“To feel supported in your community is to feel loved”: Cultivating community and support for Black transmasculine people navigating anti-Black racism, transphobia, and COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Black transmasculine people are disproportionately affected by a myriad of intersecting stressors including racism (specifically anti-Black racism), sexism, and cissexism. Black transmasculine people are exposed daily to systemic oppression such as transphobia, dehumanization, and violence, making this community more vulnerable to mental health and physical health concerns. These experiences are further compounded by the lack of relevant research about the unique experiences of Black transmasculine people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aims: Utilizing a critical intersectionality lens and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity as guiding frameworks, the present study investigates the need for support and community for Black transmasculine people when navigating anti-Black racism and transphobia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The researchers integrated intersectionality and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity as frameworks paired with the constructivist grounded theory paradigm outlined by Charmaz to analyze data. The researchers co-constructed meaning from participants’ (N = 32) perspectives to provide a theoretical understanding of how Black transmasculine participants’ perceived community and support during COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: The researchers developed a model of pathways toward community and support. The model suggests two levels: (a) locating awareness of community and support, and (b) integrated action toward community and support. The approaches are integrated from within group actions that can be facilitated from outside the community on micro and macro sociological levels to provide holistic support and community for Black transmasculine people.

Discussion: This model extends the current literature on liberation and community psychology regarding the different levels of support for Black transmasculine people. This intervention can provide awareness and insight about working alongside the Black transmasculine community to address their unique needs of support and community. These findings hope to enhance clinical practices and identify strategies to promote wellness among Black transmasculine people.

Terminology

In aims to use inclusive language and deconstruct cisnormative and binary views of gender, the researchers use the term ‘transgender’ as an umbrella term for people who identify their gender differently from their sex assigned at birth (Glossary of Terms - human rights campaign n.d.; Green & Peterson, 2006). The authors use the terms ‘transmasculine’ (transmasc) and ‘transfeminine’ (transfemme) to honor the spectrum of gender identification, expression, and the expansiveness of gender, and to aid in reducing the nuanced gender experiences of transgender and gender diverse people.

Researchers use the terms ‘community’ and ‘support’ as broad terms to explore and expand on the collective wellness of the Black transmasculine community in hopes of working toward liberation. Prilleltensky situates power as a pivotal role for wellness and tool for collective needs to overcome oppression (Prilleltensky, 2008). Previous research suggests that community and support are vital components to the overall wellness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people, as well as Black, Indigenous, and other people of Color’s (BIPOC) ability to survive and thrive (Abreu et al., 2021b; Gonzalez et al., 2021; Graham et al., 2014; Mosley et al., 2021; Parmenter et al., 2021). While the researchers do not seek to define community and support for Black transmasculine people, we do hope to further explore their collective wellbeing. This study aims to build on fundamental premises of community psychology by viewing sense of community as a fundamental concept in the psychological study of community; moreover, exploring community development, social supports, community needs, community processes, and support for those communities (see Chavis & Newbrough, 1986).

Note to participants

It is with the utmost gratitude that the authors would like to thank all the participants for entrusting us with their shared lived experiences. We hope to reflect your responses respectfully and honorably.

Black transmasculine people are disproportionately affected by a myriad of intersecting stressors including racism (specifically anti-Black racism), sexism, and cissexism. Black transmasculine people are exposed daily to systemic oppression such as transphobia, dehumanization, and violence, making this community more vulnerable to mental health and physical health concerns (Jourian & McCloud, 2020; White et al., 2020). These experiences are further compounded by the lack of relevant research about the unique experiences of Black transmasculine people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors are unaware of studies that explicitly examine the needs and resources for community support among Black transmasculine people during COVID-19. Notably, increased social support has been identified as a coping strategy toward wellness for many marginalized communities who identify within LGBTQ communities, and studies refer to the importance of chosen family, sense of belonging, affirming workplace, and affirming care as components of wellness (Abreu et al., 2021c; Wardecker & Matsick, 2020). Further, understanding the experiences and cultivation of community and support for Black transmasculine people is vital to implementing competent care and facilitating community-centered wellness.

Intersectionality and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity as theoretical frameworks

Intersectionality honors the multiple identities people can hold and how those multiple identities add context to their lived experiences (Crenshaw, 1990). While anti-Blackness affects all Black people, differences due to the intersection of multiple marginalized identities can lead to a variety of stressors and unique needs for support (Lewis & Grzanka, 2016). Intersectionality provides a critical lens for understanding how minorities may experience compounded stress due to multiple layers of discrimination (Crenshaw, 1990; Cyrus, 2017). Black people who identify as queer, transgender, first generation and/or disabled have different experiences of oppression and harm; thus, necessitating unique resources for navigating stressors such as anti-Black racism and the COIVD-19 pandemic (Adames et al., 2018; Comas-Díaz et al., 2019). Furthermore, Black transgender people are rarely centered within the literature, leading to the erasure of experiences, concerns, and needs. Focusing social justice efforts by advocating for the most marginalized communities can lead to liberation for all (Combahee River Collective, 1977). Due to the lack of research centered on community support, training, treatment, and advocacy for Black transmasculine people, understanding their needs of support and community is paramount.

