Perceptions of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Minority Adolescents About Labels

Abstract

Young peoples’ acceptance and use of nontraditional, descriptive identity labels (e.g., pansexual, genderqueer) require nurses to consider moving beyond use of traditional terms (e.g., gay, transgender). This mixed methods study explores (a) labels used by sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) minority youth, (b) their expressed importance and meaning of these labels, and (c) differences in label usage. Sixty-six SOGI minority adolescents in British Columbia, Minnesota, and Massachusetts (mean age = 16.6) participated in “go-along” interviews; during interviews, 42 (63.6%) commented on labels. Chi-square and t tests were used to compare traditional versus nontraditional labels across participant demographic categories. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify representative themes. Approximately, 1/3 of participants used nontraditional sexual orientation identity labels; this finding was associated with a trans identity and nontraditional gender labels. Using terminology that is meaningful and representative to the youth themselves has potential to facilitate representative research and welcoming environments in practice.

A proposed taxonomy for categorizing sexual identities in adolescence.

“…Considerable scholarship has examined the measurement of sexual identity in recent years in the United States (Garrett-Walker & Montagno, 2021; Hammack et al, 2022; Porta et al, 2020). However, the most appropriate classification structure for sexual identity remains unclear.…”

Do Beliefs About Sexual Orientation Predict Sexual Identity Labeling Among Sexual Minorities?

“…An increasing proportion of same-gender attracted individuals are reporting non-traditional sexual identities; that is, identities other than lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight (Horner, 2007;Savin-Williams, 2009;Watson et al, 2019). This trend has perhaps been most clearly documented among young people, with around a quarter of contemporary samegender attracted youth identifying with a non-traditional label (Porta et al, 2020;Watson et al, 2019). While various non-traditional labels exist, the two most common are "pansexual" and "queer" (Mitchell et al, 2014;Watson et al, 2019).…”

South Asian Canadian Digital Archive Thesaurus

“…For some, using any kind of identity category to classify records is a form of ghettoization. On the other hand, classification can also result in a sense of shared identity and belonging (Coleman-Fountain 2014;Porta et al 2019;Rinderle and Montoya 2008;Kodama and Ebreo 2009). Not including certain identity categories in metadata records could be seen as a form of erasure and could ultimately make it difficult for users to retrieve records that deal explicitly with particular identity categories or that use disagreeable colonial nomenclature.…”