Contexts for Thriving Among Queer Young Adults of Color

!
Kia!Darling*Hammond!
Stanford!University!
****!
!
A B S T R A C T !The!purpose!of!this!research!is!to!examine!contexts!for!thriving!among!young!adults!

(age! 18<30)! living! at! the! intersections! of! gender,! sexuality,! and! racial/ethnic! identities! that!
society! considers! to! be! other! or! non<normative! (LGBTQ+/SGL1! of! color).! A! small,! though!
robust! and! growing,! literature! centers! these! populations,! though! with! greater! attention! to!
school! age! youth,! rather! than! emerging! adults.! Very! few! studies! examine! states! of! self<
actualization!or!other!concepts!of!what!could!be!termed!thriving!for!this!population.!Instead,!
most! literature! emphasizes! the! risks,! traumas,! and! challenges! these! young! people! face,! and!
situates! their! lives! as! struggles! for! survival! in! the! face! of! exclusion,! rejection,! and! violence.!
Through!a!qualitative!phenomenological!study!using!semi<structured!one<on<one!interviews,!I!
explore:! (1)! How! and! under! what! circumstances! do! queer! youth! and! young! adults! of! color!
believe! they! experience! thriving?! (2)! What! new! information! is! revealed! when! we! center! the!
lived! experiences! and! survival! literacies! of! LGBTQ+/SGL<identified! youth! and! young! adults! of!
color!to!better!understand!possibilities!for!thriving?!(3)!What!potential!lies!in!using!these!young!
peoples! thriving! as! our! grand! metric! for! success,! whether! it! be! institutional,! social,! or!
personal?!(4)!How!does!this!reshape!how!we!think!about!ways!to!support!and!nurture!these!and!
other! young! people?! Early! analysis! has! revealed! emergent! dimensions! of! thriving! explored!
further!below.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1
!LGBTQ+/SGL!stands!for!lesbian,!gay,!bisexual,!trans,!queer,!questioning,!intersex,!asexual,!pansexual,!polysexual,!demisexual,!
two<spirit,!non<gender!conforming!/!same!gender!loving,!and!other!unlabeled!or!yet<to<be!identified!gender!or!sexual!
experiences!that!transgress!socially!imposed!boundaries!of!normative!gender,!gender!performance,!and!sexuality!(i.e.!
cisgender,!heterosexual,!and!either!masculine!male!or!feminine!female).!This!dynamic!array!of!labels!is!also!sometimes!
encapsulated!by!the!abbreviation!SGM!(sexual!and!gender!minorities).!Those!who!identify!as!same-gender-loving!may!not!
identify!as!gay,!bisexual,!or!lesbian.!The!term!was!coined!by!activist!Cleo!Manago!to!be!used!by!African!diasporic!and!
Black!people!in!lieu!of!terms!like!gay,!bisexual,!and!lesbian,!which!he!deemed!Eurocentric!and!oppressive.!In!this!essay,!I!
often!use!the!term!queer!to!encapsulate!this!indescribably!diverse!array!of!non<normative!gender!and!sexual!identities.!I!
acknowledge!the!fraught!history!of!the!term,!but!note!that!its!reclamation!through!self<identification!has!served!to!undermine!
the!power!of!hatred!and!oppression!that!it!once!accompanied,!beginning!the!disruption!of!deeply!embedded!structures!that!
would!otherwise!reproduce!the!same.!Notable,!also,!is!the!frequency!with!which!my!interviewees!choose!to!describe!
themselves!as!queer,!citing!a!similar!logic!as!Manago!in!his!advancement!of!the!term!same<gender!loving.!Many!of!todays!
youth!and!young!adults!have!eschewed!labels!altogether!as!an!act!of!claiming!power!and!the!right!to!simply!be.!I!use!the!term!
of-color!to!describe!non<white!racial!minorities.!The!term!youth!is!used!to!denote!people!in!the!stages!between!early!
adolescence!and!early!adulthood,!while!the!term!young-adult!describes!people!between!the!ages!of!18!and!30.!I!use!the!terms!
interchangeably.!For!an!excellent!discussion!of!the!terms!queer!and!of!color,!please!see!Chan,!K.!et!al.!(2001),!pages!2<6.!

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 Queer Young Adults of Color Thriving
K. Darling-Hammond

Research Questions.
!
1)! How and under what circumstances do queer youth and young adults of color
believe they experience thriving?
2)! What new information is revealed when we center the lived experiences and survival
literacies of LGBTQ+/SGL-identified youth and young adults of color to better
understand possibilities for thriving?
3)! What potential lies in using these young peoples thriving as our grand metric for
success, whether it be institutional, social, or personal?
4)! How does this reshape how we think about ways to support and nurture these and
other young people?

Methods.
! Phenomenological approach building a framework of thriving from participant
responses, rather than imposing one from the literature (Singh, 2013; Singh 2014).
! Interview guide asked open-ended questions, not prescriptive. Participants complete
two semi-structured interviews, each separated by at least a few weeks.
! Though I dont assume all LGBTQ+ young adults of color have thriving narratives, I do
assume they have not-thriving stories to tell. Thus, I asked participants for information
on both thriving and not-thriving.
! The interview guide contains questions about specific supports for and barriers to
thriving with probes to surface identity and non-identity specific experiences.
! To manage the possibility that what I imagine thriving to be might be very different
from what my participants do, I ask about it in several different ways: as their own
definition of thriving, as not-thriving, as utopia, and in relationship to an imagined
future self.
! Early interviews were conducted over video, but subsequent interviews have largely
been in person at a location of the participants choosing.

