Minority Identity Research Articles

188 DIFFERENTIAL CHANGES IN YOUTH TOBACCO USE BEFORE AND AFTER IMPLEMENTATION OF MASSACHUSETTS’ STATEWIDE FLAVOR RESTRICTION POLICY

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: This study examined youth tobacco use, disaggregated by sexual and gender minority (SGM) identity and race, in Massachusetts before and after the state implemented a flavored tobacco restriction. We assessed if the policy differentially impacted groups that have had higher rates of flavored tobacco use (i.e., SGM and African Americans [AAs]). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Data for this analysis came from the 2019 and 2021 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a biennial, national survey conducted among high school students, provided by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Changes in current use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes between 2019 and 2021 were examined for the entire sample and by SGM identity and race/ethnicity. Current cigarette use and current e-cigarette use were defined as reporting any use of the product in the past 30 days. We received confirmation from the IRB that because the data are de-identified and available to the public, this research is considered Not Human Subjects Research. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Between 2019 and 2021, current cigarette use and current e-cigarette use decreased for the entire sample (3.78% to 2.79% and 27.69% to 15.74%, respectively). Decreases were also observed after disaggregating results, but smaller changes were observed among minoritized groups (i.e., SGM and AAs), particularly for e-cigarettes. Current e-cigarette use decreased 25.56% among individuals identifying as SGM (28.14% to 20.95%) compared to a 49.33% decrease among non-SGM individuals (27.63% to 14.0%). Among all races, AAs had the lowest prevalence of current e-cigarette use in 2019 (15.10%), but also saw the lowest percentage decrease (17.68%). Among whites, current e-cigarette use decreased 45.75% from 32.33% in 2019 to 17.54% in 2021. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: After implementation of Massachusetts’ flavored tobacco restriction, current cigarette and e-cigarette use declined among Massachusetts youth overall and among groups that have been most affected by flavored tobacco. However, minoritized groups (i.e., SGMs, AAs) had lower percentage decreases compared to non-minoritized groups.

Representation of Indian Christians and their ‘othering’ in Mainstream Indian Cinema, a Critical Evaluation

Abstract The recent changing tides of social and political climate across the globe has impacted the influence of media and culture (Michael Gurevitch, 1982), and in effect, the social fabric of our globalised society. This paper uses theories from Sturcturalism to understand better the larger socio-cultural structures that lay deeply embedded into our understanding of society as a whole. This cultural understanding is important to look at media (and by extension film) through its power dynamics and capital it provides to the groups that it represents and the groups that it does not. The study of these representations as being in opposition to each other in the way of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups to understand the ways in which culture and cinema receive minorities, and for this paper, the Indian Christian identity in India. Mainstream cinema or Bollywood helps in the translation of in and out groups into the ‘othering’ of religious minorities (Brons, 2015) while also presenting and confirming the already existing ideas of the identity of minorities. This paper looks to identify the importance of alternative cinema, in this case regional Malayalam Cinema, for minorities that have been marginalised by the media and their role in the repairing the self-image of these minorities. The intrinsic binary between the alternative and mainstream cinema here are representative of the power and lack thereof for these minorities in terms of their social and self-perception.This paper goes a step further by not just looking at Indian Christians as a homogeneous whole but also determining the difference in portrayal and representation of the different denominations of the Indian Christian community. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain the reasons for the invisibility of Indian Christian representation or its ‘other-ing’ in mainstream film while also understanding the binary in the internal cultural dynamics within the Christian population through the lens of popular culture and regional or alternative cinema.

