Philippine E-Journals

RAISE YOUR FLAG: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE COMING OUT JOURNEY OF LGBTQI YOUNG ADULTS

D. Buendia | P. De Guzman | J. Flores | B. Javier | S. Magturo | C. Olazo | K. Pumarada | F. Raqueza | A. Sabangan | Eric N. Awi

 

Abstract:

LGBTQI is a community and an umbrella term that is composed of lesbian, gay bisexual transgender, queer, and intersex. There are a high number of populations around the world that belong to the LGBTQI community. Europe has an average of 5.9% LGBTQI with Germany having the highest with 7.4% and Hungary having 1.5% (Dalia, 2013). North America has a percentage of 11% or nearly 25.6 million Americans who considered themselves a part of the LGBTQI community (Chao, Tung, & Li, 2008). LGBTQI is also associated with the coming out process of an individual to their family or relatives. The reaction of a parent after the coming out of their child has a significant effect on the child themselves in different aspects (Valentine, Skelton, & Butler, 2003). The qualitative study examines the journey of coming out of LGBTQI members, and how they cope with their parent’s initial reaction. Using a phenomenological approach in gathering data many themes have been gathered including a.) LGBTQI realized their identity at an early age, b.) they revealed their identity in different approaches, c.) initial reaction of fathers was mostly negative, d.) LGBTQI is still facing different barriers regarding their coming out process. This discussion embarks on the journey of coming out of an LGBTQI individual towards their parents. It indicated that they face dilemmas and negative responses from their parents. However, they were not very affected by their parents’ initial reaction and continued doing their best. Chosen respondents are mainly gays and lesbians who realized their identity in their adolescent period. The milestone of coming out process was mostly delivered towards their moms rather than their fathers. This leads to the barriers LGBTQI are still facing regarding coming out such as peer victimization, stress-buffering, and fear. Due to these issues, some of our respondents were subjected to a face to face confrontation with their parents and not all of them receive a positive initial response. Furthermore, there are records of abuse coming from these parents. Regardless of this, our respondents still found a way to cope and adapt to the circumstances they are facing after the coming out process.