Contextual Navigation: Towards a Holistic Conceptualization of Negotiating Sexual Identity in Context
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Emerging Adulthood
Volume
10
Issue
4
Publisher
Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication Date
4-26-2022
First Page
993
Last Page
1007
Abstract
The negotiation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) identities while navigating between LGBTQ+ and cis-heterodominant cultural contexts may parallel some processes observed in acculturation experiences within communities of color. 14 LGBTQ+ emerging adults (20–25 years) located within the United States participated in semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups aimed at exploring sexual identity negotiation. Findings yielded three major themes regarding negotiating sexual identity within context: 1) Awareness of Context, 2) Negotiation Behaviors (i.e., “Having a Foot in Both”; “Move it to the Back-burner”; Negotiating Identities within a Saliency Hierarchy; Cis-Heteronormative Scripts and Straight-Passing; Disclosure Methods), and 3) Acculturative Stress During Identity Negotiation. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, the present study yielded the concept of contextual navigation to help explain the on-going adaptive process of negotiating one’s sexual identity across various U.S. sociocultural contexts. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Parmenter, J., Galliher, R. V., & ^Maughan, A. D. A. (published online 2022). Contextual navigation: Towards a holistic conceptualization of negotiating sexual identity in context. Emerging Adulthood.