An examination of the role of power when facilitating wellness and resisting oppression can facilitate movement toward liberation for Black folx who hold multiple marginalized identities (Prilleltensky, 2008). Prilleltensky analyses these experiences across personal, relational and collective domains, while noting the interdependency of each. This research examines community and support of Black transmasculine people grounded in the frameworks of intersectionality (Combahee River Collective, 1977; Crenshaw, 1990) and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity (2008). By integrating both frameworks and utilizing them to guide the conceptualization of the study and data analysis, the researchers continuously and simultaneously held the intersectionality of the participants within multiple systems of oppression, as well as their wellness across all domains. The researchers intentionally conceptualized the multiple marginalized identities held by Black transmasculine people, and the micro and macro systemic structures of oppression that this community faces while working toward their collective wellness and liberation (Abreu, 2021a; Mosley et al., 2021; Wardecker & Matsick, 2020).

COVID-19 and anti-Black racism

Black community leaders and scholars often refer to the year 2020 as "the perfect storm," describing the overwhelming catalyst of change felt when forced to navigate a multifaceted pandemic and violence from several fundamental structural and socioeconomic systems that perpetuate anti-Black racism (Lee & Ahmed, 2021; Phillips et al., 2021; Walubita et al., 2021). Black lives continued to be harmed at a disproportionate rate, such as exposed to greater risk of dying from COVID-19 (CDC, 2021; Millett et al., 2020), as well as by the hands of the police and civilians: Roxanne Moore, Toney McDade, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, to name a few (Cohen, 2020; Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2021). Black people and allies marched in all 50 states in protest to the lack of justice, unfair deaths, and inequalities of being Black in America (Njoku et al., 2021; Waldron, 2020). Systemic breakdowns due to the pandemic amplified structural inequities such as limited healthcare resources, increased unemployment, COVID-19 exposure rates of essential workers, and global exposure to racial trauma (Jean, 2020; Njoku et al., 2021; Waldron, 2020). Additionally, the pandemic increased pressure on the American healthcare infrastructure, creating even greater challenges for Black people less access to care, as well as general mistrust in the medical system due to historical unethical treatment of BIPOC bodies (Jaiswal & Halkitis, 2019; Shavers et al., 2000).

Despite national protest and institutional statements of anti-racism campaigns and support to the Black community during this time, little and slow systemic change has followed. Collectively, Black communities often relied upon themselves to overcome oppression. This is evident in the role of the Black church and community members in politics, activism, and social justice movements (Brown & Brown, 2003). Collectivism holds a sacred healing space for the BIPOC community (Mosley et al., 2021). However, wellness and liberation for Black communities often exclude the liberation and wellness of Black queer and trans people (French et al., 2020). This exclusion promotes the erasure of Black transfeminine people’s experiences from media and social justice moments and adds to violence for transfeminine people.

Conversely, Black transfeminine people are the most vulnerable within in the Black community, such as violent killings, lack of resources, discrimination, racism, and mental and physical health issues (Waldron, 2020). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors such as transphobia, anti-Black racism, and inaccessibility to healthcare, place the Black transgender community at increased risk for poverty, mental health concerns, unemployment, underlying health conditions, and unsafe environments (Freeland, 2021). In response, organizations such as the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and the National Center for Transgender Equality have offered financial assistance and online supportive communities to the Black transgender community during the COVID-19 pandemic (Freeland, 2021).

Community and support among LGBTQ BIPOC

The lack of community and support creates stressors on an individual’s physical, spiritual, and mental health (Graham et al., 2014; Lockett et al., 2022). In addition, there is lack of information and understanding about the LGBTQ BIPOC community. The dearth of research about support and community within the intersection of the LGBTQ community and BIPOC focuses on medical prevention and outcomes of HIV and AIDS (Arnold et al., 2018; Garcia et al., 2015; Lelutiu-Weinberger et al., 2020). The beneficial role of community support when examining primarily white transgender populations is evident (Bockting et al., 2013).

