“I’m Going to Live My Life Freely”: Authenticity as an Indicator of Belonging Among Urban Latinx LGBTQ+ Youth

Abstract

While there is a growing body of scholarship on the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in school and community settings, less is known about Latinx LGBTQ+ youth specifically. In response, this phenomenological study examined the experiences of eight Latinx LGBTQ+ youth relative to school and community belonging, with a specific focus on urban environments, using intersectionality and minority stress frameworks, and Lee and Robbins’ operational definition of belongingness. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (a) navigating challenges, (b) the importance of an inclusive climate, and (c) thriving through adversity. Further, authenticity was identified as an additional indicator of belonging among Latinx LGBTQ+ youth. This article reviews the study’s findings, explores implications for Extension research and practice, and suggests strategies for educators and youth-serving professionals.

The iBelong Scale: Construction and validation of a measure of racial–ethnic–cultural belonging.

“…However, it is common in other studies of belonging with BIPOC populations, including Black college students (Hunter et al, 2019), BIPOC transracial adoptees (Goss et al, 2017; G. S. Kim et al, 2010), and Latinx lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning youth (M. Gonzalez et al, 2022).…”

“…However, it is common in other studies of belonging with BIPOC populations, including Black college students (Hunter et al, 2019), BIPOC transracial adoptees (Goss et al, 2017;G. S. Kim et al, 2010), and Latinx lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning youth (M. Gonzalez et al, 2022). For BIPOC transracial adoptees, authenticity is critical to racial identity salience, notions of legitimacy in terms of feeling seen and accepted by their REC group and tied to cues for signaling REC belonging through behaviors aligned with fellow REC group members (Goss et al, 2017).…”

“…For BIPOC transracial adoptees, authenticity is critical to racial identity salience, notions of legitimacy in terms of feeling seen and accepted by their REC group and tied to cues for signaling REC belonging through behaviors aligned with fellow REC group members (Goss et al, 2017). For Latinx lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning youth, authenticity was an important contribution to experience belonging and self-confidence in navigating adversity (M. Gonzalez et al, 2022). Given these findings, authenticity would expectedly also negatively relate to REC nonbelonging (e.g., cultural homelessness) in which one could not be their full selves with any REC group.…”