Relationships Among Determinants of Health, Cancer Screening Participation, and Sexual Minority Identity: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To address cancer screening disparities and reduce cancer risk among sexual minority (SM) groups, this review identifies individual, interpersonal, and community/societal determinants of cancer screening (non)participation among differing SM identities. Methods: Seven scientific databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) used quantitative methods; (2) English language; (3) cancer screening focus; and (4) at least one SM group identified. Articles were excluded if: (1) analysis was not disaggregated by SM identity (n = 29) and (2) quantitative analysis excluded determinants of cancer screening (n = 19). The Sexual and Gender Minority Health Disparities Research Framework guided literature synthesis. Results: Twelve studies addressed cervical (n = 4), breast (n = 3), breast/cervical (n = 3), or multiple cancers (n = 2). Other cancers were excluded due to inclusion/exclusion criteria. The total sample was 20,622 (mean 1525), including lesbian (n = 13,409), bisexual (n = 4442), gay (n = 1386), mostly heterosexual (n = 1302), and queer (n = 83) identities. Studies analyzing individual-level determinants (n = 8) found that socioeconomic status affected cervical, but not breast, cancer screening among lesbian and bisexual participants (n = 2). At the interpersonal level (n = 7), provider-patient relationship was a determinant of cervical cancer screening among lesbian participants (n = 4); a relationship not studied for other groups. Studies analyzing community/societal determinants (n = 5) found that rurality potentially affected cervical cancer screening among lesbian, but not bisexual people (n = 3). Conclusions: This review identified socioeconomic status, provider-patient relationship, and rurality as determinants affecting cancer screening among SM people. While literature addresses diverse SM groups, inclusion/exclusion criteria identified studies addressing cisgender women. Addressing disparities in the identified determinants of cervical cancer screening may improve participation among SM women. Further research is needed to understand determinants of cancer screening unique to other SM groups.

Autism and sexual and gender minority identity in college students: Examination of self-reported rates, functional outcomes, and treatment engagement.

Autistic individuals and those who identify with a sexual and/or gender minority are both at risk for various mental health concerns and related impairments. However, the connection between autism and sexual and/or gender minorities and mental health and functional outcomes is not clear. Here, we provide evidence of these connections by analyzing data from a large nationally representative dataset from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment III. We found that autistic college students who identify with both sexual and gender minorities reported the highest rates of stress, academic, and mental health concerns including suicidality when compared with autistic college students with or without a sexual and/or gender minority. In addition, college students with at least two identities, such as autism and a sexual minority identity or both a sexual and gender minority identity, reported the next highest rates of concern. These findings affirm the need for mental healthcare providers to consider the intersections of a sexual and gender minority identities in non-autistic and, especially, in autistic college students to develop and provide better support and resources.

Minority stress, perceived social support, and depression in people diverse in sexual and gender minority status

ABSTRACT The study examines the relationships between experienced heterosexism, perceived social support, and depression in people diverse in sexual and gender minority (SGM) identity. The cross-sectional online study was performed in Poland among 509 SGM people, with an average age of 22 years (M = 22.39, SD = 4.78). Minority stress was assessed using the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ), perceived social support was measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and depression symptoms were evaluated using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R). The study supported a buffering effect of social support from family and friends in the relationship between minority stress and depression symptoms. Network analysis (NA) showed that minority stress from family of origin, mediated by low family support, plays a key and bridging role in increasing suicidal ideation, especially in dual SGM individuals. Friends are the most important source of support for people with a single SGM identity. Therefore, to prevent suicidal thoughts in LGBTQ+ people at increased risk of depression, systemic therapy should be used in addition to interventions focusing on coping with minority stress and symptoms of depression.

Towards Dismantling Heteronormativity at South African Universities: Heterosexual Students’ Perceptions of Heteronormative Ideologies and LGBTIQ+ Identities

South African literature demonstrates that heteronormative ideologies are evident at universities and inform various discriminations against LGBTIQ+ students. These heteronormative ideologies emanate from the traditional heteronormative socialisation in the South African society. While there is notable literature based on the experiences and perceptions of LGBTIQ+ students at universities, not much research pays attention to heterosexual students’ perceptions. It is imperative to consider heterosexual students’ perceptions of LGBTIQ+ identities to challenge heteronormative ideologies and transform universities into inclusive spaces. This article is based on heterosexual university students’ non-heteronormative perceptions of LGBTIQ+ identities. I argue that there is the potential to dismantle heteronormativity at universities since the heterosexual students in this research are critical of heteronormative ideologies and question stereotypes about sexual minority identities. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 self-identifying heterosexual students, the article established that students’ perceptions of LGBTIQ+ identities were affirming as they resisted traditional norms of sexuality and gender and demonstrated sensitivity to sexual diversity. The paper calls for further research to critically engage heterosexual students in conversations around heteronormativity to advance the acceptance, tolerance, and inclusion of LGBTIQ+ students at South African universities.

