title: "Bringing home more than a paycheck:" an exploratory analysis of Black lesbians' experiences of stress and coping in the workplace.
abstract: Although the workplace stress that Black women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people experience due to prejudice and discrimination has been well-documented in the social science literature, much of this literature focuses on Black women or LGBTs as if these groups were distinct and mutually exclusive. Consequently, there is a void of theory and research on the workplace stress that Black lesbians experience. This qualitative study involved exploratory analyses of workplace stress due to race, sex/gender, and sexual orientation, and coping strategies among a predominantly middle-class, highly educated sample of 19 Black lesbians between the ages of 26 and 68. Four workplace stressors emerged, those relevant to: heterosexism/ sexual identity; racism/race; sexism/sex/gender; and intersections of race, sex/gender, and sexual orientation. Three primary coping strategies emerged: being out and managing being out, covering their sexual orientation, and confronting or educating coworkers about prejudice and discrimination.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Program, Department of Psychology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881-0808, USA. bowlegl@uri.edu
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bowleg
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Susan Faye
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ritz
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace