We Are Family: Chosen and Created Families as a Protective Factor Against Racialized Trauma and Anti-LGBTQ Oppression Among African American Sexual and Gender Minority Youth

Abstract

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth are at an increased risk for social isolation and family rejection. This is particularly true in African American communities where there is an increased lack of social support and acceptance for LGBTQ youth from their biological families, communities, churches, schools and healthcare systems. To counteract the social isolation and develop a sense of community, African American LGBTQ youth often form chosen or created families, with peers and older LGBTQ persons that mimic nuclear family structures, to cope with rejection at home and in their communities. These resilient social networks are created with varying sets of rules and relationship dynamics that may directly impact the social determinants of health among this community. The purpose of this manuscript is to systematically review the literature on African American LGBTQ youth and created families and identify patterns about the unique experiences of African LGBTQ youth who participate in these systems.