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ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES

National GLBT
Organizations and
National GLBT
Religious Organizations

US Multicultural
And Ethnic
GLBT Organizations
 

MORE INFO

Diversity in the
College Classroom

Strategies for
Inclusive Teaching

Working With
Diverse Students

TriKone
South Asian
GLBT

LLEGO
Latino GLBT

Safe Schools
Coalition
GLBT Resources for
Youth of Color

Black Stripe

GLBT Hispanic
& Latino Report

Queer Asian Pacific
American Info
 

RELIGIOUS
INFO

Many supportive religious resources do exist.
A comprehensive list
of websites of various
denominations and
religions can be found at:

 Univ Fla LGBT

OTHER RELIGIOUS
INFO LINKS

ChristianGays

GLBT Struggles
And Religions

Erratic Impact:
Queer Religion

Gay Religion

Gay-Friendly
Churches
 

Keith Boykin
Gay Black Activist


ADDITIONAL
LINKS

Washington Blade

African Ancestral Lesbians United for Social Change

National Black
Justice Coalition
 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
 

MORE INFO

Martin Luther
King Jr.

Homophobia and
Heterosexism

GLBT Issues
and Religion

GLBT Issues
and Being Irish

Famous GLBT
People

GLBT History

Violence to
GLBT People

GLBT
Hate Crimes
 

COMING OUT AS GLBT & BLACK

For many black individuals, coming out involves additional cultural factors that make the process more challenging but no less rewarding. It includes having to deal with homophobic churches, strong family foundations that emphasize heterosexuality, homophobia in the black community, and racism in the broader LGBTQ community.  Thanks to brave LGBTQ black activists and their allies there is more support and acceptance than ever before, but there still exist many prejudices and roadblocks for LGBTQ blacks.

Religion

The church has traditionally played a central role in guiding the day-to-day lives and beliefs of many black Americans.

Some churches and individual parishioners have been unwelcoming to people with a different sexual orientation or gender identity.

The stance of the many in the black community on homosexuality, either you don’t talk about it or you condemn it, has been historically dictated by the church.

Over the past few decades, new churches have been established specifically to welcome and affirm LGBTQ people of color.

Some long-established black churches also have made progress toward being more welcoming.

Family

The black family unit often functions as a haven and stronghold of support in a society where racism is still prevalent.

Often, there is no place in this fortress of strength for a “weakness,” as homosexuality is often viewed.

LGBTQ children are sometimes viewed as being detrimental and damaging to the black family and give a negative impression for the whole black community.

Society and Media

Within the LGBTQ community, many of the same prejudices that we see in the rest of society based on race, class, and ethnicity still exist, which create unique challenges black LGBTQ American trying to fit into the LGBTQ community

Many LGBTQ communities and organizations have been viewed as historically white and can be uncomfortable or unwelcoming for some black Americans.

Black LGBTQ Americans have been virtually invisible in history and when they are depicted their sexual orientation is rarely mentioned.

The media and entertainment world rarely show LGBTQ people as anything but white.

Adapted from Coming Out for African Americans, printed by the Human Rights Campaign.
 

NOTES ON GLBT AFRICAN-AMERICANS

GLBT Developmental Tasks for African-American Students

Those who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women, those of us who are poor, who are lesbian, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill.  It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish.  It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths.
(Audre Lorde, 1984, Sister Outsider)

