“You can't thrive when you are being suffocated”: Quantitative and qualitative findings on minority stress in Kenyan queer womxn and trans men

Abstract

Minority stress can negatively affect sexual and gender minorities' health and well‐being. Little is known about how the factors associated with minority stress influence the lived experiences of sexual and gender minorities in settings where stigma and discrimination are highly prevalent, and the legal context is restrictive. We conducted an online survey among 335 Kenyan queer womxn and trans men collecting data on internalized homophobia, outness, and LGBT shame and pride and supplemented these with 33 interviews among three stakeholder groups. We found that our sample showed overall lower levels of outness, higher levels of shame, and higher levels of internalized homophobia compared to sexual and gender minorities in other studies. Our qualitative data showed that queer womxn and trans men lack a sense of belonging and frequently face violence from various perpetrators. Understanding how minority stress affects the lived experiences of queer womxn and trans men in any context is important to advance mental health and well‐being; it is even more crucial in contexts that restrict the thriving of minorities through legislation, religion, and culture. Advancing the knowledge on minority stress is essential to address the challenges minorities face in these settings.