Afro-Latino Same-Sex Attracted Men: Ethnic Identity Importance, Gay Community Identification, and Internalized Homonegativity

abstract:Afro-Latino same-sex attracted men have been ignored by the research community with the exception of public health researchers examining the role of ethnicity in HIV/AIDS and often these studies label participants as either Latino or African American (Muñoz-Laboy & Severson, 2018). Of the US population estimates of men who have sex with men (MSM), 1.1 million are Latino and 635,000 are Black, yet it is unknown how many are both (Lieb et al, 2011). Aside from not having a clear understanding of how many Afro-Latino same-sex attracted men exist, there is no data about how these men understand their multiple identities, nor agreed upon definitions of popular terms such as MSM. This quantitative and exploratory research study examined the interconnection of ethnic identity, gay community identification, and internalized homonegativity among Afro-Latino same-sex attracted men. Thirty-two men from across the United States completed a detailed demographic questionnaire, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992), the Identification with and Involvement with the Gay Community Scale (IGCS; Vanable, McKirnan, & Stokes, 2011), and Internalized Homonegativity Inventory (IHNI; Mayfield, 2001). Results indicated that as ethnic identity increased, homonegativity decreased. While exploratory in nature, the study results contradict common narratives about same-sex attracted men of color and are a beginning step in understanding the complexity of identity for Afro-Latinos.