Development and Preliminary Validation of the Sexual Minority Identity Emotion Scale

Emotions influence health behaviors and outcomes, yet little research has examined the emotion–health relationship among sexual minorities. The few studies in this area have used general measures of feelings without regard for identity, despite the literature positing emotions as culturally and contextually specific. This critical limitation obscures inferences made in studies that have found emotions to predict mental health outcomes for sexual minorities. This study begins to address this gap by developing and examining the preliminary validation of the Sexual Minority Identity Emotion Scale, a measure of shame and pride specific to the identity experiences of sexual minority adolescents. The initial pool of items emerged from a qualitative study and was refined through a multistep review. The measurement’s factor structure and criterion validity were examined using a nationwide sample of 273 sexual minority adolescents from the United States. The scale has four factors with strong internal reliability, adequate criterion validity, and utility in health research.

Queer Experience in Turkey

This study explores the possibility of critical agency of queer subjects in Turkey in terms of challenging and subverting normative structural constraints. These constraints are attested through expansive use of the concept of habitus including class, gender, family, ethnicity and religion. Our field study in which in-depth interviews have been conducted detected two types of habitus in the life experiences of queer subjects: critical and conservative. While the former enables critical agency, the latter undermines this possibility. On this ground, it is argued that exhibiting critical habitus appears to be the precondition of performing critical agency. We conclude that having multiple minority identities, education, and involvement in organizations develop a critical habitus enhancing critical queer agency.

“I’m only half Korean but I can relate to a lot of what you said”

Abstract Analyzing 20 comments posted in response to YouTube videos wherein two Asian American young women share their “lunchbox moment” stories, or first-person past-oriented accounts of how their (white) classmates at school reacted negatively to food that they brought from home for lunch, we demonstrate how posters collaboratively transform individual offline experiences of marginalization and difference into online moments of inclusion, solidarity, and shared identity. Integrating research on “second stories” (Sacks 1992), “story rounds” (Tannen 2005), online storytelling (Page 2011, 2018), and online-offline interconnections (e.g., Bolander and Locher 2020), we show how commenters of diverse backgrounds accomplish “adequation” (Bucholtz and Hall 2005) between their different minority identities in how they convey their own lunchbox moment stories. By using metadiscursive terms (e.g., “story”), “constructed dialogue” (Tannen 2007), ethnic category mentions, heritage languages, familiar address terms (e.g., first name), and emojis, YouTube posters create inclusion online and across cultural, ethnic, and spaciotemporal lines.

Queering the Postcolonial Auto/biography: Doubleness and Unspeakability in J. M. Coetzee’s Boyhood and Jamaica Kincaid’s My Brother

Examining representations of queer subjectivities as minor subjectivities, this essay compares J. M. Coetzee’s Boyhood and Jamaica Kincaid’s My Brother to investigate the emergence of queer postcolonial auto/biography in the late 1990s. The two texts use a similar hybridized form (a blurring of autobiography and third-person biography) to represent marginalized queer subjectivities in the postcolonial contexts of South Africa and Antigua, respectively. In doing so, they redefine the notion of the minor as an anti-colonial poetics and a non-normative lived experience. Both narratives, published in the same year (1997) and composed in the midst of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and after the end of Apartheid, engage with related themes of doubleness, secrecy, and unspeakability to reveal the double consciousness of queer figures silenced and rendered minor as a result of internalized shame through the taboo on non-heteronormative desires. This essay analyses the intersections between postcolonial and queer dimensions of minor subjectivities in order to understand how the minor position of the queer subject in postcolonial societies is pluralized through strikingly similar literary strategies. Coetzee and Kincaid offer new possibilities for world literature through the publication of queer postcolonial auto/biographies which celebrate, facilitate, and complicate the plurality of minor identities and narrative viewpoints – especially the minor subjectivities and poetics surrounding queer postcolonial lives.

