4 - (SYM 50) Intersectional Oppression, Help-seeking Behaviors, and Coming out in LGBTQ+ Latines

Coming out has been described as an essential part of queer individuals’ identity formation and has been shown to be beneficial for queer individuals’ mental health. Yet, there are contexts in which coming out might be detrimental to a person’s mental health, including cultural spaces that have strong proscriptions around sexuality and gender norms, such as within the Latine culture. Indeed, little is known about the coming out experiences and the cultural factors that might play a role in this process for queer Latines in the U.S. Drawing from an intersectionality perspective, through semi-structured interviews, the present study investigated the coming out experiences and mental health help-seeking behaviors of 30 self-identified queer Latines (Mage = 24.5). Of the 30 participants, ten identified as bisexual (33.3%), seven as gay (23.3%), seven as pansexual (23.3%), four as queer (13.3%), one as lesbian (3.3%), and one identified with no label. Further, thirteen participants were cis women (43.3%), seven were cis men (23.3%), seven were non-binary (23.3%), two were genderqueer (6.7%), and one was a trans man (3.3%). We engaged in reflexive thematic analysis and developed three over-arching themes: coming out narratives in an intersectional context, “where do I go when there is no-where to go?” and “I want a therapist who ‘gets it.’” Overall, participants experienced interpersonal, intrapersonal, and structural distress before, during, and after coming out. Cultural factors that affected and continued to affect these participants included familismo, religiosity, strict gender norms (e.g., machismo and marianismo), and stigma related to mental health difficulties. Moreover, participants experienced structural stressors including racism, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, financial burdens, lack of insurance, and being an outsider in both the Latine community and the queer community. Participants discussed efforts to find an intersectional community where they would be able to feel represented and understood. Further, most participants had sought therapy (or were in therapy at the time of the interview), with many describing feeling misunderstood and wanting their therapist to be more culturally competent and humble. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the intersection of Latinidad and queerness and how cultural factors may or may not facilitate Latines’ coming out and help-seeking behaviors.