Minority Stress and HERoic Coping Among Ethnoracial Sexual Minority Girls: Intersections of Resilience

Abstract

This study used a focus group methodology to explore the experiences of stress and coping among 40 Hispanic, Caribbean Black, Haitian, and African American cisgender sexual minority girls living in the southeastern United States. An analysis of the data using grounded theory strategies revealed that participants were part of a cultural context in which few boundaries existed between family, religion, and culture, and that they tended to believe that they were betraying family and culture because of their sexual minority identities. Participants described (a) real or perceived transgressions of gender expectations and roles, (b) violating religious doctrine, and (c) emotional exclusion and taunting by family members. In the same context, the theme of HERoic Coping described participants’ resilience that manifested as (a) serving as the family educator, (b) being “out” in the open with family, and (c) creating safety. This study found that the negotiation of complex family, religious, and community environments is critical to understanding resilience in ethnoracial sexual minority girls.

Keywords

sexual minority girls ethnoracial youth minority stress resilience coping

Sexual minority youth (SMY) experience considerable—often chronic—stress as a result of discrimination and prejudice, which can negatively affect their well-being (Kelleher, 2009). Yet, they demonstrate extraordinary resilience in response to this adversity (Kosciw, Palmer, & Kull, 2015). Understanding the processes facilitating resilience among populations experiencing chronic stress is critical to promoting well-being (Ungar, 2012). Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt constructively to risk exposure (Mustanski, Newcomb, & Garofalo, 2011) and includes creating meaningful understanding out of actual and perceived threats to well-being (Hall, Vine, Gardner, & Molloy, 2010). Although aspects of resilience are shared across populations, many facets are culturally and contextually unique (Ungar, 2011). There is an ongoing lack of research exploring resilience in ethnoracial SMY (Huang et al., 2010; Moradi, DeBlaere, & Huang, 2010). Ethnoracial identities incorporate ethnicity and race as “these identities are formed in the context of . . . externally imposed definitions of race . . . but are negotiated and constructed in terms of . . . unique histories and cultural practices” (Grasmuck, Martin, & Zhao, 2009, p. 181). This study sought to understand minority stress and resilience among girls who are simultaneously ethnoracial minorities and sexual minorities—or ethnoracial and sexual minority girls (ESMG).

Risk, Resilience, and Coping Among SMY

SMY experience numerous stressors (e.g., stigma, victimization), which significantly affect their well-being (e.g., anxiety, depression, suicidality; Craig & McInroy, 2013). In this context, it is essential to consider factors that promote coping and positive outcomes (Mustanski et al., 2011; Stieglitz, 2010), especially because many SMY successfully negotiate adolescence with the help of protective factors (e.g., family and social support; Russell, 2005; Saewyc, 2011). Relatively little scholarship has addressed resilience or protective factors in sexual minority girls (Kulkin, 2006), despite the “opportunity to discover processes at multiple levels . . . that may be germane to effective coping” (Cicchetti & Rogosch, 2009, p. 47). Although resilience has often been explored using an individualistic lens (Benard & Slade, 2009), recent research has begun to understand how community and contextual factors contribute to resilience in SMY. Scholarship on adaptive coping among ESMG is especially limited, but some extrapolation from related populations may be useful (Kulkin, 2006). Factors shown to contribute to adaptive coping among women and adolescents include internal factors (e.g., self-regulation; self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-understanding; life philosophy), social support (e.g., relationships with parents, other family, and peers), as well as “catalyzing events” (i.e., incidents/crises; Kulkin, 2006, p. 103). For ESMG, the relationship between stress and coping remains virtually unexplored.

Minority Stress and Intersectionality

Chronic exposure to minority-related stigma and stress may lead to increased prevalence of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders among sexual minorities (Meyer, 2003). Yet, minority stress among ethnoracial sexual minorities may be more complex. Although studies indicate Black and White Hispanic lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGBs) experience greater life stressors than White non-Hispanic LGBs (Balsam, Lehavot, Beadnell, & Circo, 2010; Meyer, Schwartz, & Frost, 2008), Black and Hispanic LGBs did not have a higher lifetime prevalence of mental health disorders (Meyer, Dietrich, & Schwartz, 2008). In fact, Black LGBs had fewer psychiatric disorders than both White and Hispanic LGBs (Meyer et al., 2008). Alessi, Martin, Gyamerah, and Meyer (2013) found no difference in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence among White non-Hispanic, Black, and White Hispanic LGBs, although those identifying as Hispanic had higher prevalence of PTSD when relaxed criteria was used for diagnosis. Findings suggest that identifying as an ethnoracial minority and sexual minority individual may be protective, despite the strain some youth experience between their SMY identities and their cultural values (Harper, Jernewall, & Zea, 2004). These individuals may simultaneously experience more stress and greater resilience (i.e., greater coping capacity and the ability to navigate multiple stressors; Meyer, 2010) based on their experiences with racial or ethnic discrimination (Craig & Smith, 2014; Poteat & Espelage, 2007).

