A narrative exploration of the importance of intersectionality in a Black trans woman’s mental health experiences

The concept of intersectionality in bioethics: a systematic review

“…Gerlach’s [ 45 ] analysis in the Canadian context entails a critical reflection of the relevance of neo-colonial practices in therapy with indigenous people to improve their health care experiences, as well as a reflection of own privileges as a white, educated, middle-class therapist. Another aspect of intersectionality as a critical praxis is its potential to inform the development of health-care policies and interventions, such as for meeting mental health needs and the care of trans people [ 92 ]. Shelton and Lester [ 92 ] specifically analyse the ways in which Black trans women are affected by transphobia, classism, and racism in different regions of the US when it comes to mental health care.…”

“…Another aspect of intersectionality as a critical praxis is its potential to inform the development of health-care policies and interventions, such as for meeting mental health needs and the care of trans people [ 92 ]. Shelton and Lester [ 92 ] specifically analyse the ways in which Black trans women are affected by transphobia, classism, and racism in different regions of the US when it comes to mental health care. Writing from the angle of critical disability studies, Fine [ 41 ] demands that when psychologists translate research into policy “we need to center analyses in the lives and experiences of people with disabilities” and consider racism, sexism, and homophobia in the process.…”

“The State of Your Psyche”: Black Conceptualizations of Mental Health

“…Blackness, and subsequently Black mental health, remains an ever-expanding nexus of identity, rooted in the African diaspora, with branches in gender (Shelton & Lester, 2022; Sherman et al, 2022), sex (Donovan & West, 2015; Walton et al, 2021), sexuality (Amola & Grimmett, 2015; Cyrus, 2017; Kum, 2017), and spiritual identity (Crocker, 2021; Goodwin, 2022; Hailey et al, 2020). For example, Cyrus (2017) examines how Black LGBTQ people navigate multiple minoritized identities and therefore experience increased risk of mental illness, related not only to race, but also sexuality, compounded by identification with multiple groups.…”

Queer(ing) and Trans(ing) Critical Media Literacies in Response to Anti-lgbtqia+ Legislation and Policies

“…Nonetheless, as educators we have worked and continue to work against homophobic and transphobic legal and policy landscapes, often in collaboration with other activist educators (e.g., Blackburn et al 2010;Blackburn et al 2018;Shelton & Brooks 2021;Shelton & Lester 2022). Perhaps unsurprisingly given our shared background in English language arts education, we often used texts, print and otherwise, as part of these efforts (e.g., Schey & Uppstrom 2010;) and given our location in literacies studies, we still understand texts to be resources for transformational social change, as Freire (1987) argues, for reading the word and the world, which always entails 'a certain form of writing it or rewriting it, that is, of transforming it ' (p. 35).…”