“Seeing the Balance in the Two Worlds in Which I Exist”: Latinx Trans and Nonbinary Individuals’ Experiences of Within-Culture Gender Minority Stress and Resilience

While research with Black, Indigenous, and people of color trans and nonbinary (TNB) communities has increased over the last decade, there remains a dearth of research focusing on the unique within-culture influences on gender minority stress (GMS) and resilience experienced by Latinx TNB community members. In the present study, guided by interpretive phenomenological analysis, gender minority stress theory, and LatCrit theory, 15 Latinx TNB people participated in semistructured interviews to explore their experiences of GMS and resilience originating from within their Latinx cultural heritage. GMS-related themes include (a) Latinx cultural rigid gender norms, (b) role of the Christian church, (c) integration of familismo with other Latinx cultural values, and (d) perceived U.S. and Latinx cultural differences. Resilience-related themes include (a) personal sense of spirituality, (b) exploring one’s own sense of being a Latinx TNB person, and (c) integration of familismo with other Latinx cultural values. We provide implications for counseling psychologists in the areas of clinical practice and future research directions.