Intersectionality explores distinct social identities and their construction according to relative hierarchies of power and privilege, and is a dynamic lens for investigating minority stress (Collins, 1998; Parent, DeBlaere, & Moradi, 2013). Focusing solely on one identity or social location obscures the significance of other meaningful identities (Bowleg, 2013). Experiences of marginalization intersect along the lines of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation (Bowleg, Craig, & Burkholder, 2004; Bowleg, Huang, Brooks, Black, & Burkholder, 2003), and intersections between various social and cultural categories influence the multidimensional experiences of oppression or advantage (Bowleg, 2008; Brooks, Bowleg, & Quina, 2009; Meyer, 2010). Although intersectionality has allowed examination of multiple minority identities, it has been critiqued for focusing on static individual factors and overlooking dynamic and structural factors (Ferree, 2009). Intersectionality is often broadly defined as a process through which identities take on meaning depending on context (Choo & Ferree, 2010). Because SMY are members of multiple communities simultaneously (e.g., familial, ethnoracial, religious, social, geographic, digital; Harvey, 2012), researchers have frequently overlooked identities beyond SMY status, limiting an understanding based on intersections of other identities (Daley, Solomon, Newman, & Mishna, 2007). Both the intersectionality and minority stress strategies can offer insight into the experience of multiple identities (Cole, 2009), and Shields (2008) suggests that researchers should consider “comparing individual identities to each other as well as considering intersections and their emergent properties” (p. 307).

The Role of Culture, Family, and Religion

Culture—a perceived common perspective of individuals who consider themselves to be of a particular social group (Hugman, 2013)—is critical to discussions of intersectionality among ESMG. The complex interaction of cultural factors can simultaneously affect risk and resilience. There is a lack of scholarship examining the role of culture in the well-being of ESMG. Yet, there is evidence that cultural affiliation protects against health risks (e.g., smoking tobacco and marijuana use) and predicts higher levels of self-esteem and perceived social support satisfaction for African American (Nasim, Corona, Belgrave, Utsey, & Fallah, 2007) and White Hispanic (Garcia, Pintor, Vazquez, & Alvarez-Zumarraga, 2013) girls. Cultural Affiliation—maintaining connections with one’s primary or origin culture (in this case, ethnoracial group) as opposed to another (usually mainstream) culture (McDonald et al., 2005)—has also been associated with mixed outcomes among ethnoracial minorities and SMY. Strong cultural affiliation contributed to pressure for young Hispanic and African American youth who reported the need to follow family norms (Potoczniak, Crosbie-Burnett, & Saltzburg, 2009). At the same time, familismo—the importance of interdependent family bonds—is intertwined with culture and often a protective factor for Hispanic adolescents (Piña-Watson, Ojeda, Castellon, & Dornhecker, 2013).

Studies identifying differences between ethnoracial minority and nonethnoracial minority sexual minority populations are mixed. Some research indicates more similarities than differences between some ethnoracial populations, while other studies conversely point to more homophobic discourses in White non-Hispanic populations (Pascoe, 2007) or a higher prevalence of abuse among ethnoracial sexual minority women (Balsam et al., 2010). Such differences have been attributed to systematic or structural racism (Bowleg, Craig, & Burkholder, 2004). Religious communities also provide social support related to ethnoracial and cultural identity and often serve to buffer racism. Strong connections and shared experiences offered by churches lead to reappraisal of identity-based stressors (Pierce & Erlange, 2001). Yet, in the case of ethnoracial sexual minorities, these same churches may withhold support and exacerbate stigma (Bowleg et al., 2004). Taken together, the literature identifies the complex role of cultural affiliation and religion in the lives of ESMG that is central to understanding their intersecting identities and resilience.

The Role of Gender

Most research on minority stress and well-being aggregates sexual minority identities, and only examines the primary form of discrimination (homophobia/heterosexism) on health outcomes (Szymanski & Henrichs-Beck, 2014). Thus, the role of gender may be overlooked. Studies of sexual minorities tend to focus on boys (Mustanski, Andrews, Herrick, Stall, & Schnarrs, 2014), which may neglect unique complexities in the lives of girls. Girls experience persistent gender-based discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation (Szymanski & Henrichs-Beck, 2014). Sexual minority girls report gender-negative language that is related to, but distinct from, homophobic slurs (Peter, Taylor, Ristock, & Edkins, 2015). Studies of sexual minority women indicate that heterosexism and sexism were distinct distress predictors (Szymanski & Henrichs-Beck, 2014). Though girls reported higher depression and suicidal ideation than boys, these findings were less consistent for ethnoracial sexual minorities (Consolacion, Russell, & Sue, 2004).

Although intersecting cultural, sexual, and gender identities may contribute to higher levels of stress, recent research suggests that ethnoracial SMY also report high levels of support from family, peers, school, and community (Craig & McInroy, 2013). The study of resilience among ESMG is nascent, and qualitative studies have been recommended to explore sexual orientation using a cross-cultural and intersectional approach (Huang et al., 2010; Saewyc, 2011). This study aimed to develop knowledge about experiences of stress and resilience among ESMG.

Method

Participants and Procedure

Participants were 40 self-identified cisgender ESMG ages 15 to 18 (M = 16). They identified their sexual orientation as lesbian (n = 15), bisexual (n = 20), questioning (n = 4), and queer (n = 1), and their race/ethnicity as White Hispanic (n = 23), African American (n = 5), Caribbean Black (n = 5), Haitian (n = 5), and mixed race (n = 2). Participants were recruited through support groups in four urban high schools in the southeastern United States via announcements sent to facilitators asking ESMG to participate in focus groups designed to understand their unique experiences. Participants were compensated with a US$20 gift card. To participate, youth were required to (a) be age 14 to 18; (b) identify as lesbian, bisexual, queer, or questioning; (c) identify their gender as female; and (d) identify as Hispanic, Caribbean Black, Haitian, and/or African American. The county this school district is located in is characterized by economic challenges, including substantial income inequality, and it is predominately Hispanic (more than 70%). The Hispanic girls reflected the ethnoracial majority in their communities and schools. Thus, they may not consider themselves to be members of an oppressed group, particularly in the context of their immediate community.