Although scant, some studies extended this literature among LGBTQ BIPOC. For example, peer support is associated with greater medical adherence rates for LGBTQ BIPOC living with AIDS (Marino et al., 2007). In addition, Abreu et al. (2021b) explored the narratives of 18 transgender Latinx immigrants and their experiences of community and support in a metropolitan city of Florida. Their results described experiences of neighborhood belonging, utilizing organizations as a source of well-being, finding support and safety with friends, and supporting undocumented people as different factors of support and community (Abreu et al., 2021c). Other studies report that although resilience helps mitigate harm from oppression for LGBTQ communities, community resilience for LGBTQ BIPOC remains limited in access and resources due to exclusion, exploitation, and invisibility (Parmenter et al., 2021; Stone et al., 2020). Concerningly, support and sense of community for LGBTQ BIPOC during the COVID-19 pandemic remains largely explored.

Community and support among Black transmasculine people

Black LGBTQ people experience a higher risk of oppression and violence in unique and multilayered ways due to the intersectionality of their multiple marginalized identities (National Center for Transgender Equality, 2015; Waldron, 2020). A national study on the mental health of Black transgender and nonbinary young adults suggests higher rates of anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, and attempted suicide (The Trevor Project, 2023). Further, these findings suggest that higher rates of social and family support correlated with lower rates of suicide attempts (The Trevor Project, 2023). Much of the LGBTQ and BIPOC literature focuses on disparities and deficits, with little emphasis on community, wellness, and support. This further amplifies the need for an intersectional and strengths-based research lens on the multilateral needs of LGBTQ BIPOC. Concerningly, research with transmasculine people rarely center on the viewpoint of Black transmasculine people or occur from the viewpoint of transmasculine folx (Follins et al., 2014; Pfeffer, 2010). Past research explored the experiences of transmen through a binary, cis-normative lens. For example, research by Pfeffer (2010) focused on the women partners of transmen and suggests that these women partners experience binary perceptions of inequity in relation to sharing emotional and household labor. Much of the literature does not account for variations in trans masculinity or diversity in sexual orientation and gender expression (Johnson, 2016). Other research seeks to understand the intersectionality of transmen of color, taking into account race, location, expression, and the role of masculinity (Abelson, 2016; de Vries, 2015). Notably, White and colleagues (2020) examined the experiences of Black transmasculine people and found that participants reported themes of feeling a target on their back, navigating a double consciousness, developing an empowered view of self, strategies of resilience, finding quality care, and a culture of silence (White et al., 2020). Overall, past studies fail to center the need for community and support among Black transmasculine people (Follins et al., 2014).

Current study

To date, no research has examined the experiences of support and community for Black transmasculine people during the current political climate of police brutality, anti-Black racism, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a critical intersectional lens and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity as frameworks, the present study investigates the needs of support and community within the Black transmasculine community during the COVID-19 pandemic while facing anti-Black racism and transphobia. The study hopes to add to the overall lack of literature and provide information that enhances the quality of clinical practices and offers suggestions of support and community for Black transmasculine people. The following research question guided this study: 1) How do Black transmasculine people experience support and community in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black racism and transphobia?

Method

The current study is part of a larger study that focused on examining the experiences of community during the COVID-19 pandemic among Black transmasculine people in the United States. To avoid piecemeal publications, the practices outlined by Levitt et al. (2018) were followed in accordance with reporting qualitative findings. The authors wrote two manuscripts from the focus group interview dataset. The current manuscript utilized participants’ responses describing the needs, support, community, and resources available for Black transmasculine people navigating anti-Black racism and transphobia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors utilized facilitators’ responses during the focus groups and researchers’ reflections to inform a second manuscript examining the role of Black feminism in qualitative methodology (Lockett et al., in preparation). The researchers utilized intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1990) and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity (2008) as frameworks to guide the study at hand. Throughout the study, the researchers continuously and simultaneously held the intersectionality of the participants within systemic oppression, as well as their wellness across individual, relational, and collective domains. Also, the researchers intentionally conceptualized the study aims, questions, data analysis, and written manuscript while holding the multiple marginalized identities held by Black transmasculine people within the micro- and macro- systemic structures of oppression that the community faces (Abreu, 2021a; Mosley et al., 2021; Wardecker & Matsick, 2020).