The Role of Family Support for the Well-Being of Italian LGBTQ + Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Family acceptance or rejection has mediating effects on the mental health of LGBTQ + young adults. Restrictive measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic forced many of these individuals to exclusively interface with their family of origin, with significant consequences on their psychological well-being. This study aims to explore, from a qualitative perspective, the subjective experience of Italian LGBTQ + young adults during the COVID-19-related home isolation. An online semi-structured interview with 13 questions was administered to a sample of 25 participants. Inclusion criteria consisted of being aged 18 years or older and having spent at least one of the three pandemic waves with the family of origin in Italy. The interviews have been processed using the Thematic Analysis methodology. The findings of the present work showed that Italian LGBTQ + young adults perceived increased distress due to a lack of privacy and acceptance from their family members, which led to forced coming-out and repression of free expression. However, some participants perceived greater psychological well-being because they experienced the family environment as safe and supportive to explore their minority identities. The presence of coping strategies also emerged, such as resilience and avoidance.

Religious minority identity associates with stress and psychological health among Muslim and Hindu women in Bangladesh and London.

This study examined the association of minority religious identification (Hindu or Muslim) with self-reported stress and psychological symptoms among sedentee and immigrant Bangladeshi women. Women, aged 35-59 (n = 531) were drawn from Sylhet, Bangladesh and London, England. Muslim immigrants in London and Hindu sedentees in Sylhet represented minority religious identities. Muslim sedentees in Sylhet and Londoners of European descent represented majority religious identities. In bivariate analyses, minority religious identity was examined in relation to self-reported measures of stress, nervous tension, and depressed mood. Logistic regression was applied to examine the relationship between these variables while adjusting for marital status, parity, daily walking, and perceived financial comfort. In bivariate analyses, religious minorities reported more stress than religious majorities in all group comparisons (p < .05), and minority Muslims reported more nervous tension and depressed mood than majority Muslims (p < .05). In logistic regression models, minority Muslims had greater odds of high stress than majority Muslims (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.18-3.39). Minority Muslims had greater odds of stress (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.51-6.17) and nervous tension (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.66-6.87) than majority Londoners. Financial comfort reduced odds of stress and symptoms in all models. Socioeconomic situation, immigration history, and minority ethnicity appear to influence the relationship between religious identity and psychosomatic symptoms in Bangladeshi women. Attention to personal and socioeconomic context is important for research examining the association between religion and mental health.

Pride or Rainbow-Washing? Exploring LGBTQ+ Advertising from the Vested Stakeholder Perspective

Brands increasingly address social inequalities by means of advertising. Inclusive advertising can, however, damage brands if consumers suspect insincere and extrinsic motivations. For instance, many companies that have engaged in identity-targeting advertisements face ‘washing’ accusations, particularly by members of the targeted social group. Still, our understanding of how these vested stakeholders determine whether brands are washing remains superficial. Further, little is known about when perceptions of washing lead to a loss of approval by the targeted community. Analyzing interviews with 24 LGBTQ+ individuals, we found that vested stakeholders construct motivational attributions guided by the salience of their minority identities. Specifically, respondents with highly salient minority identities sourced cues from both the advertisements and the advertisement’s organizational context to inform the attributions on which they base their washing perceptions and the corresponding negotiation of social approval. Thus, we highlight how identity salience influences the evaluation of targeted advertisements and outline which cues minority consumers employ to inform their motivational attributions and washing evaluations. We also discuss when perceived washing can lead to a loss of the target communities’ social license to operate (SLO), thereby engaging in theory building by integrating self-categorization theory (SCT) and attribution theory into the SLO framework.