Data Collection

Qualitative data were collected through four focus groups facilitated by the first, second, and fifth authors. Scholars have recommended qualitative designs to investigate the experiences of ethnoracial SMY (Huang et al., 2010). Focus groups are a convenient and cost-effective way to understand the “complex dimensions” (Robinson, 1999, p. 906) of diverse communities, making them particularly effective in cross-cultural research with ethnoracial populations. Focus groups have often been used in research with sexual minorities, including to investigate negative and positive factors related to SMY well-being (Higa et al., 2014), to study sexual minority adults’ retrospective experiences in adolescence (Nadal et al., 2011), to explore the experiences of transgender youth (Stieglitz, 2010), and to examine HIV prevention among African American SMY (Voisin, Bird, Shiu, & Krieger, 2013). Focus groups encourage disclosure (Frith, 2000) and offer SMY a way to formulate collective understanding.

The researchers’ experiences in practice and research with thousands of SMY over decades allowed for rapid development of rapport and the promotion of a focus group climate which fostered safety and comfort. It was stated at the beginning of each focus group that the participants are “the experts” on their own experiences and that the researchers sought to learn from them. Focus groups were composed of 8, 11, 9, and 12 participants and were conducted at participating high schools during school hours. Prior to each focus group, participants were informed of the study purpose, reminded they could withdraw at any time, and provided the opportunity to ask questions. Due to the utilization of existing SMY groups, and the involvement of school counselors and social workers in recruitment, parental consent was waived and participants were able to provide independent consent if they were below 18. The study was covered by a Research Ethics Board Protocol. Demographic data were collected using multiple-choice questions with open-ended options.

Focus groups lasted 45 to 65 minutes. A semistructured protocol informed by previous work with ESMG and a brief review of relevant literature was used to guide data collection. To capture participants’ experiences of intersectionality, recommendations by Bowleg et al. (2003, 2008, 2012) for qualitative research were incorporated into the study protocols. Specifically, we included questions intended to uncover the personal meaning of minority stress and resilience in light of participants’ interdependent social identities (Bowleg, 2008). Open-ended questions guided focus groups: (a) What are some of the challenges you deal with as a lesbian/bisexual/queer/questioning Latina/Black/Haitian young woman? (b) Describe the stress you experience in your life. (c) How have you dealt with these challenges and stressors? (d) What has it been like for you to be a lesbian/bisexual/queer/questioning in your family? And (e) What has it been like for you to be lesbian/bisexual/queer/questioning in your culture?

Method for Data Analysis and Synthesis

All focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed by the research team, and transcripts and field notes were entered into ATLAS.ti. Transcription began immediately upon data collection, and analysis commenced as the final focus groups were being facilitated. Data were analyzed using grounded theory strategies (Charmaz, 2014). The process of exploring the experiences of ESMG began by reading transcripts to initiate understanding of participants’ experiences. The first, second, and fifth authors independently coded the transcripts, using open and line-by-line coding and constant comparison within and across data (Charmaz, 2014). Implicit concepts in the data became increasingly explicit through subsequent focused coding (Charmaz, 2014). Grounding the analyses in the data led to identification and ordering of codes, the generation of categories, and the development of larger analytical concepts (Charmaz, 2014). Sensitizing concepts—broad concepts that provide tentative concepts to further pursue in research (Charmaz, 2014)—were undertaken for (a) minority stress (Meyer, 2003), (b) intersectionality (Bowleg, 2012), and (c) resilience (Ungar, 2011), and facilitated the development of key themes. Over three research meetings, core findings were discussed, and concepts were further refined leading to the development of the two primary themes and six subthemes associated with minority stress and resilience for ESMG.

The research team took several steps to enhance the methodological rigor of the study and to ensure credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability of results (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Trustworthiness measures included the research experience of the investigative team (members have expertise in grounded theory methodologies and clinical and research experience with SMY), the use of thick description (the extensive use of descriptive accounts and quotes), and maintenance of an audit trail (detailed recordings of the research steps and process; Padgett, 2008). Written notes, memos, and feedback from the investigators were used throughout data analysis to confirm themes and to validate interpretations of the participant experience to ensure the findings were grounded in the data.

Researchers’ Backgrounds and Assumptions

The first author is a White non-Hispanic lesbian who has worked with SMY in practice and research for two decades. The second author is a White non-Hispanic pansexual woman with more than 15 years of research experience with SMY and ethnoracial youth. The third author is a White non-Hispanic gay man with significant research and clinical experience in the area of minority stress. The fourth author is a White non-Hispanic queer woman and is a graduate student who focuses on resilience experiences of SMY. The fifth author is a White non-Hispanic lesbian graduate student. She attended one of the high schools where the focus groups took place. Though all the members of the research team are sexual minorities, four identify as women, and two are young adults, none are ethnoracial minorities. As researchers’ perspectives are key to qualitative research, it should be noted that previous clinical and research experience led to the researchers’ assumptions that ESMG experience resilience.

Because researchers had limited access to participants and there was no opportunity for member checking, a research advisory board consisting of ethnoracial students and researchers was developed for peer debriefing and to reflect upon the findings, as well as the possibility of potential biased interpretations. After two meetings of 2 hours, their feedback was incorporated into the research team’s final analysis. The research team worked to explore and reflect upon the impact that positionality (e.g., queer, female), religious background (Christian, Jewish, Humanist), and prior clinical experiences (e.g., working with ESMGs with psychosocial stressors) may have on the interpretation of findings. A primary tenet that guided the work of the research team was the notion that youth voice must be the driving force throughout the analysis.