Given the dearth of literature centering the narratives of Black transmasculine people, the authors utilized constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2008; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to create a model for exploring this community’s pathways for building community and support. Constructivist grounded theory is a theoretical approach that moves from a description of participants’ narratives toward the co-creation of knowledge and theory with participants (Creswell & Poth, 2018). A fundamental value of constructivist grounded theory is that theory is developed from participants’ experiences and the theory explains a process, shaped by the views of the participants and the researchers. Additionally, constructivist grounded theory prompts researchers to reflect on their own positionality, power, and oppression, and how the interplay of these impact their own biases throughout data analysis (Creswell & Poth, 2018). This methodology was intentionally chosen, as it aligns with the main tenets of both Crenshaw’s intersectionality (1990) and Prilelltensky’s psychopolitical validity (2008). For example, intersectionality and Prilelltensky’s psychopolitical frameworks work together to understand the nuance of lived experiences and how systemic oppression impacts individuals depending on their positionality to power, privilege, and oppression. Therefore, utilizing constructivist grounded theory guided by these frameworks created a unique process in which the researchers continuously and simultaneously centered the participants’ experiences, reflected on the influence of power, privilege, and oppression within the research team and participants, and analyzed wellness on multiple levels while moving toward liberation.

Participants

Participants in this study (N = 32) self-identified as Black transmasculine people. The age range for participants was 25-35 years old (M = 29.8, SD = 2.7). Participants were asked in an open-ended format to describe their racial identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability status, religious identity and location. The majority of participants described their racial and ethnic identity as Black or African-American (n = 30, 93.8%), while one (3.1%) participant self-identified as “mixed - Cherokee, Black, Thai” and one (3.1%) participant as “African-American/Black, Malagasy/Asian”. Participants resided across six states at the time of the study including California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, and Texas. Participants identified their sexual orientation as heterosexual/straight (n = 10, 31.2%), bisexual (n = 2, 6.25%), gay (n = 1, 3.1%), queer (n = 1), pansexual (n = 1), and asexual/biromantic (n = 1). No participants identified as having a disability. See Table 1 for further demographic information.

Table 1.

Participant demographics.

Characteristics	n	%
Sexual Identity:
Heterosexual	10	31.3
Bisexual	2	6.3
asexual/biromantic	1	3.1
Pansexual	1	3.1
Queer	1	3.1
Missing	17	54.8
Race/Ethnicity:
Black	13	40.6
African American	15	46.9
Cherokee/Black, Thai	1	3.1
African American, Black, Malagasy, Asian	1	3.1
Missing	2	6.3
Religious Identity:
Christianity	20	62.5
Catholic	4	12.5
Agnostic	2	6.3
Believe in God but no religious	1	3.1
Spiritual	1	3.1
Protestant	1	3.1
Missing	3	9.4
Location:
New York	20	62.5
California	5	15.6
Florida	2	6.3
Tennessee	2	6.3
Illinois	1	3.1
Texas	1	3.1
Missing	1	3.1

Note: we used the same terminology that the participants used. N = 32.

Recruitment and data collection

Institutional review board (IRB) approval was received from the University of Florida prior to data collection. Participants were eligible to participate in the study if they: (a) identified as Black and/or of African descent, (b) identified as transmasculine, (c) were 18 years of age or older, and (d) were interested in participating in the study via Zoom. Flyers with information about eligibility, purpose of study, and contact information for researchers were shared across Facebook. The flyer encouraged people to share the study with qualified individuals, creating a snowball sampling effect (Gardner, 2009). Interested participants were invited to complete an online screening Qualtrics survey containing four ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions with each eligibility criteria outlined above, as well as an open-ended question for participants to provide their email address. Participants who met the criteria were contacted by the primary investigator via email and invited to participate in a Zoom video focus-group interview conducted by two members of the study team. Focus groups were chosen instead of individual interviews to understand the collective experiences of community and support for the Black transmasculine community. Recruitment efforts led to six different focus groups with each group composed of four to six participants.

Participants were assigned to Zoom focus groups randomly, based on their shared preferences for date and time and availability for a Zoom focus group. Focus groups lasted between 38 and 76 min (M = 50.8, SD = 13.8). On the date of the scheduled Zoom focus group, and before starting group discussion, participants were provided with a link to the informed consent form and demographic survey via Zoom chat feature. Participants were given between 5-10 min to read and complete the demographic survey. Also, participants verbally consented to participate and be recorded before starting the focus groups. Group facilitators followed a semi-structured conversational style where they asked participants questions about their experiences with community, perceived community support, and anti-Black racism and transphobia during COVID-19 pandemic. As outlined by Charmaz and Belgrave (2012), this informal style can allow for greater flexibility in group engagement and discussion. Participants were asked to utilize a pseudonym to protect confidentiality. Participants were compensated with a $75 Visa gift card upon completion of the interview and were able to receive an additional $25 Visa gift card two weeks later if they chose to complete a follow-up survey. Interviews were audio and video recorded and all identifiable information was removed to ensure confidentiality. Video and audio recordings and transcripts were stored in a password protected institutionally supported cloud storage.

