“Not a Real Family”: Microaggressions Directed toward LGBTQ Families

Abstract

The present study investigates microaggressions toward individuals in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) families. Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination experienced on a daily basis as verbal or behavioral slights against individuals in oppressed groups. LGBTQ microaggressions are often studied at an individual level and understood as being directed toward an individual based on perceived identity. The present study allows for an understanding of bias directed at the family system level. Participants included 46 adults who identified as being part of an LGBTQ family. Participants completed an online questionnaire and described their experiences of LGBTQ family microaggressions. Thematic analysis revealed that LGBTQ family microaggressions were salient to individuals across multiple family roles. Three specific themes emerged: family legitimacy, conflicts with family values, and gender violation within family. These findings highlight the way LGBTQ microaggressions are influenced by cultural notions of family and impact the family system.

Stigma Experiences, Mental Health, Perceived Parenting Competence, and Parent–Child Relationships Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents in the United States

“…What we know from existing research is that children and their (adoptive) sexual minority parents do face stigma, overt discrimination, and microaggressions based on parental sexual orientation (Bos and Gartrell, 2010;Vyncke et al, 2014;Farr et al, 2016a;Haines et al, 2018;Green et al, 2019). Moreover, these minority stress experiences have been associated with a variety of negative outcomes among sexual minority parent family members, such as lower behavioral adjustment, negative health outcomes, lower well-being, and less positive parenting and coparenting (Tornello et al, 2011;Lick et al, 2013;Crouch et al, 2014Crouch et al, , 2015Carone et al, 2017Carone et al, , 2018Golombok et al, 2018;Calzo et al, 2019;Goldberg et al, 2019;Green et al, 2019).…”

Impacts of Marriage Legalization on the Experiences of Sexual Minority Women in Work and Community Contexts

“…Sexual minorities are often exposed to microaggressions in interpersonal interactions, including microassaults (verbal or nonverbal abuse or behavior), microinsults (demeaning statements), and microinvalidations (messages that negate perceptions and experiences) (Nadal et al, 2016). Microaggressions that have been identified as particularly salient to LGBTQ couples and families involve others questioning the legitimacy of their family relationships (e.g., referring to partners as “friends,” denying that same-sex marriages are “real,” and minimizing the importance of chosen family), framing LGBT families as conflicting with family values, and pathologizing families in relation to lack of traditional gender roles (Haines, Boyer, Giovanazzi, & Galupo, 2017). Previous research has found that experiencing microaggressions in the social environment appears to have a negative impact on sexual minorities, even when controlling for supportive policies such as marriage legalization (Woodford, Paceley, Kulick, & Hong, 2015).…”

Conceptualizing “Family” and the Role of “Chosen Family” within the LGBTQ+ Refugee Community: A Text Network Graph Analysis

“…One way of understanding a chosen family is as a group of people to whom a person is emotionally close enough to consider them as family, even though they are not biologically or legally related [4,31]. because of shared circumstances, chosen families in the LGBTQ+ population are considered more emotionally and psychologically supportive than biological families [32]. Families created outside of biological families are covered in the studies of Mitchell [33], Rodriguez [34], and Weston [35].…”