Results

Participants described stressors and coping strategies related to their intersecting experiences of marginalization. Two major themes (Being Shunned by Family and Culture; HERoic Coping and Resilience) and multiple subthemes developed from the analysis. Participants recounted adversity when navigating their SMY identities within families. They described being members of communities that often adhere to traditional gender roles, hold negative attitudes toward sexual minorities, and promote the exclusion of individuals whose sexual identities do not conform to cultural expectations. Being Shunned by Family and Culture was illustrated through (a) real or perceived transgressions of gender expectations and roles, (b) violating religious doctrine, and (c) exclusion and taunting by family members. In addition to minority stress, participants described gender- and culture-specific aspects of resilience. A theme of HERoic Coping and Resilience describes context-specific coping strategies that developed in this study but may be overlooked or discounted in other explorations of resilience with gay and bisexual male youth (Bruce, Harper, & Bauermeister, 2015). The HERoic coping narrative consisted of (a) serving as the family educator, (b) being “out” in the open with family, and (c) creating pockets of safety for themselves. Pseudonyms are used to protect participant privacy.

Theme 1: Being Shunned by Family and Culture

Family experiences and stressors must be understood within the larger context of culture. Family was identified as the center of participants’ emotional, social, and cultural life. One participant articulated the significance of being shunned by family in the following way.

You’re alone, because friends come and go, your family is your family, they’re blood. They’re gonna be there for you, and having them shun you out because of what you like makes you kind of feel lost. And I think like that’s a lot of the reasons why there’s rates of suicide going up in homosexual teenagers. (Bethany, 16, African American, lesbian)

Another participant shared her perspective about the importance of being accepted and included by family. She noted that family should be where one finds safety and acceptance, and without family acceptance, there is nowhere safe enough to be herself.

It’s the extended family, everybody you know together, and I think it’s important in part because if you don’t feel comfortable being yourself in front of your family who’s supposed to be there for you through everything who are you supposed to feel comfortable in front of? (Maria, 15, Latina, bisexual)

Participants described a cultural context in which few (if any) boundaries existed between family, religion, and culture. Many reported that identifying as a SMY made them feel like they had transgressed the expectations and norms of their families and cultures and as a result felt shunned and disconnected. Participants reported that these experiences threatened their familial, spiritual, and cultural connections and overall well-being.

Subtheme A: Real or perceived transgressions of gender expectations and roles

Participants’ reported their SMY identities challenged family members’ cultural expectations for girls; that is, their roles as daughters, granddaughters, and sisters. All participants clearly articulated the expectations they faced as young women.

I don’t know if this is the case in any other country but in Cuba it is looked down upon for girls to be different . . . Cuban men are very macho . . . they like their women to be housewives most of the time . . . and they like them to be the one that’s in charge of bringing the money home and everything . . . . (Lisette, age 17, Latina, lesbian)

Fully understanding the pressures associated with these gender role expectations is dependent on recognizing the central role that extended family members (e.g., grandparents) exert on familial norms and expectations. Several participants shared their perceptions about this phenomenon within their own lives.

When my grandmother got married she was 17, she had her kids really early on and that’s it, that’s all she did for the rest of her life, take care of her kids, stay home, cook, clean, that’s it. And he’s the one that went out and did what he needed to do . . . They had their roles. (Angela, 15, Latina, bisexual)

As a result of cultural norms that endorse heteronormativity and traditional gender roles, many reported family members struggled with their SMY identities.

You know how they said . . . in the Hispanic culture it’s worse for a guy to be gay . . . well with my mom it’s different cuz when I told her I like girls she told me she’d prefer to have my brother be gay than me be gay. She said that it’s better for a guy than for a girl to be gay. (Ana, age 16, Latina, bisexual)

Fathers appeared to have a particularly difficult time adjusting to their daughter’s identities, and this subsequently put a great deal of pressure on participants.

My dad, he didn’t like it. He actually cried. It was weird because I’ve never seen him cry before . . . my mom she was ok, she was good with it. But my dad, we like used to be really close, but now we don’t talk at all . . . At first he was trying to accept it and then he just completely closed off. It’s so stressful. (Sheena, age 18, African American, lesbian)

Participants described that even when disclosing their SMY identities, pressures related to gender and family roles were particularly difficult for them as compared with their male siblings.

Me and my brother came out to my dad at the same time . . . and he started yelling. He was like “I will not have any gay children [in] my house.” And he pointed at me and said “I want grandchildren.” (Anne-Marie, 16, Haitian, lesbian)

Another participant noted the rigid gender expectations overlapped and intersected with cultural beliefs about race.

Yea like they think that like a female needs to be with a male and if you’re white you have to be with a white person. Like it doesn’t just go into your gender it goes into the color of your skin. (Yolanda, 15, Hispanic, bisexual)

Participant narratives highlight the strong reactions from family and community toward the identities of ESMG. Their sexual identities are perceived as serious violations of cultural expectations around femininity, womanhood, and motherhood. Through the lens of minority stress theory, the stigma associated with transgressing multiple culturally ascribed gender roles would likely have an impact on stress and ultimate psychosocial well-being among ESMG.