Participants.
! Participants identify as (1) LGBTQI+, (2) Black, Latinx, Asian, and/or of color, (3) are
between the ages of 18-30, and (4) currently reside in the United States of America.
! Snowball sampling with word-of-mouth referral by participants to encourage comfort
and trust (Noy, 2008).
! Outreach through Facebook, email, occasionally text messaging to initiate contact,
then an emailed briefing message with consent form. The form was reviewed at the
start of each interview.
! I have completed sixteen first-round interviews nine are analyzed for presentation
here, and four second-round interviews (analysis pending).
!

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 Queer Young Adults of Color Thriving
K. Darling-Hammond

Table 1: Participant Demographic Information (analyzed first-round interviews)

# Pseudonym Age Race/Ethnicity Gender Sexual Education
(pronouns) Identity Identity
1 Bruescht 26 Black / Jamaican; Male Gay BA (unspecified)
(he/him) African American
2 Dante 23 Black / African Masculine Queer BA; pursuing PhD in
(he/him) American / of African identified man Africana/Diaspora
descent Studies
3 Everett 24 Black / Mixed Male Gay Earning BA Biology,
(he/him) minor in psychology
4 Forrest 25 Black / Half-Black, Cis-gender Gay / SGL BA in progress
(he/him) Half-Puerto Rican male
5 Gheera 25 Black / Mixed Female Lesbian BA in Communications
(she/her)
6 Kat 26 Black / Trinidadian Female Lesbian BA in Communications
(she/her)
7 Marcus 24 Black / Jamaican Fluid Fluid BA English Literature,
(they/them) minor in Women and
Gender Studies
8 Norma 24 Of color / Brazilian Female Queer BA Anthropology
(she/her)
9 Winthrop 26 Black / An African in Male Bisexual / BA in Dance, minor in
(he/him) America / Mixed Queer Japanese
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Image 1: Thriving Dimensions, Emerging Framework
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 Queer Young Adults of Color Thriving
K. Darling-Hammond

Table 2: Thriving Dimensions with Examples

DIMENSION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES
State of Mind !! Absence of "I wasn't living somebody else's life or worried about other
worry peoplenot dating anyone, not dealing with drama" (M)
!! Space or
independence "I felt like I was in a space where I could redefine myself and I could
!! Agency explore new territories without fear of failure." (D)
!! Assertion of self
!! Counter- "I think that was definitely the catalyst for me just being like, 'What
narrative the f*k is up with adults in this world right now?' Also, just realizing I
!! Refusal wasn't doing anything wrong confidence that it was okay." (M)

"I backed away from theater, I was originally going to be a theater

major, ... I was like, 'I actually don't know how to be a black queer
person in theater. What am I going to be playing? The sassy gay
friend in every show?' (D)
Affinity !! Supportive / "My high school teacher...really helped me. She was my only Black
Community Affinity teacher growing up." (E)
relationships
!! Intimate "I think what helps me also thrive...is having people, having a great
partnership support system, having friends that I can rely on, having - specifically
queer people of color friends." (N)
Passions / !! Centering "[T]here was also a lot of free time for myself, for me to take care of
Joys / personal myself I could regenerate when I had hard moments." (D)
Pleasures interests
!! Ability to focus "Another thing that helped me thrive was music...I need to have
on goals, joy, very consistent music sessions where I play and I sing and I just have
self-care fun." (N)
Resources !! Institutional "[She] helped me out a lot with applying to colleges, ...teaching me
success how to do a research paper...how to keep my backpack clean...
(academic, how to keep records of things... how to talk to people... how to be
professional) understanding... and when to walk away." (E)

Additional elements:
! Having everything one needs (8)
! Financial security (8), but a world where work is not the primary focus (5)
! Meaningful work (8)
! Safe space (7)
! Control over personal space / time (7)
! Social equality (7)
! Wellness / health support (7)
! Access to nature and the outdoors (6)
! Living authentically (6)
! Becoming or being seen as a leader and/or mentor (4)
! Feeling happy (7), successful (7), a sense of ease (6), confident (4), agentic (4),
fulfilled (4), joyful (3), balanced (3), and courageous (3)

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 Queer Young Adults of Color Thriving
K. Darling-Hammond

Continuity with Theory.

! Self-actualization includes self-acceptance, autonomy, transcendence of culture /
bias (Maslow, 1970)
! Well-being is a multidimensional process that includes deep personal relationships,
reliable social support, and positive self-regard and self-mastery. These can alleviate
stress effects on the body. (Ryff & Singer, 1998)
! Giving up can sometimes be the most adaptive decision in response to threat. It
can increase perseverance and achievement of personal goals. (Carver & Scheier,
2003)
! Constructive cognition, or the ability to be strategically imaginative, could help a
person achieve their goals. (Cantor, 2003)
! Adelbert Jenkins model of self as an agent of change where African Americans are
active in shaping their futures despite oppressive conditions of life (Belgrave & Allison,
2009).
! High positive sense of racial and/or sexual identity protects against the negative
effects of stigma and results in more positive psychological well-being. (Belgrave &
Allison, 2009)
! Access to supportive community, particularly one with shared identity characteristics
(affinity) has a positive effect on psychological well-being. (Frable, 1998; Higa et al.,
2014; Meyer, 2003; Miller & Kaiser, 2001; Singh, 2013; Singh, 2014).

Significance.
1)! Every participant has a thriving narrative. Every participant has imagined a world
that exceeds current reality.
2)! These TUF events are both normal and situated. Participants experiences align
to other frameworks of thriving, but attend to specific dimensions of queer of color
experience.
3)! The considerable thematic overlap offers us a starting point for thinking about how
to support thriving contexts for LGBTQ+ Black, Latinx, and Asian young adults.
4)! There are interesting tensions around participation in social structures/institutions and
achieving happiness, wellness, and self-actualization. It is insufficient, it seems, to
simply do well in school or get a good job and thrive.

5 Davis 2017