Overlooked and Invisible: Everyday Experiences of Microaggressions for LGBTQ Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents face a number of challenges in their lives related to heterosexism and cissexism. Drawing on the microaggressions framework, we conducted two focus groups with LGBTQ adolescents (n = 11; ages 14–18, six trans/genderfluid, one person of color) to (1) explore the type and nature of microaggressions experienced by LGBTQ adolescents; (2) assess the relevance of existing LGBTQ microaggression taxonomies for this group; and (3) understand the impact of microaggressions on LGBTQ adolescents. Participants’ experiences of microaggressions reflected complex forms of discrimination emerging from the intersections of sexual and gender identity.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBTQ adolescents
• microaggressions
• discrimination
• heterosexism
• cissexism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Stealth is a term used to refer to trans people who are read as cisgender in their true gender. For some, “living stealth” involves nondisclosure of their trans identity or an active effort to prevent others from learning the gender they were assigned at birth, as is the case with this participant.

2. At the time of publication, the 2015 curriculum has been revoked due to changes in provincial government.