But what if Black and Asian men choose to only date other Black and Asian men? Look, all men are created equal but all men are not valued equally, especially in this country. Every Black and Asian man who grew up on this planet grew up surrounded by positive images of whiteness and white men. And yes, that includes you rice queens and chocolate chasers too. What do I do about it? Actually, you can. Think of it like learning a new language, better still, think of it like unlearning a racist one.
In social psychology there is a theory called The Mere-Exposure Effect. Simply put, the more we are exposed to someone, the more attractive they become to us. As gay men of color we get more than enough discrimination from the rest of the world. This method was used to illustrate focused themes within the available texts.
In order to achieve this, JC, BM, and DW familiarized themselves with the data by reading and rereading the texts, coding the data, and identifying candidate themes. After revisiting the data again the themes which were identified across participant accounts we clarified, defined, and named. The analysis was undertaken on a latent level, and thus within each theme we paid particular attention to the meaning of participants' accounts, as well as the socio-cultural and relational context in which their perceptions and experiences were situated.
However, unlike other forms of latent thematic analysis, the latent aspect of this study is located in the discussion section. This foregrounded interviewee's voices of the interviewees and distinguished these from our interpretations of the meanings behind their perceptions and experiences.
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The critical realist approach used was also perceived to provide an ethical position that upholds the personified reality of experiencing homophobia whilst recognizing that participant accounts are socio-culturally constructed Willig, The credibility of this study was assessed and validated by immersion and member checking Onwuegbuzie, ; Polit and Beck, The researchers assigned to undertake the analysis JC and BM were immersed in the data by repeatedly reading the transcripts and listening to the audio-recordings.
After each data collection session and upon completion of analysis, the lead researcher JC performed member checking, and all participants responded favorably. Member checking is a process of gaining feedback from participants on the accuracy on transcripts and research findings. It enables respondents to validate the accuracy of a transcript and enhances credibility, validity, and transferability Willig, Dependability the openness and accountability of the research process was assessed and supported by collecting records, including minutes from meetings, written analysis, and correspondence between the research team e.
Dependability and credibility were also assessed and supported through the process of reflection. The lead researcher was cognizant of his relationship with the other members of the research team and the participants, and how his behavior, during interview sessions, may impact upon the responses of interviewees.
The research team spent substantial time reflecting on their own positions in the research and data collection experience. Thus, JC has empathy for St. Lucian LGB people and the challenges that they face.
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To safeguard against bias, JC kept a reflective diary that logged his emotional responses after analyzing transcripts. In doing so, JC also debriefed with the rest of the research team after analyzing emotionally provoking stories. Currently there are no strict guidelines on the measures and checks needed when interpreting data in critical realist epistemology.
However, by having three researchers from different ethnic backgrounds involved in the analysis, we were able to enhance the confirmability and credibility of our interpretations through building consensuses we each other Creswell and Miller, We did this by discussing the themes, codes and quotes; and when disagreements arose revisions were made until a consensus was reached. Two master themes emerged from the analysis: Themes and illustrative quotes are presented below. The participants reported experiencing and observing greater levels of tolerance toward lighter skinned LGB people than their darker skinned peers.
As such, dark skinned LGB people reported experiencing greater levels of homophobia and psychological distress and anxiety than their lighter-skinned peers. Most interviewees had experienced and witnessed how the shade of LGB individuals' skin-color shaped others tolerance of their LGB sexual orientation.
They described how greater tolerance was shown toward lighter-skinned LGB individuals compared to their darker skinned peers.
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Interviewees who self-identified as light-skinned also reported experiencing greater levels of tolerance toward their sexuality including when they exhibited gender non-normative behavior. As part of this skin-color oriented tolerance interviewees reported experiencing and witnessing darker skinned LGBs undergoing homophobic bullying, violence, and discrimination that was worse than that experienced by their lighter skinned peers.
From the way I feel and the experiences I have had, I do sometimes feel that they do no not experience as much suffering. As a result of their experiences, the interviewees reported perceiving St. Lucian society and culture as being unaccepting and intolerant of dark-skinned persons engaging in sexual and romantic relationships with same-sex individuals. The interviewees attributed their experiences of this tolerance to the superior power and socio-occupational privilege held by lighter-skinned persons as the societal elite.
Martin, a self-identified light-skinned gay male, summarized this in the following way:. Many interviewees also described that the social privileges attached to being light-skinned had consequences for how LGB individuals' expressed their sexuality. Some experienced and witnessed dark-skinned LGB individuals undergoing greater socio-cultural pressure to conform to heterosexuality. Marionette, explained that:. Lucia, but from what I see they don't get treated as well as lighter gay people like me.
A number of interviewees spoke about concealing their sexuality to avoid the racially targeted homophobic tension, discrimination and hostility toward dark-skinned LGB people. This is exemplified by Nathan, who said that:.