I hate being invisible.  Being both Black and gay, I haven’t developed the courage to fight on two battlefields.  So I’ve chosen one by default; the obvious one, the easy one, the Black one…   As a gay person, I’ve feared losing the love of family, and facing the wrath of community.  I’ve searched through an obscure history.  Allies are gay friends also trying to remain invisible and straight friends sworn to keep my secret…  While I openly share the beauty of my Black experience, insight gained from being gay is shared only when it’s safe.  Black publications proudly announce their arrival, while gay publications arrive hidden in plain manila envelopes…When I’m hurt as a Black person I have an instant support network.  When I’m hurt as a gay person, I’m left to lick my wounds until I find a safe place…   I fear taking on another label and providing people with yet another reason to view me as a target.  It’s difficult enough educating people to see Black people as multi-dimensional and not flat stereotypes.  Why take on the added burden?  I suffer as a result of this decision…  Just as Black people need distance from the distorted image reflected by Whites, so too do we as gays need an environment in which to affirm ourselves…When people think, “gay” they see, “White.”  When they think “Black” they fail to see “gay” …Our success in being invisible robs us of knowing ourselves and each other.  It further robs us of being known on our own terms...Yet, the risk of being visible is one that too few of us is willing to take.  Someday I’ll marshal the strength to fight on two battlefields.  Until then I’ll choose the obvious one, continue to be invisible and hate it.
(Chuck, Blackstripe)

These two excepts highlight the challenges gay African Americans must face.  They have the task of dealing with the intersection of multiple identities (intertwined states of “otherness”):  Sexual orientation, race, and gender (women).  This can be a stressful and lonely journey.  The challenge is in learning how to negotiate and manage these simultaneous states of social realities.

Information compiled by Angela D. Coker, PhD, LPC, NCC, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Education
 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Questions for Educators

In what ways can we make our classrooms/learning communities more inclusive and user-friendly for GLBT students?

How often do we engage in self-reflection and an examination of our own values and biases with respect to race, gender, and homosexuality?

How might our personal issues, comments, subtle message impede the educational process for students who are members of this group?

Source: McEwen, M.K., Roper, L.D., Bryant, D.R., & Langa, M.J. (1990). Incorporating the development of African-American students into psychosocial theories of student development. Journal of College Student Development, 31(5),429-436.

Prepared by Angela D. Coker, PhD, LPC, NCC, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Education
 

COMING OUT AS GLBT & HISPANIC/LATINO

For many Hispanic and Latino individuals, coming out involves some specific cultural factors worth considering. These factors include having to deal with a culture highly influenced by religion and particularly Catholicism, strong family foundations, traditional gender norms and machismo, as well as racism and the lack of visibility of Hispanic and Latinos in the leadership of LGBTQ community. Many Hispanic and Latino LGBT people have endured intensive prejudice and discrimination from  the various communities to which they belong.  Yet, thanks to courageous Hispanic and Latino LGBTQ activists, writers and scholars, their families and their allies, this is a time of growing support, acceptance and visibility.

Religion

According to the U.S. 2000 census, 70% of Hispanic and Latino families identify as Catholic. The second largest group is most likely Protestant, followed by people who do not consider themselves members of any church, Jews, and finally a very small number of converts to Islam. In all of these communities, the Bible is a frequently quoted source by those who condemn homosexuality. Those who use the Bible this way support their view with a literal reading of the texts and often take quotations out of context, ignoring their historical and cultural origins, and using them as ammunition against people they hate or fear.  

Patriarchy and the Family

In many Hispanic and Latino contexts, the family remains a crucial institution that defines both gender and sexual relations between men and women. Therefore, any behavior that deviates from the expected heterosexuality must be kept secret.

Responsibility to one’s family is a very important value. Family name and image are very important values and every individual family member is seen as a reflection on their larger family

There is a strong cultural norm that families must solve problems on their own and not mention them outside the inner family circle. If problems remain unsolved or are considered unsolvable, then the family often no longer discusses the matter, and buries it in silence.

Many Hispanic/Latino families have parents who believe they would do anything to insure their children’s welfare. However, like parents of all ethnic groups, many are ill prepared to deal with having a LGBT child because of a lack of education with regard to human sexuality and sexual identity.

Gender stereotypes and the position of women in patriarchal societies influence the treatment and stereotypes of gay men in these societies. This can be seen, for example in the contemptuous term term “Maricón” used to slur gay men in Mexico and throughout the Spanish speaking world by comparing them to women.