Subtheme B: Violating religious doctrine

Religion, specifically Christianity and Catholicism, played a strong role in many of the participants’ lives. For most, religion appeared to be a core component of their cultural identity, and they articulated religion’s strong influence on their families’ and communities’ treatment of sexual minorities.

Basically my family think [the sexual minority community are] demonic people . . . I asked, cuz I would like to tell them, and then I’d want them to give me their point of view on it. So I don’t right away tell them what I am. Like they basically just tell me they’re like demonic people. (Jolessa, age 18, Jamaican American, lesbian)

The invalidating messages perpetuated by their families’ traditional religious views contributed to distress for many participants. Although church was a social and cultural hub for participants, they reported being conflicted. It not only supported their ethnoracial identities but also oppressed their SMY identities. The following quote highlights the ways traditional religious beliefs contributed to stress associated with a SMY identity.

I do believe in God, but I don’t need pressure. If you’re doing something wrong, obviously everybody does something wrong, but if you do something wrong God’s watching you, God’s watching you, God’s watching you . . . . (Liliana, age 16, mixed race, questioning)

Similarly, another participant described how her grandmother used antigay religious media to “scare” her away from being lesbian.

Yea, and then [grandma] shows me this video of priests saying like a man and a man shouldn’t. And like she shows me a whole bunch of stuff. Like I guess cuz she thinks I’m like gay, (speaks quietly) I’m like no . . . I guess she thinks I’m gay so she’s using the religion to scare me or something. (Dalia, age 17, Latina, lesbian)

The process of negotiating religious, cultural, and sexual identities was one wrought with conflict and stress for participants. They described that trying to be their authentic selves made them feel like they were violating religious beliefs and also letting their families down.

Subtheme C: Exclusion and taunting by family members

Participants identified deep and painful experiences of exclusion following harsh treatment or policing of (attempts to control) their SMY identities from family members.

The whole family thing—it makes me feel like an outcast because my sister . . . [makes me feel bad] too. I guess she just does it because my parents do . . . I don’t even want to say it. She’ll be like, “I like boys. That’s normal. You should change,” or like, “I know why you looked at that person,” and I’ll be like, “What are you talking about?” She’ll be, “Some girl,” and then she just learned stuff from my parents. She’s more harsh about it than my actual parents, and she’s only 13. (Yvette, 18, Hispanic, lesbian)

Participants indicated that because family viewed their sexual orientation as a violation of cultural norms, they were treated as outcasts, or even traitors, to their families and cultures.

Pretty much, made me feel like an outsider and neglected. I think that’s why a lot of adults also judge, you know, the homosexuals, cuz they don’t see it like an often thing and they don’t consider it normal. Like my mom says, “That’s not part of our community.” That’s what my mom says, it’s not part of the community and that people, society basically sees people like that, like aliens. (Angie, 18, African American, lesbian)

Participants reported being the target of negative comments from family members. Fathers were often described as being the harshest, resorting to name calling and accusing their daughters of being promiscuous following disclosure of their SMY identities.

My dad makes jokes, too. He calls me a whore. I’m like, I’m not a whore. Then sometimes I’ll say something like, All right. Whatever. (Ana, age 16, Latina, bisexual)

Several participants’ reported that family members taunted them by referring to SMY daughters as men or boys. By coming out to their families, girls were often stripped of their female identities.

Me and my dad were just joking around about it, and I was just talking about the girl and whatever, and then my mom comes in and she gave me the dirtiest look and she’s like, “Oh I have two men in here,” and I was just like okay. (Jeanette, 17, Caribbean, bisexual)

Although there was an apparent juxtaposition between the sexualization of some young women in this study and the denial of femininity for others, both responses serve to strip sexual minority girls of their value as daughters. Such responses also suggest that family members lack the context for affirmatively assimilating knowledge about their daughters’ SMY identities into their overall view or understanding of their child.

Theme 2: HERoic Coping

The term HERoic coping developed from the data in response to participants’ tremendous strength, courage, and resolve in the face of multiple layers of adversity, as well as researcher perceptions that the coping strategies appeared to be inextricably linked to ascribed and embraced gender roles. This term was embraced by the research advisory board. Three subthemes represent unique forms of resilience emerging from the narratives: (a) serving as the family educator, (b) being out in the open with family, and (c) creating pockets of safety.

Subtheme A: Serving as the family educator

In the face of extreme emotional demands related to rigid cultural and gender expectations, participants channeled pressures into opportunities for resilience. Participants described how they took on the responsibility for educating about sexual minority issues in an effort to build alliances within their families and communities. In their approach to managing family reactions to their sexual identities, participants understood traditional aspects of the female gender role, such as taking responsibility for the well-being of the family, being the peacemaker, and maintaining family cohesion. Participants worked to bridge understanding between themselves and their families.

I think it is good to try to get parents to understand the situation that their kids are in. I don’t think the kids themselves would want something different. I think in general they just want to be accepted and you know have their parents tell them it’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with that. (Marisol, 17, Latina, queer)

One participant described how she skillfully navigated family members’ initial hostility and rejection by helping them build understanding and acceptance. Through these strategies, participants resourcefully and flexibly protected their newfound SMY identities while holding on to their strong cultural values of family and unity.