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Interviewees reported interpreting differences in the levels of tolerance toward dark-skinned LGB people based on their education level and occupation. Similar accounts were also recorded by three other interviewees. Through education she explained that she was afforded privileges including others increased acceptance of her non-heterosexuality which would have otherwise only been available to her light skinned peers.
Priscilla said:. The interviewees interpreted the psychological health outcomes of homophobia in St. Lucia as largely dependent on the skin-shade of the LGB individual, with darker skinned LGB individuals appearing to experience poorer psychological health. One of the most noticeable issues was the depression experienced by dark-skinned LGB people.
For example, when asked how their experiences impact on their life, Priscilla explained:. Others described feeling chronic anxiety and stress, secondary to the day-to-day worries and fears associated with racially targeted homophobic intolerance and hatred of dark-skinned LGB person. Maria, a year-old self-identified dark-skinned Lesbian, described that:. As a result of their experiences and their psychological impact, some self-identified dark-skinned interviewees reported seeking the help of medical professionals.
John reported experiencing depression and anxiety as a result of the abuse and discrimination he experienced and explained that:. The participants reported a cultural disparity in levels of tolerance toward LGB people between the Northern and Southern region of the Island, with greater levels of tolerance in the North than the South.
The interviewees experienced what they interpreted as cultural differences in levels of tolerance toward LGB people between the Northern and Southern region of St. They described experiencing and witnessing greater levels of socio-cultural tolerance in the North and less in the South. Zanthe, a female who lives in the South but commutes to the North for work purposes, explained that:.
Interviewees also reported experiencing and witnessing greater levels of homophobic violence and discrimination in the South compared to the North. For instance, Jamal described his experiences:.
The interviewees described the North as a popular destination for tourists and as the center of St. Lucian tourism. They interpreted tourism as contributing positively toward the greater level of tolerance they experienced within the Northern region. They explained that Northerners are raised in an environment of greater diversity than their Southern peers allowing them to interact socially with those of different religions, sexualities, and ethnicities. When asked to elaborate on her experiences between the North and South, Priscilla explained that:.
Through interacting with LGB people, the interviewees explained that Northerners bettered their intellectual understanding of sexuality that improved their levels of tolerance. Jamal, a gay male who spent his childhood growing up in the South but now lives in the North, explained that:.
Interviewees also reported experiencing what they interpreted as differences in individuals' understanding of same-sex relationships between the North and the South. They described Southern communities as perceiving same-sex relationships and homosexuality as life choices that individuals can control.
When asked to explain why living in the North makes him happier, Leyroy explained:. The interviewees also linked Southern intolerance toward LGB people with the lack of educational resources available in Southern communities. Some interviewees perceived a lack of education as leading to specific lay theories of sexuality that encouraged Southern intolerance:. Stress, anxiety, and safety were issues also vocalized by the participants. In light of experiencing and witnessing greater levels of intolerance in the South, interviewees reported feeling safer in Northern towns and villages on the Island, and feeling stressed, scared, and anxious when in Southern towns.
Martin who works in the North, but commutes to the South for work purposes, explained that: Interviewees described altering how they presented their sexual identity when commuting between the Northern and Southern districts. When in the South interviewees reported presenting their sexual identity to others as heterosexual. When asked about his experiences of traveling between the North and the South, one participant explained:. In the psychology of human sexuality, this type of identity shifting is known as passing. One participant explained:.
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Thus, for the interviewees, shifting their public sexual identity was a protective strategy against anticipated homophobia, discrimination and abuse. Maria, who lives in the North and commutes to the South, explained:. Although, interviewees openly expressed their LGB identity in the North, all interviewees revealed that they also conceal their sexual orientation when at work to prevent what they perceived as job based discrimination based on her sexuality. Zanthe, said:. For many interviewees shifting of sexual identity meant that they could not be their true inner self and that this concealment induced feelings of depression.
The participants explained that their experiences of anxiety stemmed from day-to-day worry about losing their job or relationship with friends and family in the South. This was worsened by being worried that their deception of concealing their sexuality would be discovered:. This is one of the first qualitative studies exploring perceptions and experiences of homophobia amongst LGB individuals in St. Lucia, West Indies. The interviewees raised a number of serious concerns related to social and health issues. Their accounts suggest sexuality related stigma affects negatively the lives of LGB people in St.
One of the most noticeable similarities across participants' accounts is how the shade of LGB individuals' skin-color shapes others' tolerance of their sexual orientation. Participants described their experiences of skin-color oriented tolerance as fueled by the power of superiority held by light-skinned persons as the societal-elite. These experiences illustrate what might be the existence of a skin-color oriented hierarchy of tolerance toward LGB people.
This could exist coherently alongside, and be reinforced by, the pigmentocractic structure of St. Lucian society Gabriel, ; Glenn, Additionally, given the pigmentocracy is widespread across the Caribbean Tate, , this variation in perceptions and experiences of homophobia may not be unique to St.