A life course perspective on sexual minorities: Implications for the study of homophobic prejudice and discrimination

Abstract

The legal treatment of and attitudes toward sexual minorities has changed considerably over recent decades in the United States, highlighting the role of historical context in the unfolding of human lives. Yet, a full application of the life course perspective to the topic of structural inequalities faced by sexual minorities is missing from the scholarly literature. Through synthesizing and analyzing research findings from the past 15 years, we explain how the five tenets of the life course framework apply to sexual minorities, including (1) the interplay of history and human lives, (2) the timing of lives, (3) linked lives, (4) human development and aging as lifelong processes, and (5) human agency. In doing so, we argue that a life course perspective is crucial for understanding the nature and consequences of prejudice and discrimination faced by sexual minorities. We end with discussion of the need for additional research and methodological innovations regarding distinctive aging experiences, cumulative inequality, and intersectionality.