Complex family negotiations among queer and trans college students of color: A narrative inquiry

Objective

This study explored how queer and trans people of color (QTPOC) college students navigate complex family relationships and understand the contexts that shape their family bonds.

Background

QTPOC face myriad forces of oppression that complicate their notion of family. Family relationships of QTPOC also reveal cultural nuances in tandem with race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexuality. For QTPOC college students, college can signify opportunities to create chosen family or navigate relationships with family of origin.

Method

Using a narrative inquiry methodology and the paradigm of intersectionality, this study involved the narratives of nine QTPOC college students using 18 interviews and nine journal entries to elaborate on how they experienced family relationships during college.

Results

Findings revealed complex cultural and family dynamics associated with race, sexual identity, and gender identity. The findings were exemplified in three themes: (a) Defining and Engaging Family as a Constantly Evolving Process; (b) Familial Impact on Identity Development; and (c) Salience of Intersection Between Racial Identity and LGBTQ+ Identity.

Conclusion

QTPOC college students experience a transitory period that heightens the salience of racism, genderism, and heterosexism and elicits complex negotiations between family of origin and chosen family. Some QTPOC college students renegotiate their notion of family to reinforce their racial, sexual, and gender identities.

Implications

It may be prudent for practitioners to consider how certain social identities may be rejected by certain family members and could lead to further types of distress. Practitioners can explore opportunities to maneuver family of origin and discover chosen family in collegiate settings, especially along the lines of race within LGBTQ+ communities.