Chan Randolph C H, Lam Marcus Shengkai, Liu Edgar, Mao Limin, Gordon Tina, Prankumar Sujith Kumar, Wong Horas T H
Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
J Urban Health. 2025 Sep 15. doi: 10.1007/s11524-025-00996-7.
Gayborhoods are urban neighborhoods characterized by a high concentration of LGBTQ + residents, businesses, community spaces, and subcultures. Living in gayborhoods may foster a sense of community and belonging that can be particularly beneficial for sexual minority men. However, existing research on gayborhoods has predominantly centered on the experiences of White gay men. The extent to which gayborhoods serve as an inclusive space for ethnically diverse sexual minority men remains largely unexplored. This paper examines the associations of gayborhood residence with LGBTQ + community connectedness, psychological distress, and substance use among ethnically diverse sexual minority men. Utilizing data from the 2023 Gay Asian Men Survey, this paper included 1071 cisgender sexual minority men of Asian backgrounds in Australia. The results indicated that older, middle-class, and gay men were more likely to live in gayborhoods than their younger, lower-class, and bisexual counterparts. The mediation analysis revealed the coexistence of positive and negative impacts of living in gayborhoods. Specifically, gayborhood residence was positively associated with LGBTQ + community connectedness, which was in turn associated with reduced levels of psychological distress but heightened levels of alcohol and drug use. The findings have significant implications for community organizing, mental health support, and substance use prevention. While leveraging gayborhoods to foster support networks and improve mental health among Asian sexual minority men is beneficial, it is equally crucial to address the pressures associated with conforming to community norms, particularly regarding social drinking and recreational drug use.
同性恋社区是城市中以高浓度的 LGBTQ+ 居民、企业、社区空间和亚文化为特征的社区。生活在同性恋社区可能会培养一种社区感和归属感，这对性少数男性尤其有益。然而，现有的关于同性恋社区的研究主要集中在白人同性恋男性的经历上。同性恋社区在多大程度上作为一个对不同种族的性少数男性具有包容性的空间，在很大程度上仍未得到探索。本文研究了不同种族的性少数男性中，居住在同性恋社区与 LGBTQ+ 社区联系、心理困扰和物质使用之间的关联。利用 2023 年同性恋亚洲男性调查的数据，本文纳入了澳大利亚 1071 名具有亚洲背景的顺性别性少数男性。结果表明，年龄较大、中产阶级和同性恋男性比年龄较小、下层阶级和双性恋男性更有可能居住在同性恋社区。中介分析揭示了居住在同性恋社区的正负影响并存。具体而言，居住在同性恋社区与 LGBTQ+ 社区联系呈正相关，而这反过来又与心理困扰水平降低相关，但与酒精和药物使用水平升高相关。这些发现对社区组织、心理健康支持和物质使用预防具有重要意义。虽然利用同性恋社区来建立支持网络并改善亚洲性少数男性的心理健康是有益的，但同样重要的是要应对与遵守社区规范相关的压力，特别是在社交饮酒和娱乐性药物使用方面。