Preserving the Feitao Ritual in an Era of Globalization: The Heritage Ecology of Maonan Ethnic Minority in Modern China

This article examines the dynamics of the Feitao ritual, a traditional practice of the Maonan ethnic minority, within the broader context of globalization and heritagization in China. It addresses the challenge of preserving the cultural identity and memory of ethnic minorities amidst economic development imperatives, a dilemma common to many late-developing countries. By focusing on transforming the Feitao ritual from a communal practice to a performative spectacle, this study unravels the intricate process of heritage ecology within minority rituals. Utilizing a combination of ethnological fieldwork and interviews, this article explores the perceptions and approaches toward the post-heritagization of the ritual among the Maonan community members and policymakers. It also emphasizes on the evolution of the ritual into a significant tourist attraction, showcasing the performative transformation of religious practices by an ethnic minority in China. The central argument of this article is that this ritual is formed in ecological interactions; it also symbolizes a self-defense for the rights and a pursuit of recognition for a minority group. It has been a vital medium for the Maonan people to construct and uphold a positive self-perception. This study endorses a faith-aware and community memory-focused approach to preserve the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities. The authors contend that this approach is essential to safeguard the cultural memory and identity of minorities in developing countries like China against the homogenizing forces brought by globalization in China.

Gender differences in COVID-19-related behaviours: evidence from three ethnic minority groups.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has hit minorities more profoundly than the majority society. We evaluated the interplay between ethnic minority identity, gender, and COVID-19-related attitudes and behaviours. Using data from a survey carried out among both members of ethnic minorities in Poland and Mexico and the majority outgroups, we assessed the perception of the pandemic as a grave threat to the self and to the world, as well as compliance with the protective measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. We tested the effects of gender and minority versus majority status on protective compliance, and of the pandemic as a threat to the self and the world. A two-way ANOVA test with gender and ethnicity factors revealed significant effects of gender, ethnicity, and gender × ethnicity interaction. The effect of gender was significant for compliance with protective behaviours, threat to the self, and threat to the world. Women had higher mean levels of protective behaviours, perceptions of threat to the self, and perceptions of threat to the world than men. The effect of Indigenous ethnicity was significant for protective behaviours and threat to the world. The mean level of protective behaviours and threat to the world was higher for ethnic minority groups than for non-minority groups. Maladaptive gender differences in COVID-19-related attitudes and behaviour are less prominent among people self-identifying as ethnic minority members.

Sexuality Research During a National Lockdown: Reflexive Notes and Lessons from my Ph.D. Fieldwork

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for qualitative researchers since many countries had to implement lockdown policies to control the spread of the virus. Within the South African context, research on sexual minority identities and experiences is automatically sensitive and risky given the extent of intolerance and high regard for heteronormative ideologies and beliefs that continually exclude sexual minorities from the “normal.” The sensitivity is intensified during a national lockdown since there is an excessive reliance on digital public spaces to recruit participants and conduct interviews. Based on the experience of Ph.D. fieldwork, this paper pays attention to a sexuality researcher’s experience of conducting research on gay men’s experiences in the South African military and police services during a national lockdown. Particular attention is given to the dilemmas posed by the government’s restriction on physical movement and reliance on digital spaces, particularly social media to identify gay men who work in the two organizations and form virtual relationships of mutual trust. Ultimately, this paper holds that reflexivity is critical to feminist research on vulnerable sexual minorities when the relationships between the researcher and the researched are established and maintained through digital platforms. While digital spaces offer opportunities to reach vulnerable populations, they present some challenges that may compromise the credibility of the study if not identified by the researcher.