I had a picture on Facebook kissing my girlfriend, and my aunt saw it and she didn’t like it. She had told me that her daughter, she was like two years old at the time, that she saw it and she asked her what it was and she didn’t wanna tell her. Well now, she’s more accepting of it and now she tells her daughter that it’s something of love because I had explained to her previously that it’s not like I’m killing her, I’m showing affection and love to her, it’s not like I’m slicing her throat or something, so . . . I explained to her in a good manner and said that instead of telling her it’s something bad she could have told her daughter that it’s something loving and something positive, not a negative. (Claudette, age 18, Haitian, bisexual)

Many ESMG engaged in coping and self-advocacy that had the additional aim of maintaining family connections through respectful dialogue. Participants often assumed the role of family peacemaker even under precarious circumstances, sometimes with notable success as evidenced by Claudette’s experience with her aunt who then educated her own daughter.

Subtheme B: Being out with family

Many participants accepted and embraced their sexual identities and were proactive in asserting their identities within their families and communities. The following quote describes the strategy used by one participant to minimize the potential hurt from antigay bigotry.

I have seen things. I have gone to church and I have talked to people, that’s why every time I introduce myself or every time I wanna be in a relationship, I tell them, first thing, I’m bisexual, are you okay with that? (Tammy, 17, African American, bisexual)

Despite many cultural and familial taboos, many participants evidenced great courage by coming out to their families. Several reported feeling relief and even receiving increased support from their parents once they began to live openly within their families.

My mom is more open to me, and now I can actually talk to her about relationships and stuff like that, and I can tell her “oh me and my girlfriend are gonna do something today and whatever” and I’ll tell her how like our relationship is going and stuff that if I was straight I would tell her about a boyfriend or something. (Brandi, Latina, 16, lesbian)

Another participant described how coming out to her mother created a stronger relationship and even built a supportive family context that extended to her sister, who is also a lesbian.

I think like it opened like I had a closer bond with my mom because now I told her the truth and it made our bond stronger and we could get along more and the thing is that when it comes to my sister since it’s more open now she’s like gay everyone accepts her more. (Yvonne, 18, mixed race, lesbian)

Subtheme C: Creating pockets of safety

Participants articulated several ways in which they were able to challenge and/or reframe negative messages that they received from families and religious institutions. Their ability to challenge prejudice and discrimination allowed them to create safety for themselves. Many refused to allow their spirituality to be taken; instead, they deftly negotiated complicated and often adversarial religious perspectives to create safe spiritual experiences for themselves and other SMY. The following quotes illustrate how participants engaged in this reframing process to create safety.

[T]hen I said, since my dad is all in God, how God made everything I was like, since God made everything . . . he made gay couples. (Sasha, 17, Caribbean Black, bisexual)

I don’t think it should be like that. I think, cuz there’s some priests that accept gay people and I think that people should realize that. (Kyla, 15, African American, lesbian)

Participants skillfully navigated stressful circumstances. Many created a buffer between the direct cause of stress and the effects of stress on their well-being. One referred to this process as creating “a safety pocket.” Many reported exercise, social media use, or leaving a stressful situation as ways to cope with stressful situations and protect their mental health.

[I]f I can’t take it anymore in my house and I can’t go to the gym and I can’t do anything else I’ll call up my friend and then we’ll go, and then I’ll come back home and they’ll still be going at it and I would just feel like okay and not as worried . . . . (Patrice, 17, Haitian, bisexual)

Such strategies could be considered a form of coping which is avoidant, but simultaneously helpful in moderation (Craig, McInroy, McCready, & Alaggia, 2015), wherein ESMG evaluate the source of stress and take steps to avoid conflict and/or danger by engaging in another activity.

[S]ay my mom and me are arguing I’ll try to get out of the house. Maybe go play sports, try to stay away like as much time as I can. (Keisha, 17, Haitian American, lesbian)

Social network. That’s how you know if I’m stressed out . . . I go on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter . . . update about 10 statuses. (Tania, 15, Latina, questioning)

Thus, participants were aware of situations that were stressful to their health and mental health and created safety through reflection and engagement in other activities.

Discussion

Exploring the experiences of ESMG provides insight into the interplay of risks and resilience in this vulnerable population. This study contributes to emerging research efforts that focus on the specific cultural experiences that may enable SMY to thrive despite ongoing adversity. The primary themes of being shunned by family and culture and HERoic coping enhance understanding of gender- and culture-specific minority stressors experienced by ESMG, as well as the specific sources of resilience used to protect against the potentially deleterious impact of accumulating stressors in their lives.

The Complexities of Family, Religious, and Community Involvement

Participants articulated the pressure of cultural expectations, and reported stress associated with family misconceptions about being ESMG and the roles one can (and cannot) fulfill within a family and community. Similar to studies of ethnoracial youth generally, the concept of family extended beyond the nuclear family to include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (Taylor, Chatters, Woodward, & Brown, 2013). Family was a core component of identity, but few participants had families that were fully supportive of their SMY identities. Although kinship may buffer the effects of stress and prevent certain risk behaviors for ethnoracial youth (Ayón, Marsiglia, & Bermudez-Parsai, 2010), for ESMG, these resilience enhancing mechanisms may be more complex. Studies have found that ethnoracial SMY have greater internalized homophobia, yet these differences may be attributed to elevated concerns about the impact that SMY identity may have on family cohesion and relationships (Aranda et al., 2015). Similar to previous studies using mostly White non-Hispanic samples (Heatherington & Lavner, 2008), family members often made assumptions about the meaning of sexual orientation, suggesting ESMG will “deprive” their families of grandchildren or a wife/mother/family caregiver. Women may disproportionately shoulder responsibilities for maintaining family and tradition (Castillo, Perez, Castillo, & Ghosheh, 2010), and as the importance of traditional gender roles may be even more pronounced in ethnoracial families (Durell, Chiong, & Battle, 2007), participants were strongly criticized for perceived transgressions of critical family and cultural norms. For ESMG, these reactions may contribute to a sense that one has failed their family and the larger culture.