Patriarchal cultures with deep roots in the institution of heterosexuality can also be experienced as requiring that women commit themselves to men (of their culture) while subordinating their own sexual desires.

Machismo
 Most, if not all, cultures have double standards by which male and female sexual and gender behavior is judged. In Hispanic and Latino communities, these values and beliefs are often referred to as machismo and are highly valued. Machismo doesn’t have to lead to homophobia but it can if it leads to the“ the repudiation of all ‘ feminine’ virtues” in men and any suspicion of masculinity in women.

 
Media

The media (particularly TV and movies) and popular jokes are powerful means through which Hispanic and Latino individuals learn about LGBT people. Spanish television in the U.S. often portrays gay men stereotypically, as extremely effeminate, ridiculous, humorous characters. LGBT people and their contributions to society are rarely if ever depicted, though during the last decade, some Spanish soap operas have begun to include a few gay characters portrayed with a positive image. The sexual orientation of successful and famous gay persons is avoided, depriving LGBT youths of important role models. Lesbians are rarely portrayed in the media and, when they are, they are also shown stereotypically as very masculine women.

Tradition

Tradition is highly valued in Hispanic and Latino cultures.

The idea of joining a support group strike some member of Hispanic and Latino communities as untraditional and contrary to the values of privacy and family pride.

Economic Circumstances

Hispanic/Latino same-sex couple families in Florida are disadvantaged compared to white non-Hispanic/Latino same-sex couple families in terms of income, homeownership, and disability.

Female same-sex households in Florida in which both partners are Hispanic/Latina earn over $23,000 less in median annual household income than white non- Hispanic/Latina female same-sex households and over $27,000 less than white non- Hispanic/Latino male same-sex households.

Male same-sex households in Florida in which both partners are Hispanic/Latino earn $13,140 less in median annual household income than white non-Hispanic/Latina female same-sex households and $17,500 less than white non-Hispanic/Latino male same sex couples.

Some Hispanic and Latino LGBT individuals, parents and allies are highly motivated to form or join support or civil groups, but they are limited by their financial circumstances and/or overwhelming work schedules.

Adapted from De Colores: Lesbian and Gay Latinos: Stories of Strength, Family and Love Discussion Guide by Nila Marrone and Peter Barbosa.

Data taken from Hispanic and Latino Same Sex Couples in Florida: A Report Based on the 2000 Census by Jason Cianciotto and Luis Lopez
 

COMING OUT AS GLBT & ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN

Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) come from dozens of different countries, making that population one of the most diverse communities in America.  Because of the diverse cultural backgrounds, histories, and languages of APAs, there is no universal coming out experience for all LGBT APAs, but. LGBT APAs still share some similar challenges and experiences during the coming out process.

Family

Coming out to family is an enormous challenge.

Many fear rejection, disappointing their parents or being seen as sullying the family name.

The subject of LGBT issues is often treated with silence, which can feel like rejection.

Not unusual for a LGBT APAs to be out in every aspect of life, except to family.

When parents are aware of a child's sexual orientation or gender identity, that information is often hidden from family friends.

Religion

There are traditional connections among family, culture, and religion within the community.

The interconnectedness of culture and religion means that any homophobia related to faith can have a devastating effect.

Experiences with religion vary greatly depending on the religion practiced by a particular family, individual, or region. 

Some religions such as Hinduism are fairly accepting, while other like Catholicism and Islam can be less accepting.

Society
Coming out experiences are often intensified by a lack of visibility, racism, and language barriers.

There is still a lack of visibility of APAs within LGBT groups, publications, and media sources.

There is a lack of positive images of LGBT APAs in popular entertainment and media.

APAs can face racism within the LGBT community, sometimes as overt discrimination and other times as the lack representation.
 

Adapted from Coming Out for Asian Pacific Americans, printed by the Human Rights Campaign.