Research team and researchers’ positionality

The research team in this study consisted of five individuals holding different identities across age, education, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, generational status, and ethnicity. The first author is a counseling psychology PhD student that identifies as a queer, African American, transgender man from the Southern United States. The second author is a counseling psychology PhD student who identifies as a first-generation, Afro-Caribbean immigrant, queer, cisgender woman. The third author identifies as a first-generation Black Caribbean American, heterosexual, cisgender man. The fourth author is a counseling psychology PhD student who identifies as queer, multiracial, United States born Latine (Puerto Rican), gender-fluid person. The fifth author is a counseling psychology assistant professor who identifies as an immigrant, first-generation, Latinx, queer, cisgender man. The researchers’ unique positionalities and life experiences facilitated rich conversations at different stages of the project, accounting for personal bias in analyzing the data and conceptualization. The facilitators (authors one, three, and four) reflected on the interview questions and challenged each other’s biases in language and inclusivity. The coders (authors one, two, and three) had many conversations about racism and cissexism while analyzing the data. When conceptualizing the model, the coding group spent time journaling, conversing, reflecting, and checking in with the auditors (authors four and five) multiple times before finalizing the model (see Gilbert, 2001).

Data analysis

The researchers integrated intersectionality and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity as frameworks paired with the constructivist grounded theory paradigm outlined by Charmaz (2008, 2000, 2021) to analyze data. Constructivist grounded theory adopts a relativist epistemology that allows for researchers to co-construct meaning from participants’ perspectives, providing a theoretical understanding for examining Black transmasculine participants’ perceptions of community and support during the COVID-19 pandemic. This framework is particularly useful in situating researchers as individuals who hold lived experiences and preconceptions that impact the data analysis process. Additionally, all researchers held an intersectional lens, which informed their awareness of their power, privilege and oppression. Prior to data analysis, the researchers involved in the facilitation of focus groups (authors one, three, and four) engaged in conversations surrounding thoughts and feelings that arose during the focus groups. For example, the coders independently read through all transcripts twice and recorded notes and observations in detailed memos (see Gilbert, 2001). The coders (authors one, two and three) then began the initial coding phase, where each coder independently read through two transcripts line-by-line and clauses with similar meaning were grouped together to generate meaningful codes. All authors met to discuss and reflect on these generated initial codes. After discussion and minor adjustments to minimize redundancies, all authors agreed upon a finalized list of codes that encompassed the richness of participants’ narratives. The coders then utilized axial coding to group the finalized codes into two meaningful categories and selected participant quotes that reflected each code to be presented in the results. Finally, the auditors (authors four and five) provided additional feedback on the overall coding structure and categories. The frequency of this final list of codes (see Table 2) was reviewed across each focus group and between each coder to ensure that appropriate data saturation was achieved, as outlined by Hancock et al. (2016). Currently, the data utilized within the study is not available to share. Also, this study was not pre-registered.

Table 2.

Frequency table.

Themes	n	N
Locating Awareness of Community and Support		209
Processing intersectional experiences	51
Discrimination
Intersection of race and gender
Psychological concerns
Defining the interconnectedness of community and support	114
Commonality
Unconditional support
Authenticity/visibility
Safety/survival
Community Reflection on COVID-19	44
Benefits
Hardships
Integrated Action Toward Community and Support		196
Constructing community-built resources	71
Shared knowledge
Shared resources
Collective coping
Cultivating community	88
Ways to build community
Expressions of built community
Fulfilling general community needs	37
Connectedness
Organizing of resources

Results

All resulting categories appeared across the six focus groups. In this finalized analysis, the research team created a model of pathways toward community and support for Black transmasculine people facing anti-Black racism and transphobia during the COVID-19 pandemic (see Figure 1). The model was separated into two levels: Locating awareness of community and support (level one) and integrated action toward community and support (level two). These levels are separate categories that exist in a unilateral relationship with each other. Therefore, level one is first before moving to level two. Locating awareness of support and community detailed a three-step process of (a) processing intersectional experiences, (b) expressing the interconnectedness of community support, and (c) community reflection on COVID-19. These three processes of self-examinations reflected self-reported experiences of Black transmasculine people which provided awareness, insight, and clarity to their unique experiences of support and community during COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black racism and transphobia. Level one processes are interconnected and, therefore, within level one there is no order in which the three steps are completed, and information can be gathered and shared bidirectionally. Within integrated action toward community and support, participants identified three approaches to pathways to community and support: (a) constructing community-built resources, (b) cultivating community, and (c) fulfilling general community needs. Level two develops into specific applicable pathways to community and support. The applications are explained further below. The approaches are integrated from within group action and actions that can be facilitated from outside the community on micro and macro sociological levels to provide holistic support and community for Black transmasculine people. These categories are further described below.

