Community Connectedness, Challenges, and Resilience among Gay Latino Immigrants

To date, relatively little psychological research has focused on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Latino/a immigrants to the United States. 

This qualitative study used face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore the unique sources of stress, challenges, as well as opportunities and factors related to resilience among 13 gay Latino first- and second-generation immigrants. Iterative coding of interview transcripts revealed four key themes, each of which is illustrated with verbatim quotes: 1) feelings of connectedness to the LGBT community, 2) feelings of connectedness to the Latino/a community, 3) intersectional challenges and strategies, and 4) well-being, strength, and resilience. 

As suggested by these themes, gay Latino immigrants have distinct sources of stress and conflict, many of them associated with community memberships, but also draw on unique sources of support and adaptive thoughts and behaviors in facing stressors. 

Implications for studying risk and resilience factors among stigmatized populations, including LGBT individuals and immigrants, are discussed.

...As Hector, a 42-year-old second-generation gay man who adopted a more masculine gender presentation noted:

I guess because I'm not flamboyant a lot of people don't realize [I’m gay] in just general public settings. So I guess if I was more effeminate it would be more obvious and then it might've been an issue for me… because of that I also stay away from gay culture more.

Hector recalled that the only gay role models he had growing up were extremely feminine and that he never identified or saw commonality with them. Presently, he stated that he chooses to affiliate with more masculine men, and wishes to be seen by others and by mainstream society as “just a regular guy.”

Another source of disconnection involved the perceived tension between ethnic groups within the LGBT community or between an ethnic community and the “mainstream” gay community. Some participants felt that being an ethnic minority member of the LGBT community was difficult at times; they perceived the LGBT community as largely White and privileged. Perhaps reflecting this, many also felt that ethnic minorities were poorly represented within the community, including in community spaces, in discussions of activism, and in the media. Ernesto, a 49-year-old Peruvian who moved to the U.S. as an adult, described his perception of the LGBT community as narrowly focused, and as having an agenda that was mainly driven by White, gay men. Having lived in several multicultural communities throughout his lifetime, he was particularly attuned to what he felt was a one-dimensional approach to defining the priorities of the LGBT community:

I think their interests are very, like I said, self-serving. It’s about what interests them. It’s like this whole Prop 8 thing…everyone's fighting for that. That's fine, but you know minorities are fighting for other things. But, but still the White elite, they think that gay minorities should be fighting for the same thing they are fighting. But it’s like what about when they are fighting about immigration, or, you know, the Dream Act, or other stuff? We don't see them. You know, they’re, they’re just not there, you know? They're totally out of touch...

Sample demographics (n = 13).

Pseudonym	Age	Sexual Orientation	Generation (Birth Country)	Primary Language	Employment Status	Education	Income
Humberto	51	Gay	1st (Venezuela)	Spanish	Full time	Graduate	$75k-$100k
Jorge	21	Queer	1st (Mexico)	English	Student	Some College	<$20k
Ernesto	49	Gay	1st (Peru)	English	Unemployed	Bachelor's	<$20k
Jose Luis	37	Gay	1st (Mexico)	English & Spanish	Full time	Graduate	$75k-$100k
Manuel	32	Gay	1st (Mexico)	English	Full time	Bachelor's	$100k+
David	19	Gay	2nd (Mexico/Mexico)	English	Part time	High School	<$20k
Carlos	26	Gay	2nd (Mexico/Mexico)	English	Full time	Some College	$20k - $30k
Oscar	53	Gay	2nd (U.S./Mexico)	English	Unemployed	Some College	<$20k
Hector	42	Gay	2nd (U.S./Mexico)	English	Self-employed	Some College	<$20k
Gabriel	29	Gay	2nd (Mexico/Mexico)	English	Full time	Some College	$20k - $30k
Edgar	23	Gay	2nd (El Salvador/Guatemala)	English	Part time	Some College	<$20k
Raul	33	Gay	2nd (Mexico/Mexico)	English	Unemployed	Associate's	<$20k
Hugo	48	Gay	2nd (Venezuela/Italy)	English	Part time	Graduate	N/A

Note: Birth country for 2nd-generation is represented as (Mother’s Birth Country/Father’s Birth Country.)

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/KL9XCL

By:  Nicole N. Gray, David M. Mendelsohn, and Allen M. Omoto

Nicole N. Gray, Department of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University;

Contributor Information.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nicole N. Gray, Department of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University (http://www.cgu.edu/pages/1.asp), 123 E. 8^th Street, Claremont, CA 91711. Email: ude.ugc@yarg.elocin

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