Hey gays and interested gals, this episode is all about gay community stress and the tolls its taking on gay, bi and queer men’s mental health and wellbeing. Tune in to my conversation with psychologist and researcher, Dr. Chuck Burton, as we discuss emerging research that shows how linking our self-esteem to social and sexual status is putting us at even higher risk for anxiety, depression and social exclusion. 

Highlights of this episode include…

• Research showing gay, bi and queer men may experience as much as stress from within our own communities as we do from the outside
• Why defining ourselves based on attractiveness, wealth and masculinity is amping our stress
• How toxic masculinity and “precarious manhood” keep us trying to prove we’re “real men” 
• Our wake up call to better support men of color, HIV-positive, older, and also bi men who face increased risk of gay community stress
• How to counteract the social norms of rejection, exclusion and “asshole” behavior online 
• Leaning on the supportive legacies of the gay male community to address this problem

 Visit Williamsburg Therapy Group and Linkedin to learn more about Dr. Burton and how you can work with him.  You can also read more about his LGBTQ-affirmative research with the ESTEEM Research Group at the Yale School of Public Health of Gay Community Stress and other topics affecting gay, bi and queer men. 

Also, learn more about Dr. Burton’s work with Building Healthy Communities Online and how they’re working to make app culture a nicer, kinder space.