400-z.
Bridges, S. K., Selvidge, M. D., & Matthews, C. R. (2003). Lesbian women of color: Therapeutic issues and challenges. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 31, 113–130. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2003.tb00537.x.
Casler, K., Bickel, L., & Hackett, E. (2013). Separate but equal? A comparison of participants and data gathered via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, social media, and face-to-face behavioral testing. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 2156–2160. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.05.009.
Cauce, A. M. (2011). Is multicultural psychology a-scientific?: Diverse methods for diversity research. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17, 228–233. doi:10.1037/a0023880.
Chaudoir, S. R., & Fisher, J. D. (2010). The disclosure process model: Understanding disclosure decision making and postdisclosure outcomes among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 236–256. doi:10.1037/a0018193.
Cheng, C. Y., Sanchez-Burks, J., & Lee, F. (2008). Connecting the dots within: Creative performance and identity integration. Psychological Science, 19, 1178–1184. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02220.x.
Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64, 170–180. doi:10.1037/a0014564.
Crandall, C. S., Tsang, J. A., Harvey, R. D., & Britt, T. W. (2000). Group identity-based self-protective strategies: The stigma of race, gender, and garlic. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 355–381. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(200005/06)30:3<355::AID-EJSP995>3.0.CO;2-M.
Crocker, J., & Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96, 608–630. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.96.4.608.
Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2012). Measuring community connectedness among diverse sexual minority populations. Journal of Sex Research, 49, 36–49. doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.565427.
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Gosling, S. D., Vazire, S., Srivastava, S., & John, O. P. (2004). Should we trust web-based studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about internet questionnaires. American Psychologist, 59, 93–104. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.93.
Greene, B. (2000). African American lesbian and bisexual women. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 239–249. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00163.
Guthrie, R. V. (1976). Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology. New York: Harper and Row.
Harper, G. W., Jernewall, N., & Zea, M. C. (2004). Giving voice to emerging science and theory for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people of color. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 10, 187–199. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.10.3.187.
Herek, G. M. (2002). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward bisexual men and women in the United States. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 264–274. doi:10.1080/00224490209552150.
Lewis, J. A., & Neville, H. A.. (2015). Construction and initial validation of the gendered racial microaggressions scale: An exploration among black women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62. doi:10.1037/cou0000062
Link, B. G. (2003). The production of understanding. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 457–469. doi:10.2307/1519793.
Major, B., & O’Brien, L. T. (2005). The social psychology of stigma. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 393–421. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070137.
Mehra, B., Merkel, C., & Bishop, A. P. (2004). The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users. New Media & Society, 6, 781–802. doi:10.1177/146144804047513.
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674.
Meyer, I. H., & Wilson, P. A. (2009). Sampling lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 23–31. doi:10.1037/a0014587.
Miller, M. K., & Luloff, A. E. (1980). Who is rural? A typological approach to the examination of rurality. Rural Sociology, 46, 608–625.
Morales, E. S. (1989). Ethnic minority families and minority gays and lesbians. Marriage & Family Review, 14, 217–239. doi:10.1300/J002v14n03_11.
Pachankis, J. E. (2007). The psychological implications of concealing a stigma: A cognitive affective-behavioral model. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 328–345. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.2.328.
Parent, M. C., DeBlaere, C., & Moradi, B. (2013). Approaches to research on intersectionality: Perspectives on gender, LGBT, and racial/ethnic identities. Sex Roles, 68, 639–645. doi:10.1007/s11199-013-0283-2.
Quinn, D. M., & Chaudoir, S. R. (2009). Living with a concealable stigmatized identity: The impact of anticipated stigma, centrality, salience, and cultural stigma on psychological distress and health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 634–651. doi:10.1037/a0015815.
Remedios, J. D., & Snyder, S. H. (2015). How women of color detect and respond to multiple forms of prejudice. Sex Roles, this issue. doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0453-5.
Rife, S. C., Cate, K. L., Kosinski, M., & Stillwell, D. (2014). Participant recruitment and data collection through Facebook: The role of personality factors. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. doi:10.1080/13645579.2014.957069.
Rutherford, A., Vaughn-Blount, K., & Ball, L. C. (2010). Responsible opposition, disruptive voices: Science, social change, and the history of feminist psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 460–473. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01596.
Sarno, E. L., Mohr, J. J., Jackson, S. D., & Fassinger, R. E. (2015). When identities collide: Conflicts in allegiances among LGB people of color. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. doi:10.1037/cdp0000026.
Settles, I. H. (2004). When multiple identities interfere: The role of identity centrality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 487–500. doi:10.1177/0146167203261885.
Stirratt, M. J., Meyer, I. H., Oullette, S. C., & Gara, M. A. (2008). Measuring identity multiplicity and intersectionality: Hierarchical Classes Analysis (HICLAS) of sexual, racial, and gender identities. Self and Identity, 7, 89–111. doi:10.1080/15298860701252203.
Thelen, E., & Smith, L. B. (1996). A dynamic systems approach to the development of cognition and action. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
U.S. Department of Commerce (2011). Exploring the digital nation: Computer and internet usage at home. Retrieved from: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/exploring_the_digital_nation_computer_and_internet_use_at_home_11092011.pdf
Ward, J. (2008). White normativity: The cultural dimensions of Whiteness in a racially diverse LGBT organization. Sociological Perspectives, 51, 563–586. doi:10.1525/sop.2008.51.3.563.
Warner, L. R. (2008). A best practices guide to intersectional approaches in psychological research. Sex Roles, 59, 454–463. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9504-5.
Washington, P. (2001). Who gets to drink from the fountain of freedom? Homophobia in communities of color. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 13, 117–131. doi:10.1300/J041v13n01_09.
Weiner, B., Perry, R. P., & Magnusson, J. (1988). An attributional analysis of reactions to stigmas. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 738–748. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.5.738.
Wilson, K. R., Wallin, J. S., & Reiser, C. (2003). Social stratification and the digital divide. Social Science Computer Review, 21, 133–143. doi:10.1177/0894439303021002001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Williams, S.L., Fredrick, E.G. One Size May Not Fit All: The Need for a More Inclusive and Intersectional Psychological Science on Stigma. Sex Roles 73, 384–390 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0491-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0491-z