Letting in/“Coming out” - Agency and Relationship for Young Ethnic Queers in Aotearoa New Zealand on Disclosing Queerness

Abstract

For queer ethnic young people in Aotearoa New Zealand, the intersections of family, culture, religion, race, and migration status make disclosing queerness a complex and fraught journey. Qualitative face to face, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 43 gender and sexually diverse ethnic participants between 18 and 35 years of age living in Aotearoa who shared their experiences, considerations, and decisions on how, to whom, and whether they disclosed their queerness. The findings showed that queer ethnic young people are agentic in searching for secure spaces to be queer, and being housed and safe were among the primary considerations when deciding to come out. Disclosing queerness was not seen as compulsory or obligatory and was understood in the context of a person’s circumstances. Protecting the status of family and maintaining relationships and cultural traditions took precedence over the desire to declare one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.