“Anywhere but here": Querying spatial stigma as a social determinant of health among youth of color accessing LGBTQ services in Chicago's Boystown

Abstract

The link between stigma and negative health outcomes is established, yet available research infrequently considers the complex intersection of place, race, and class-based stigma and how this stigma shapes opportunities and health among marginalized groups. Furthermore, scholarship on the relationship between stigma and health often fails to include the voices of the stigmatized themselves. This exclusion renders their lived-experiences hidden and their insight devalued, producing findings with limited validity to promote health equity and social change. In this article, we explore intersecting place, race, and class-based stigmas, or spatial stigma, as a social determinant of health among youth of color (YoC) accessing LGBTQ-specific services in the Chicago's White, middle-class gay enclave, Boystown. Qualitative data were collected within the context of a youth participatory action research study with 11 youth researchers (ages 18-24). Data sources included critical autoethnography, focus groups with current and former LGBTQ service patrons, and individual interviews with LGBTQ service providers. Emergent thematic patterns illuminate how the stigmatization of YoC based on place, race, and class (i.e., being from poor and low-income, racialized South and West sides communities) impacts their opportunities in the neighborhood and access to health-supporting resources. These findings may be useful for practitioners and policy makers who aim to promote health equity among marginalized young people and add to the growing body of literature on health effects of spatial stigma among marginalized communities.

“It’s Just a Band-Aid on Something No One Really Wants to See or Acknowledge”: A Photovoice Study with Transitional Aged Youth Experiencing Homelessness to Examine the Roots of San Diego’s 2016–2018 Hepatitis A Outbreak

“…Although the study focused on a local issue, the findings align with prior observational and intervention research on factors contributing to the chronic cycle of homelessness, especially how inefficiencies and lack of coordination of homelessness services and over-policing can limit healthcare access and treatment, curb the attainment of long-term housing, and further stigmatize and constrain economic and social mobility among PEH [52][53][54][55]. In addition, the findings support previous theory and research on stigma [15][16][17][18] and the stigmatization of economically marginalized TAY and PEH [13,47,56,57]. For example, prior research finds that the mere attribution of the label "homeless" to individuals often conjures associations of socially undesirable attributes and qualities (e.g., physical, mental, and behavioral) [13,58].…”

Fostering positive spaces in public health using a cultural humility approach

“…As a result, the importance of intersectionality is ignored which is the notion that persons can identify with many different groups and can be exposed to multiple forms of discrimination simultaneously (Institute of Medicine, ; Mink et al, ). Sexually and/or gender diverse persons may encounter additional barriers to optimal health care and workplace health when they live with a disability, have a low socioeconomic status, identify as an ethnic or racial minority, or live in an isolated region (Daley & MacDonnell, ; Drummond & Brotman, ; Felner, Dudley, & Ramirez‐Valles, ). To establish safer spaces, PHNs should interact with persons in a holistic manner and learn what their social identities and intersections mean to them, rather than relying on previously acquired knowledge and past experiences (Kellett & Fitton, ).…”

Neighborhood reputations as symbolic and stratifying mechanisms in the urban hierarchy

“…Research shows that individuals from stigmatized neighborhoods receive fewer callbacks on job applications (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004; but see Tunstall, Green, Lupton, Watmough, & Bates, 2014) and fewer opportunities when attempting to sell or purchase in online market places (Besbris et al, 2015(Besbris et al, , 2019. Involvement in youth programs and health-promoting activities can be blocked as well (Felner, Dudley, & Ramirez-Valles, 2018). These outcomes may be due to the assumption that stigmatized places contain a clustering of negative neighborhood and personal attributes (Bush et al, 2001;King, 2015).…”