https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5806-642X
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ABSTRACT
This qualitative study utilized arts-based methods to explore how LGBTQ + migrants in South Africa reconcile their expectations with their post-migration realities. Twenty-six pictures, created by LGBTQ + migrants (ages 19-39), were analyzed with their accompanying narratives to document participants’ experiences. Thematic and narrative analyses starting with the sensitizing concepts of hope, uncertainty, and disillusionment yielded three themes: (a) Yearning for freedom and acceptance before and after migration; (b) Dealing with uncertainty, disillusionment, and the grim realities of being an LGBTQ + migrant; and (c) Retaining hope for the future amid pain and struggle. Feeling isolated, participants yearned for societal acceptance and freedom to be themselves. This motivated their migration, but once in South Africa, they faced many social-structural challenges and developed feelings of disillusionment. Still, several retained hope, imagining safety and freedom not as an unreachable destination but as a future yet to come. Research and practice implications are discussed.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Immigrants move to a foreign country permanently or for an extended amount of time (IOM Citation2020). Refugees and asylum seekers both flee persecution in their country of origin, but the former are vetted in a country of transit before resettling in the host country while the latter are vetted after (United Nations High Commission for Refugees Citation2021). Although these categories are technically different, they are socially constructed, and it can be difficult to differentiate among them because LGBTQ+ immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers share many vulnerabilities throughout the migration trajectory (Lee Citation2019; Ritholtz Citation2022). Recognizing the ways in which categories can exclude (Ritholtz Citation2022), we use the term “migrant” to describe a person who moves from their usual place of residence to another country for various reasons (IOM Citation2020).