Challenges to identity integration amongst sexual minority British Muslim South Asian men

Abstract

Since the Stonewall uprisings, there has been greater social acceptance of homosexuality within Western contexts. Nevertheless, those who are at the intersection of more than one minority identity continue to face prejudice and discrimination, including homophobia and racism. Though there has been increasing work regarding the experiences of sexual minority people of colour (POC), a lacuna remains regarding the experiences of sexual minority British Muslim South Asian men and the integration of sexual minority and religious identities, particularly within a context of increased societal acceptance towards sexual minorities and societal Islamophobia. In this study, 38 sexual minority British Muslim South Asian men were recruited via snowball sampling and interviewed. Data were examined via reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: degrees of “outness”, hegemonic Whiteness and the LGBTQ+ community, internalisation of White hegemony, distancing from the sexual minority religio‐cultural ingroup, and attempting to reconcile potential identity conflict between sexual orientation identity and religious and cultural identities. Respondents' experiences highlighted substantial social exclusion due to intersectional disadvantage as well as a lack of intra‐community social support, suggesting substantial isolation, psychological implications and a general eschewing of identity affiliation based on sexual attraction. This has implications on services predicated on identity affiliation which may potentially exclude the needs of hidden and intersectionally disadvantaged populations.

Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Youth: The Influence of Rural and Urban Contexts on the Process of Building Identity and Disclosure

“…Another important result is that for many of the young people interviewed, the university environment, beyond its educational potential, is transformed into a place of opportunities for relationships and encounters (Carbone et al, 2021) where the possibility of experimenting with one's own identity as gender is facilitated. In this regard, Mitha et al (2021) research on LGB exclusion experience stated that "Being geographically distanced from his community, by living away from his family and community, facilitated being able to explore his sexuality without fear or judgment from others." (p. 1).…”

Societal acceptance increases Muslim-Gay identity integration for highly religious individuals… but only when the ingroup status is stable

“…Moreover, it does not have to be through established organizations or community centers. Indeed, especially for sexual minority members who have visibility concerns and are afraid to be outed, it might be even additional pressure to become members of certain LGBTQ+ organizations and participate in events (Mitha et al, 2021). Therefore, LGBTQ+ groups should aim to provide opportunities for inclusion and for support rather than prescribe them.…”

“…Due to the tenuous nature of the relationship between these identities, they experience stigma from both groups. For instance, LGBTQ+ individuals not only hide their sexual identities in religious circles, they also hide their religious identities among other LGBTQ+ individuals (Beagan & Hattie, 2015;Mitha et al, 2021;O'Brien, 2004). This in turn leads to feelings of guilt, shame, or defectiveness (Ritter & O'Neill, 1989), and might be one of the explanations of high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance use and self-harm within the community (Pietkiewicz et al, 2016).…”

“…Thus, research focussing on contexts that privilege other sexual, gender, or national identities could help solidify what the current study has brought to light. For instance, in the Western context where homosexuality is more privileged than Islam, gay men with multiple identities might face different threats to their identity, and perhaps acceptance from the gay community could be more important for identity integration than from the religious community (Koc, 2021;Mitha et al, 2021).…”

The protective role of identity integration against internalized sexual prejudice for religious gay men.

“…Research shows that having a sexual minority identity can conflict with a range of social group-based identities including gender (e.g., being gay and male: Koc & Vignoles, 2016, 2018), ethnicity (being a woman of color and lesbian: Parks et al, 2004), and religious identities (e.g., gay-Christian: Anderson and Koc, 2020; gay-Muslim: Koc et al, 2021), and sometimes multiple combinations of these identities (e.g., British Muslim South East Asian sexual minority men; Mitha et al, 2021). In particular, the combination of religious and sexual minority identities has a documented range of harmful health and well-being outcomes (including depression and suicidal ideation, Pietkiewicz & Kołodziejczyk-Skrzypek, 2016), and affective outcomes (including shame and guilt, Anderson & Koc, 2020).…”