Toward a Culturally Specific Spirituality for Black Sexual Minority Men

Abstract

Spirituality is a culturally relevant phenomenon that has been found to significantly affect Black sexual minority (SM) men’s health in the United States. However, many studies that have investigated spirituality among Black SM men have often used conceptualizations of spirituality that were not defined by this group. This research investigation used qualitative methods to determine how Black SM men defined spirituality for themselves. Ten Black SM men from across the United States were individually interviewed via Zoom videoconferencing. Grounded theory analyses revealed four themes that described Black SM men’s culturally specific spirituality: (a) spiritual definition, (b) specificity of Black SM men’s spirituality, (c) physical manifestations of spirituality, and (d) images of the sacred. The implications of these findings for future research and clinical work with Black SM men, within a Black psychological framework, are discussed.

Toward radical healing: A qualitative metasynthesis exploring oppression and liberation among Black queer people.

“…For example, research suggests that many Black queer individuals utilize religious and spiritual belief systems and practices (e.g., church membership) in order to develop and maintain a sense of resiliency, connect with their collectives, and learn strategies to resist oppression (Dangerfield et al, 2019; Garrett-Walker & Torres, 2017; Lassiter, Brewer, & Wilton, 2020). Furthermore, Black queer communities generate resilience by engaging in communities that are affirming to their racial and sexual identity development as well as their other intersectional identities (Follins et al, 2014; Follins & Lassiter, 2016; Lassiter, Brewer, & Wilton, 2020). Finally, activism engagement is prevalent among Black queer populations (Pender et al, 2019).…”

“The Awesomeness and the Vastness of Who You Really Are:” A Culturally Distinct Framework for Understanding the Link Between Spirituality and Health for Black Sexual Minority Men

“…We approached the study with an awareness of the potential biases that sharing similar social identities with our participants might introduce to the process. Such biases included having worldviews that prioritized our spiritual and Black cultural interpretation of our personal and professional lives (see Lassiter et al, 2020 for more details). The first author led the research team and the writing of the current article.…”

“…Lassiter and colleagues (2020) found that the BSMM in their sample engaged in a culturally specific spirituality (CSS) that was directly tied to their lived experiences of intersectional oppression and privilege. CSS was identified as having universal, culturally specific, and representational components that combined in distinct ways among some BSMM (Lassiter et al, 2020). BSMM in that study reported:…”

“…Spirituality is one such resource that many BSMM utilize toward these aims (Follins et al, 2014). Spirituality is generally defined as a relationship with the sacred, or divine, that transcends the multiple dimensions of the material and ethereal worlds (Lassiter et al, 2020). It is unrestricted by the boundaries and doctrine commonly associated with religion (Miller & Thoresen, 2003); however, it may encompass religious beliefs and practices.…”

A Systematic Review of Black American Same-Sex Couples Research: Laying the Groundwork for Culturally-Specific Research and Interventions

“…Two articles (i.e., Glass, 2014;Glass & Few-Demo, 2013) reporting on different findings from the same study highlighted Black feminist theory as one of its guiding theoretical frameworks. Although Black feminist theory is more culturally aligned with BASCs than alternative theories used to guide other studies in this review (e.g., interdependence theory, social cognitive theory), it still does not fully take into account sexual orientation and the role of precolonial Afrocentric values that may be particularly relevant for BASCs (Follins & Lassiter, 2017;Lassiter, Brewer, et al, 2020). Most articles in this review did not frame the research about BASCs' health within culturally aligned theoretical frameworks which suggests that the findings related to BASCs could have been interpreted in ways that may constitute a transubstantive error (i.e., misinterpreting a group's reality using the definitions and meaning-making systems not created by that group or aligned with their deep cultural worldview; Azibo, 1996;Nobles, 2006).…”