‘Ballroom itself can either make you or break you’ – Black GBT Youths’ psychosocial development in the House Ball Community

Abstract

Purpose Social context plays a significant role in adolescent identity development, particularly for youth lacking traditional systems of support. Using ecological and symbolic interactionism perspectives, this study qualitatively explored the psychosocial identity development of Black gay, bisexual, or transgendered (GBT) youth participating in the House Ball Community (HBC). The HBC is a diverse network of family-like structures called ‘houses’, as well as a glamorous social outlet via pageant-like ‘balls’ in which participants compete. Methods A series of focus groups were conducted with youth and leaders from the HBC (n=37; age range=17–24). Via cross-case and comparative analyses, specific motivating factors related to entry into and continued involvement in the community were identified. Results Factors related to entry into the community included lack of safe spaces, opportunities for acceptance, means of subsistence, and allure of the scene. Factors related to continued involvement included resilience and coping skills development, sexual identity acceptance and pride, prevalence of risky behaviour, and risk of exploitation. Conclusion Discussion of these factors provides insight on how self-constructed, supplementary social contexts may provide both unique supports and risks to members, allowing for more focused and well-informed interventions and policies to enhance healthy development in such communities while mitigating risk.

The Construction of Shame and Pride: A Grounded Theory Model of Identity, Emotions, and Wellbeing among Sexual Minority Adolescents

“…Few studies have examined pride among SMAs. One study found sexual minority youth construct pride through engagement with identity-specific resources (Telander et al, 2017), a finding reflected in the current study. Broader research on positive emotions has proposed these feelings encourage engagement with cognitive and social resources that feedback additional positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2013).…”

“…McDermott et al (2008) qualitative study posited societal stigma influences sexual minority youth to negotiate their identity around avoiding shame and that they work to develop pride as an avoidance method. Another qualitative study found feelings of pride emerge from engaging with the sexual minority community, and the drive to maintain pride motivates continual engagement (Telander et al, 2017). Contemporarily, many groups and communities reject stigmatizing rhetoric toward sexual minorities and instead normalize and celebrate these identities.…”

A Psychosocial Genealogy of LGBTQ+ Gender: An Empirically Based Theory of Gender and Gender Identity Cultures

“…Corroborating research has demonstrated that this increased social support is associated with less minority stress (Wong, Schrager, Holloway, Meyer, & Kipke, 2014). Also, group involvement held both costs and benefits: Members felt a newfound acceptance and pride but were at risk of developing self-destructive habits or being exploited by more established house members (Telander, Hosek, Lemos, & Jeremie-Brink, 2017).…”

Sexual Empowerment Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

“…Empowerment is an especially salient intervention strategy for YBMSM. Heterosexism within Black communities and racism within gay communities burden YBMSM with multiple stigmatized identities that may contribute to further isolation (Jamil et al, 2009;Telander et al, 2017). Empowerment-based interventions explicitly focus on participants' human rights as agents of change rather than labeling marginalized groups with deficit-or victim-framed language (Kerrigan et al, 2015), which helps to overcome their isolation by mobilizing their collective power.…”