Singlehood in LGBTQIA+ Communities

Abstract

This chapter examines singlehood within LGBTQIA+ communities by situating it against cis-heteronormative expectations and clarifying key terminology related to sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. It reviews historical and cultural contexts marked by criminalization, pathologization, and uneven legal recognition, and it explains how minority stress, stigma, visibility, and structural exclusion shape distinctive pathways into both involuntary and chosen singlehood across sexual and gender subgroups. The chapter analyzes alternative relational models, including consensual non-monogamy, solo polyamory, and queerplatonic relationships, and it highlights how chosen families, friendship networks, and community spaces sustain connection beyond coupledom. It evaluates mental health risks and resilience, emphasizing subgroup differences, relationship quality, identity affirmation, digital platforms, and multilevel barriers that intersect with singlism and minority stress. Finally, the chapter calls for rigorous longitudinal and within-group research that differentiates pathways into singlehood and clarifies well-being outcomes.