Figure 1.

Cultivating community and support for Black transmasculine people navigating anti-Black racism and COVID-19 pandemic.

Locating awareness of community and support

The three ways in which group participants reflected on their needs for community and support included: processing intersectional experiences, expressing the interconnectedness of community support, and community reflection on COVID-19.

Processing intersectional experiences

While processing intersectional experiences, many participants reported experiences of discrimination within one’s communities. This discrimination was described as external and internalized discrimination from colorism, racism, cissexism, and transphobia, and often varied depending on the saliency of one or both identities in a given space. Participants appeared engaged and expressed feeling validated and affirmed in conversation with other participants as they reflected on their lived experiences. Some participants became emotional while sharing, as they reflected on specific experiences of discrimination and its resulting trauma. For example, one participant shared:

And that’s kind of always been like, hard. And I think it’s been especially harder because of like COVID and all the racism that’s going on and sometimes in areas not knowing, like who to trust or like not knowing where you can really go in to be cared for (Group One, Speaker one).

Similarly, another participant reflected on experiences of racial profiling:

I worked there a year and a half [and] I had been pulled over like 20 times. And it was always justified as this routine traffic stop? Or you can’t have this? ‘What are you doing here?’ is literally the kind of question I would get, like, I could see my job from where I was being pulled over… the name on my shirt matched the name on the building right behind me (Group three, Speaker two)

Participants also shared experiences of cissexism and racism. In particular, one participant reflected on the experience of navigating the Black transmasculine community as someone who uses she/her pronouns:

Just like cause how do you know I’m transmasc or whatever. But I’m not, how can I explain it, like ask you, my pronouns are her, she, hers. But I dress like a man, have masculine tendencies, you know what I’m saying? (Group four, Speaker five).

Other participants talked about experiences in relation to being identified as Black and/or trans. In particular, one participant reflected on their decision-making process while navigating self-disclosure:

I consider my blackness to be superior, I consider the one I choose to be a part of because passing privilege is real. If I’m in a situation where I’m not easily identifiable as trans and identifiable as black, and there does come a point where you choose to disclose (Group three, Speaker five).

Other mental health concerns were discussed by participants as they talked about experiencing fear, anxiety, and mental/emotional stressors surrounding anti-Black racism and police brutality targeted toward Black and transgender people. For example, a participant shared:

Dealing with this racist part, was kind of not easy for me. The only person that really got my back is my mom. She’s my confidant, she’s all I have, times like this when I feel down, I just run up to her crying, crying my eyes out. Though I have friends; but nobody really understands me like she does. So it’s not really easy for me. I don’t know about others. But it’s not, though I portray this attitude of not showing it outside (Group one, Speaker eight).

Many participants resonated with these emotional stressors and about having limited resources for coping. Other participants reflected on the impact of seeing videos of police brutality and the resulting emotional distress they experienced. For example, one participant shared:

Those things happening around us, those videos are, you know, news we do get in those moments. Staying in already caused a lot of anxiety and depression. So when you kind of get support from your neighbors, like emotional support…those things can actually reduce the tension building inside of us (Group two, Speaker one).

Expressing the interconnectedness of community support

Many group participants took time to express the interconnectedness of community support. Many participants described community and support as feelings of shared commonality, unconditional support, authenticity, visibility, safety, and survival. Many participants shared feeling in community and feeling supported by their shared identities alone. Some participants talked about having shared experiences related to one’s identity, struggles, personal goals, and proximity to each other. Participants resonated with each other’s experiences. The group appeared to have a sense of pride, excitement, and admiration when expressing these statements. For example, one participant shared, “I’ll define community as like, a feeling of fellowship with others whereby you share common goals, attitude, interest, language, like mostly in a place of people living together having like, the same characteristics in common” (Group three, Speaker four). Another participant succinctly stated that the community was, “like same purpose, same aim, same goals. You feel me?” (Group six, Speaker one). Many group participants described how unconditional support was related to the strengths of bonds of their community members and reflected how they could defend and depend on one another. For example, a participants stated:

In an environment where we all know each other, got our backs, you know, financially, emotionally or mentally. I know I can rely on all, we can rely on each other to actually help ourselves out. In trying times, through thick and think- know you’ve got each other’s backs (Group five, Speaker two).

Similarly, another participant shared, “Being supported by your family, by your community, it’s like you knowing you have a second family aside your blood. People who are there to support you through thick and thin” (Group five, Speaker four). In addition, many group participants talked about authenticity and visibility when reflecting on feeling supported by their community. For example, one participant shared:

I think support for me feels like being seen and heard by other community members, like showing up to a space and feeling like people are acknowledging the fact that I’m there and, like, interacting with me and also listening to the things I have to say (Group four, Speaker one).