Internalized homophobia and systematic oppression are both correlated with strict adherence to traditional gender roles (Durell et al., 2007; Herek & Gonzalez-Rivera, 2006). For example, machismo—a strong sense of masculine pride—reflects the importance of traditional gender roles in Hispanic culture (Estrada, Rigali-Oiler, Arciniega, & Tracey, 2011) and is often associated with heightened homophobia. For many participants, openly acknowledging their SMY identities was perceived as directly challenging accepted norms and traditional gender roles within their families and cultures. Because these violations may result in less social and cultural power, family and community responses may not be supportive (Voisin et al., 2013). Some participants reported that their social behaviors were being overscrutinized by family members, while others reported that they were ostracized. This is consistent with research on behaviors toward Latino sexual minority males, which found that Latinos may respond to sexual minority Latinos by distancing themselves or policing others’ behaviors (Durrell, 2007; Estrada et al., 2011). Given the history of marginalization and oppression experienced by ethnoracial families in the United States, such behavior may be an attempt to protect familial and cultural norms from the additional stigma associated with an additional minority identity. This may be particularly salient for SMY who have less power than adults (Singh, 2013) and are considered a reflection of their families. Such experiences left the participants feeling less connected to their families and cultures.

The Foundation of Resilience: Individual and Environment

Although participants shared challenges associated with navigating intersecting sexual minority and ethnoracial minority identities during adolescence, they also shared remarkable resilience. To better understand participants’ reactions to their circumstances, resilience is conceptualized as the facilitative processes that enable coping in the face of adversity (Ungar, 2012). One way ethnoracial sexual minority populations enhance resilience is by reducing the impact of heterosexist stigma exposure through identity management (Adams, Cahill, & Ackerlind, 2005). The coping strategy of “role flexing” allows individuals to identify with the identity which results in less stigma depending on the context (Bowleg et al., 2003; Wilson & Miller, 2002). Often, role flexing involves selective disclosure of sexual orientation that results in less “outness” (Moradi, Wiseman, et al., 2010). Interestingly, participants tended to be out to their families; but many engaged in role flexing around traditional roles of femininity and womanhood, strategically emphasizing various facets of their female identities within their family and ethnoracial communities (Moradi, Wiseman, et al., 2010).

In negotiating their place within the family, participants seemed to successfully embrace their understanding of traditional aspects of female gender roles, such as maintaining family cohesion, serving as peacemaker when possible, and respectfully educating and supporting other family members in their understanding of sexual minority issues. While leaving families of origin either physically (e.g., running away) or emotionally (e.g., staying closeted, cutting off communication) may be the only option for some SMY (Craig, 2012), participants tended to be out to members of their families and people in their communities. Participants often took control of situations by proactively introducing sexual orientation into the conversation, acting as educators and advocates. This self-advocacy has been noted as an important source of resilience among transgender youth of color in their schools and communities (Singh, 2013). Active problem solving allowed ESMG to recognize the socially constructed elements of their families’ beliefs about sexual minorities and actively work to change those perceptions, rather than extricating themselves from their families. This deft navigation and role flexing can be considered a unique aspect of resilience that allows ESMG to preserve their own emerging identities and cultural strengths, such as family interdependence, and may serve to “neutralize” (Moradi, Wiseman, et al., 2010, p. 412) the greater stigma that may exist for some ESMG.

Similarly, participants’ resilience was demonstrated through interactions with religious communities. Religion is a cornerstone of many Black and Hispanic communities (Cole & Guy-Sheftall, 2003), and for participants, religion was inextricably linked with culture, to the extent that it appeared to be a core component of their intersecting family and cultural identities. Religious communities often rejected participants’ SMY identities while supporting their ethnoracial identities, resulting in confusion and emotional pain. Despite this, participants were able to challenge prejudice and discrimination. Many retained their spiritual connections by deftly negotiating complicated, often adversarial, religious perspectives to create safe experiences for themselves (e.g., creating their own relationship with religion). Such adaptive coping allowed them to challenge feelings of distress and develop a sense of control by preserving both religious and/or cultural affiliations, as well as their SMY identities. They learned to retain aspects of their cultural and religious identities congruent with their SMY status (e.g., God made and loves all people, thus made and loves ESMG), while reframing the ethnoracial and/or religious norms that undermined well-being (e.g., restrictive gender roles). ESMG who described connections to family, culture, spirituality, and their own acceptance of their SMY identities actively promoted and maintained their well-being.

Environments that facilitate resilience by meeting youths’ needs may be particularly influential to coping (Ungar, 2012). ESMG may experience both facilitative and nonfacilitative processes in the complexities of their cultural context. For example, Hispanic youth may experience pride and belonging as a result of shared cultural experiences with families and the larger Latino community (Santiago-Rivera, 2003), but may feel excluded when they come out as sexual minorities (Craig & Keane, 2014). Unmet needs may result in alternative, less adaptive forms of coping that could negatively affect health or mental health. Because ESMG may not have the same level of control over their environments as sexual minority adults, marginalization may be particularly detrimental (Singh, 2013). Ungar (2011) has argued that the interaction between youth and environment is constantly changing. Participants’ resilience seemed to be facilitated by their individual actions, such as reframing and reconstructing their relationships and environments. Participants put physical or emotional space between themselves and their stressors, which may serve to strengthen resilience and allow them to better deal with stress. As a result of successfully negotiating the complexities of being a member of multiple marginalized groups in the United States, participants may have developed agency and internal resources such as educating others to help them survive, and even thrive, within nonaffirming contexts.

