Coming out of the <i>desi</i> closet: disclosure of same-sex sexuality in metropolitan-India

Achar, Meghna; Gopal, Baiju

doi:10.1080/19361653.2021.1958121

Cited by 5 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Following the full-text review, 23 studies were found eligible for data extraction which had discussed the problems faced during the CO process. Most of the studies are from developed countries (USA, Italy, Spain, and Canada), and only one study from India[ 21 ] (was published online in 2021). These have been summarized in Tables 1 and 2 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the recurring themes of discussion in the lives of LGBTQ+ is the experience of prejudice from various strata of society, such as parental, societal, racial, cultural, and religious factors that lead to problems of hiding, internalized homophobia, and anticipatory rejections that put this population under extreme conditions[ 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. All these can be very well explainable by the ‘Minority Stress Model’.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 9 , 23 ] Within the Indian context, CO is facilitated by a supportive parent who can validate with unhindered positive regard, but any fear of family disruption or need to preserve the status quo tends to delay the CO in adolescence. [ 21 ] In recent times, the availability of new social media has enhanced the ease of CO anonymously or testing one's tentative identities, while also following or connecting to any other members of the community to share one's narratives. [ 22 ]…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several psychological challenges are present during the formation of sexual Identity, with the need to overcome internalized sexual stigma and have strong self-acceptance being the single most important factor in the CO process. This, along with a lack of any concrete sexual identity, further delays the process of finding the strength to CO.[ 21 , 27 , 32 , 34 , 40 ] An interesting psychological tendency is to openly express a sexual affinity as either a queer apologetic or even a political affiliation that is expressed towards LGBTQ+, which is also largely utilized to CO just as an affinity instead of identity, thus enabling the chance of future relationships and also reducing any disclosure stress. [ 23 ] Many times even a culture that lacks the right language to express one's sexual Identity clearly also causes problems in establishing a clear self-identity and eventually to CO to family clearly.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 48 ] Once the decision to CO is made after an established identity, the next barriers are one's mental resilience to face the consequences of disclosure, fight discrimination, integrate multiple identities within one's intersection, and continue the dynamic process of CO in various contexts. [ 21 , 26 , 40 ]…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Coming out’/self-disclosure in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth: International and Indian scenario - A narrative review of published studies in the last decade (2012-2022)

Sahoo,

Venkatesan,

Chakravarty

2023

Indian Journal of Psychiatry

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Background: People who identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and others (LGBTQ+) go through a process of self-exploration and self-identification during adolescence, and the process resolves when one decides to self-disclosure. The experience of ‘Coming Out’ (CO) can be positive, leading to acceptance and a feeling of liberation, or it can be harmful, leading to stigma, humiliation, and discrimination, subsequently leading to significant psychological distress. Aim: This study was to do a narrative review on the studies published in the area/topic of CO in youth in the last decade (2012-2022) and to look for factors that act as barriers and facilitators of CO. Additionally, we have tried to look for differences in CO in LGBTQ+ adolescents and youth in the Western world vis-a-vis Indian/Eastern societies. Materials and Methods: An extensive literature search in electronic databases, PUBMED, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, and search engine ‘Google Scholar’ using specific search terms and assessment of all published articles until 20th May 2023 was done. Results: Twenty-three studies were found eligible for data extraction, which discussed the problems faced during the CO process. Most of the studies are from developed countries, and only one is from India. Eleven were qualitative studies, 11 were cross-sectional studies, and one was a case study. The qualitative studies focused on generating themes of CO along with various issues/problems faced by the participants. The cross-sectional studies mainly explored parental reactions, stigma, parental support, psychological distress, and perceived stress in the participants. Major themes emerging from the qualitative studies were the experience of prejudice from various strata of society, such as parental, societal, racial, cultural, and religious factors that lead to problems of hiding, internalized homophobia, and anticipatory rejections that put this population under extreme conditions. Limited research is available from Eastern societies. More recently, the new generation of adolescents has taken the help of social media platforms for self-disclosure. Conclusions: CO is an elaborate multi-step process that considers the presence of parental/family and societal support, cultural/traditional values, and several psychosocial factors that determine the degree of positive outcomes. Emerging data indicated an improved trend of adolescents deciding to come out to families or in online platforms, both of which are associated with challenges, more in eastern collectivistic societies and developing countries.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%