Many participants also reflected on the process of having their authenticity be held and honored. Participants took time to reflect on how being held and honored felt, and its importance in relation to their wellness. One participant stated:

Our community actually helps, you know, to make you feel at home…whereby your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions can also be enforced, and powered with different bodies, different people that actually buy your idea, or your ideology, to enforce it, and also to take it out there for people to see what you feel like, what you think, or what you think should be done. So basically, community actually helps, each step to bring out people’s opinion on them and what they think should be done, and as would keep people happy you know, when they have a sense of belonging to a particular group of people that actually sees things their own way (Group six, Speaker four)

Some participants reported concerns related to lack of safety. They talked about survival and how being in community helped them feel safe and supported in negotiating their survival. These participants reflected on the role of community in advocacy:

You might report to the law…well, your case might not even be taken through…Your community now stands as a voice- stands as an instrument for executing policies, for enforcing ‘All equal rights are equal rights’. So, your community try to your voice to stand out. Your community, try not to let your voice die among every other injustice (Group six, Speaker three).

Similarly, another participant stated:

And, you know, police support flags, and you know, it gets a little rough in some areas…you got to know where you feel at home and where you feel safe. And yeah, like I’m surrounded around a lot of people that make me feel safe in my little bubble here (Group one, Speaker seven).

Community reflection on COVID-19

Participants reflected on their personal COVID-19 reactions, responses, and resources in ways that reflected both the benefits and hardships that they faced. Specifically, participants shared about their hardships related to COVID-19 including job instability, financial insecurity, lack of resources, and being diagnosed with COVID-19. One participant stated, “And so I got my income reduced drastically. I was cut from my job” (Group five, Speaker two). Many group members appeared to hold compassion for each other, and responded with affirmations after participants reflected on their personal struggles. This dynamic appeared to help cultivate an environment where participants felt safe to be vulnerable and share more intimately. Another participant shared:

I just received a positive COVID test on Wednesday, this week. I work in the schools. So yeah, so I’m like, even right now, being quarantined in this little bitty room by myself. Like, I’m like I need, if I can’t give support, I need to find support, ways to give support and that’s usually how I move in life…If I’m not doing it, a hell of a lot of other people probably aren’t getting it (Group four, Speaker four).

Some of the benefits participants reflected on while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic included connecting more with the community while being home and finding new hobbies and ways to bond with the community through virtual accessibility. One participant mentioned “The greatest support I had during the pandemic was my family and friends…people had to stay close places, we have to be together, and it was very supportive. And my friends that I couldn’t see were always on call” (Group three, Speaker one). Many participants reflected on how their community came together to overcome COVID-19-related challenges. For example, a participant shared:

Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, my community, we actually, had weekly meetings where we come together to like, share ideas on like food donations, giving, even monetary donations from time to time because a lot of us, our incomes were drastically reduced. So we just had to like, find a way to keep going and also carry others along…so we need to show love around to my community. We actually did our best in order to carry others along (Group four, Speaker three).

Integrated action toward community and support

The group participants in this study articulated three approaches to pathways of facilitating support for community, to include: constructing community-built resources, cultivating community, and fulfilling general community needs.

Constructing community-built resources

Many participants identified needs for constructing community-built resources. These pathways consist of participants sharing how they came together to share knowledge, resources and collectively cope during COVID-19. Many participants reported experiences where they shared knowledge with each other to increase awareness about COVID-19, how to avoid and prevent anti-Black violence and police brutality, and how to navigate being their authentic selves. Some participants shared their experiences about sharing knowledge. For example, a participant stated:

For us we do have a community group chat where we may, you know, like, we meet one another, we have chats, we share experiences, stories, ideas, advices. Say like, oh, something else to try out, saves and shared…you know, give us some assistance (Group two, Speaker four).

Similarly, another participant stated,

So usually, if somebody hits me up, I’m like, yo, social media intro. So and so meet so and so so so so so y’all can help each other. And like, I feel like I’ve always been a bridge, and not that I actually have something to offer folks. But besides that, a new connection to somebody else that might be able to get the, whatever kind of resources they’re looking for, or needed (Group four, Speaker two).

Many group participants also described sharing resources with each other related to healthcare, job opportunities, educating each other on politics, and ways to pay rent, bills, and/or buy groceries. For example, a participant stated:

Yeah, but you being part of a community now. I love my community at the time of COVID they did try to show support try to people who had much trouble people who are in need, and who are dying of hunger (Group six, Speaker three).