Implications for Practice and Research

Findings have implications for understanding risk, promoting resilience, and enhancing wellness among ESMG. Understanding the features of stress and resilience, as well as features particular to a cultural identity or context can help illuminate a broad social ecology (Ungar, 2011). This allows for sexual orientation and gender identity—as well as race/ethnicity, and other critical constructs—to be understood as complex internal and external social processes that may play a role in both marginalization and resilience (Ungar, 2012). In this social–ecological approach, resilience enhancers may be of greater importance for ESMG (Shernoff & Schmidt, 2008). For example, ESMG living in less supportive familial and cultural environments that also have more individual-level stressors may need a greater variety of services than those who come from more supportive contexts. Although potentially beneficial for all girls, the presence of an out sexual minority adult from one’s ethnoracial community may reduce isolation and provide support that enables ESMG to contend with multiple stressors (Ungar, 2012). Moreover, school- and community-based interventions that are flexible, responsive to unique culture-specific experiences and stressors, and promote adaptive coping are critical (Austin & Craig, 2015; Craig, 2013). Asking young women to describe the impact of stress exposure and the internal, social, and cultural resources that they use to overcome adversity can foster interventions that mitigate the impact of marginalization. Study findings underscore that efforts should be made to promote facilitative environments for these youth. Such affirmative programs that inclusively address the unique gender, developmental, and cultural needs of ESMG could be implemented in schools, community centers, and churches, as well as with families (Craig, Austin, & McInroy, 2014).

Limitations

This study has several limitations. Participants were recruited through SMY support groups within their schools and as such were potentially receiving affirmative support that contributed to resilience. It is unknown whether they were active in any programs. Although we did not collect disclosure data, during the focus groups, most of these participants’ reported being “out” about their SMY status. Thus, this study is likely not reflective of ESMG who are not “out.” ESMG’s reported stress was not objectively measured in any way, and questions about experiences of homophobia were not explicitly asked. The construct of resilience may not have been fully explored because of the concern of the participants with their stressors. Further studies may begin to illuminate these constructs. Due to their qualitative nature, findings are not generalizable (Hays & Singh, 2011), but some findings may be transferable to similar participants or contexts. Findings are not representative of all ESMG because of the gender and ethnoracial composition of the sample, the study location, and the use of independent consent instead of parental consent. Elicitation of identities was limited to self-reported identity classifications and did not include behavior indicators.

A notable difference was found between the experiences of participants and the existing literature on ethnoracial minority and/or sexual minority adults. For older ethnoracial minority lesbians, the stress associated with homophobia and sexism was almost always intermingled with challenges of racism (Bowleg et al., 2004; Kim & Fredriksen-Goldsen, 2012). Surprisingly, the participants did not speak about racism as a stressor. This may be attributed to the study location. Participants resided in a large, racially/ethnically diverse urban area, and were deeply embedded in communities and schools that reflected their ethnoracial identities. Furthermore, participants may have been more comfortable discussing sexual identities than ethnoracial issues because the interviewers were White non-Hispanic. Moreover, the focus group methodology has certain limitations. Though care was taken during coding, it may be difficult to ascertain the degree to which particular statements represent the sample as a whole or how much peer influence and social expectations affected the discussion. However, skillful facilitation can partially address many of these challenges and, as discussed above, the ability to observe such interactions may be of methodological benefit (Krueger & Casey, 2009). Member checking was also not possible due to access issues with the school-based setting.

Despite such challenges, this study tried to advance a more nuanced understanding of the minority stress and resilience processes among ESMG to inform the successful navigation and integration of youths’ multiple identities. Participants articulated multiple examples of “HERoic” resilience in the face of interpersonal and cultural adversities. It is hoped that these powerful narratives will encourage future research initiatives that further explore the identity negotiation process of ESMG, and unearth pathways to coping and resilience among ESMG with intersecting social, cultural, and ethnoracial identities.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Randi Adler and Christina Arango for their support and, most importantly, the inspirational young women who participated in this study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors graciously thank the Lesbian Health Fund for funding this research.

Author Biographies

Shelley L. Craig’s research and practice addresses the the social determinants of health and mental health and the impact of the service delivery system on sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). Her publications explore the the risks and resiliencies encountered by SGMY both online and offline and the creation of evidence-informed affirmative interventions to enhance coping.

Ashley Austin’s research and practice interests revolve around reducing health disparities and improving services for vulnerable subgroups of youth and young adults. Her publications and presentations focus on the following topics: trans affirmative social work practice, effective interventions for sexual and gender minority youth and young adults, adolescent substance abuse, and evidence-based interventions. She uses grounded theory research to understand issues experienced by individuals within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Edward J. Alessi’s research and scholarly interests include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) mental health issues and clinical social work practice. His scholarship (a) investigates the effect of minority stress on the mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations; (b) examines mental health practitioners’ use of LGB-affirmative practice; and (c) seeks to advance clinical practice with marginalized and oppressed populations.

Lauren McInroy’s research and scholarship focuses on LGBTQ youth populations, and the developmental and social implications of offline and online information and communication technologies (ICTs) on children, adolescents, and young adults.

Gina Keane has more than 10 years of experience in research and practice with marginalized populations and will be enrolling in a doctoral program to study the effects of community involvement on the resilience of adolescent sexual minority girls.

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