Systematic review of queer and minority identities in romantic relationships research

ABSTRACT Romantic relationships are key to our health, yet recent reviews of relationships research show that sexual and/or gender diverse people and other traditionally under-represented groups are frequently excluded. Articles published from 2016 to 2020 in four relationships journals were reviewed to address the overall representation of sexual and gender minority (SGM) respondents (k = 891), and discuss the specific social identities included in U.S. samples (k = 505). First, only 37% of samples reported gender and sexual orientation, 21% of samples included SGM respondents in analyses, and 6% of samples excluded SGM respondents from the data. Second, samples were, on average, 77.4% White, 13.3% Hispanic, 58.8% (cisgender) women, 41.0% (cisgender) men, and 89.6% heterosexual. Consideration of intersecting identities was rare. We make recommendations to improve reporting and the representation of diverse identities. For social science to reflect the diversity of experiences present in society at large requires more intentional, reflective, and consistent consideration of diverse identities.

The Workplace Experiences of Transgender and Gender Diverse Employees: A Systematic Literature Review Using the Minority Stress Model

ABSTRACT Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) employees encounter unique challenges in the workplace that are not shared with the rest of the working population. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 58 empirical studies on the workplace experiences of TGD individuals published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2022. Using the Minority Stress Model as a theoretical framework, we classified the literature based on (a) the challenges that TGD employees face when navigating their gender identity at work, (b) the outcomes of minority stress processes, and (c) the mechanisms to ameliorate the impact of minority stressors. Findings suggest that TGD employees are exposed to various distal and proximal stress processes that negatively impact work outcomes and mental health, including discrimination or expectations of rejection. A key protective factor both at the organizational and interpersonal level is support, including inclusive policy development and coworker support. At the intrapersonal level, adaptive coping strategies and an integrated minority identity can countervail the impact of minority stressors. Future research should further examine intrapersonal variables while leveraging broader intersectional and international samples. Practitioners are advised to proactively and continuously review their nondiscrimination policies and practices to promote employee wellbeing and positive work outcomes.

An examination of the independent and intersectional effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on timing of sexual/reproductive health care visits among Black sexual minority women in the USA

Experiences of racism and heterosexism in medical settings are social and systemic barriers to ‘on-time’ receipt of sexual and reproductive health services among women with both racial and sexual minority identities. Medical mistrust based on experiences related to these dual identities is associated with avoidance and delays in care. However, investigators are just beginning to apply an intersectional lens to quantitatively understanding such barriers. The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and interaction effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on timing of sexual/reproductive health care among Black sexual minority women who have sex with women and men. A total of 320 women participated in an online study of factors affecting sexual health in this population. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the independent and interaction effects of racial and heterosexist medical mistrust on self-reported time since last sexual/reproductive health visit. Results indicated an interaction between the two types of medical mistrust. Research on Black women who have sex with women and men’s experiences of racism and heterosexism in the US healthcare system can lead to the development of the comprehensive training programmes needed to alleviate medical mistrust among women with racial and sexual minority identities.

Voices of Identity: Exploring Identity Development and Transformation Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Emerging Adults

ABSTRACT Emerging adulthood shapes personal, professional, and overall well-being through identity exploration. This study addresses a gap in the minority identity literature by investigating how urban AI/AN emerging adults think about their identity and discussing challenges and protective factors associated with exploring their identity holistically. This mixed-methods study created a sampling framework based on discrimination experiences, cultural identity, social network support, mental health, and problematic substance use. We recruited 20 urban AI/AN emerging adults for interviews. We sought to gain deeper insights into their experiences and discussions surrounding identity formation and exploration. We provide descriptives for demographic characteristics and conducted a thematic analysis of the qualitative data from the interviews. Four themes emerged: a) being an urban AI/AN emerging adult means recognizing that one’s identity is multifaceted; b) a multifaceted identity comes with tension of living in multiple worlds; c) the trajectory of one’s identity grows over time to a deeper desire to connect with Native American culture; and d) understanding one’s Native American background affects one’s professional trajectory. Findings underscore the importance of developing programs to support well-being and identity development through cultural connection for urban AI/AN emerging adults.