Social Work Research Considerations with Sexual Minorities in the African Diaspora Kamilah Majied, Ph.D. Howard University School of Social Work [email protected] Tamarah Moss-Knight, Ph.D. Independent Consultant [email protected] Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, Volume 9, Number 2 (2012) Copyright 2012, White Hat Communications This text may be freely shared among individuals, but it may not be republished in any medium without express written consent from the authors and advance notification ofWhite Hat Communications Abstract of the project and this article, the terms black, Af- This article provides guidelines and considerations rican heritage, and of African descent are used in- for research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, terchangeably. The project has to date surveyed and transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) people interviewed 178 participants. The respondents were of African descent, particularly those living in queried about their unique experience of race and developing countries. Recommendations are drawn or racism as well as their experiences as LGBTQ from the International Sexuality and Mental Health persons and homophobia and heterosexism as these Research Project, which studied experiences of phenomena manifest in their country or region. black LGBTQ people in the Caribbean, Africa, and Through focus groups and self-adminis- Europe. tered surveys, LGBTQ participants articulated their experiences, their ways of coping with dis- Keywords: African diaspora, lesbian, gay, bisexual, crimination, and their communities’ needs, con- transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ); sexuality; cerns, and resources. Psychometric scales were sexual minorities; social work research used in the survey to assess depression and anx- iety, and there were also several self-report mea- sures of racism, homophobia, and their internal- 1. Introduction ized correlates as well as health service utilization This article highlights critical issues in queries. The survey included questions about the research with sexual minorities in the African di- frequency and severity of racist and homophobic aspora and is based on research conducted as part events in the professional, social, and familial of the International Sexuality and Mental Health contexts. The questions about internalized racism Research Project (ISMHRP). The ISMHRP is a and homophobia allowed the respondents to share mixed methods study that examines how racism, how they felt about being black and how they felt heterosexism, and homophobia are experienced about being non-heterosexual, as well as their by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and ques- thoughts and feelings about other black people and tioning (LGBTQ) people of African descent in the non-heterosexuals. Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. For the purposes The Center for Epidemiologic Depression Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, Fall 2012, Vol. 9, No. 2 - page 56 Social Work Research Considerations with Sexual Minorities in the African Diaspora Scale was used to measure depression, and the Ronquillo, Bhuyan, 2006; Wheeler, 2003). People Beck Anxiety Index was used to assess anxiety. of color in the LGBTQ community experience Both scales have been shown to have validity and “minority stress” because of their sexual minority reliability across a wide range of cultural demo- status (DiPlacido, 1998). For example, ethnic mi- graphics. (Roberts, 1980; Naughton and Wilkund, nority gays and lesbians in the United States must 1993). Focus group questions included queries function in three distinct communities: “(1) the about respondents’ process of becoming aware of Euro-American heterosexual communities, (2) the their sexual orientation as well as their degree of ethnic minority heterosexual communities, and openness with family and community, their sup- (3) the Euro-American gay male, lesbian, bisex- ports and coping mechanisms, their intimate rela- ual, and transgender communities” (Parks, 2001, tionships, their experience of discrimination, and p. 46). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and their vision for their country in regard to providing questioning people of color negotiate stressors that resources to their constituency. are often exacerbated by intragroup conflict. The ISMHRP sites included Nassau, Ba- In both developing and industrialized coun- hamas, London, United Kingdom, Trinidad, West tries, LGBTQ people of African descent face some Indies, as well as Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape imposition, be it subtly or overtly expressed, of Town, South Africa. These locations were chosen Eurocentric culture as well as oppression based based on the availability of local organizations to on sexual orientation and gender identity. In de- assist with the research effort. It was important that veloping countries, LGBTQ persons face addi- the work be collaborative, as the goal was to em- tional barriers related to their sexuality, including power communities through both the process and educational and economic inequity due to harsh products of the research. Also, researching hid- discrimination in education and employment. den populations, particularly those targeted with Some LGBTQ persons also face a lack of access to discrimination, is challenging and it is necessary LGBTQ-friendly health care and services. to have local site coordinators to assist with key tasks throughout the research process. ISMHRP 2. Emphasis on African Diaspora local site coordinators participated in a range of There is limited research on the experi- research activities, including formulation of cultur- ences of LGBTQ persons of the African diaspora. ally appropriate queries (via adjustment of survey The African diaspora refers to “African-descended and focus group questions as needed), outreach populations across spatial, temporal, linguistic, to participants via announcements at formal and cultural, and historical boundaries that do not al- informal LGBTQ gatherings, and finding venues ways correspond to the borders of nation-states nor to host focus groups and other project activities to the borders of academic disciplines” (Hancard, that were accessible to and safe for the population 2004, p. 140). Nnameka (2007) highlights Colin under study. In this way people representing the A. Palmer’s reference to the African diaspora as various LGBTQ communities actively participated a people of African descent who share emotional in the design, development, and implementation of bonds with their dispersed kin due significantly, the study. but not exclusively, to the history of racial oppres- Research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- sion and the struggle against it. People in the Afri- gender, and questioning (LGBTQ) people of can diaspora are consistently faced with navigating color highlights the need for cultural sensitivity their identities in a context where racism is ubiq- with regard to exploring how sexual orientation uitous. This navigation is necessary because of the and gender are experienced for people of Afri- international scope of anti-black racism. can, Asian, Latino, and Native American descent As conceptualized by Camara Phyllis (Green, 1997; Walters, Evans-Campbell, Simoni, Jones (2002), racism can exist and occur on three Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, Fall 2012, Vol. 9, No. 2 - page 57 Social Work Research Considerations with Sexual Minorities in the African Diaspora levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and Gillis, Cogan, & Glunt, 1997). However, in gen- internalized. Institutionalized racism limits access eral, the experiences of LGBTQ people of African to power and material resources. Personally medi- heritage throughout the diaspora are not well docu- ated racism includes prejudice and discrimination mented. While there are research articles on ethics based on stereotypic race-based assumptions and and research considerations with LGBTQ commu- judgments. Finally, internalized racism refers to an nities (Martin & Meezan, 2003; Miller, Forte, Wil- individual or communities’ acceptance of negative son, & Greene, 2006; Zea, Reisen, & Díaz, 2003), messages concerning the racial or cultural groups these do not focus on LGBTQ people of African with which they identify. In countries that are pre- descent. dominantly black in their government, administra- To conceptually grasp the international tion, and leadership, the historical remnants of rac- black sexual minority experience, it is useful to ism and colonialism must be examined with regard consider writings outside the realms of experi- to their lasting, albeit elusive, manifestations in mental research and conventional scholarship. the psychological, social, and institutional realms This includes examining personal narratives and (Jones, 2002) Homophobia and heterosexism also testimonials that reflect the perspectives of the manifest in the three dimensions of institutional- communities being studied. These writings guide ization, personal mediation, and internalization. the researcher to an authentic representation of Therefore any examination of the LGBTQ black the black LGBTQ experience as expressed by experience must consider the impact of internal- members of that population. Testimonials such as ized, social, and institutionalized homophobia and Audre Lorde’s (1984) Sister Outsider, Hein Klein- heterosexism as well as that of internalized, social, booi’s (1995) Identity Crossfire and Stacy Ann and institutionalized racism. Chin’s (2006) Me and Jesus provide a succinct The experiences of African heritage people narrative of life