Other participants also talked about how they were able to collectively cope by coming together to talk, cry, discuss their feelings, and use the wisdom of the elders within the community to help them navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black racism and transphobia. A participant shared, “And then we always get over, like, what we’re able to know, to sit together, because that’s what we are, we sit together, and then we’re able to pass through the moments to all together” (Group six, Speaker two). Similarly, another participant stated, “So my community didn’t really give me much of that opportunity to feel afraid of this or any other thing. And that’s why I said I consider them to be my second family” (Group five, Speaker four).

Cultivating community

Many participants talked about the different needs and experiences in cultivating community. There was an interesting dynamic within the focus groups where participants not only talked about ways to build community, but also proceeded to build community within the focus group by modeling behaviors previously stated in describing “a sense of community”. Many participants discussed broadly what community building looked like by providing definitions of what community means to them, and by giving examples of what community feels like. More specifically, participants talked about the importance of having safety, receiving unconditional support, promoting their survival and bonding through commonalities. One participant stated “so they come together and find a way to talk, a way to interact, and a way to achieve problems” (Group three, Speaker one). Another participant shared:

So, if you having support, if you feeling support from a particular community, then you feel everyone’s pain, you feel everyone’s troubles and everyone take it upon themselves when something happens to a member of their community. So you get help when people in your community help you and people in your community feel what you’re feeling at a particular time (Group two, Speaker three).

As participants interacted with each other, they simultaneously cultivated community by validating each other, empathizing with each other’s experiences, and voicing within group connectedness. For example, one participant shared, “Well, just nice being part of this group. For those who’ve had negative experiences, I’m sorry about that. And also I’d also think that a sounder future yeah” (Group three, Speaker four). Another participant shared:

Okay, what also for me actually feel good about this scene of different persons saying their own opinion, experiences, from their own point of view and then what a community is all about them and then what they’ve actually benefited and what they’ve seen other people benefits from community, the connections, the values, and then the support they’ve all gotten. And then I’m going to share this and then listen to one or two of them I actually feel good about their experiences and then their opinion on this topic. I think it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s a good one from [] you guys to organize something, I guess, actually. Thank you (Group six, Speaker four)

Fulfilling general community needs

Many participants identified areas of growth that they want to experience in the future and participated in dream-building about ways in which their community fulfills their needs. Many participants conveyed how connecting their Black transmasculine community members with each other would help with the overarching need of building community. Some participants explicitly stated that these focus groups served as the first time they have had the opportunity to be in community with multiple Black transmasculine people. Participants spoke about their desire to remain connected and to build connections with Black transmasculine people nationally and globally. One participant stated, “At the beginning, where I said, when one person is affected, that’s exactly what support meant” (Group two, Speaker three). Another participant shared, “But just the way that it ties together in the intricacies of life, it’s just comes up as a means of support for me. While I’m out here trying to support this cause and getting information out and stuff like that” (Group four, Speaker four). Many participants also shared about the need to organize resources, such as information, education, and resources for family and trans youth. A participant stated, “We would just need like, we would need everyone to participate, you know, like, it could be something as simple as just having a website to go to and being able to see what city and look up who’s there or like” (Group one, Speaker seven). Another participant shared:

I do feel maybe like a Facebook group, where everybody in the group may like come from the same community. Again, that kind of situation when you’re talking inside the box, nobody’s like um, a stranger over there, we just tend to like share ideas and how, our, our highs and the brights, you know, being there for each other, we know that these is my brother, this is what this is and stuff like that you know. So maybe a social media group like Facebook or like twitter or, WhatsApp, just make sure everybody are all correlated, even if you know particularly afraid of the online at the moment, but based on the fact that it’s a group, so the message there, you tend to like see it when you like, come on? Come online, stuff like that (Group two, Speaker one).

Application of model

In application, Black transmasculine people and people working alongside the community can use this tool to organize within their communities and facilitate pathways toward community and support. As shown in Figure 1, the model reflects a two-level process toward community and support for Black transmasculine people. Level one is represented by the first category, locating awareness. In locating awareness, the community would participate in assessing the community’s needs of support and by processing intersectional experiences, defining the interconnectedness of community and support, and community reflecting on COVID-19. After obtaining this information the community can then move to level two of the model. Level two is represented by the second category, integrating action. At the integration action level, the community can organize action toward community and support by constructing community-built resources, cultivating community, and fulfilling general community needs. In theory, these pathways will lead to specific avenues to building support and community as it did in this study. As this model continues to develop, there may be variability within the application of these pathways depending on the diverse needs of the population. Theoretically, by using this model, Black transmasculine people can create pathways to facilitate community and support during COVID-19 while experiencing anti-Black racism and transphobia. This is the first model of such, and the researchers hope to build on this model to help articulate pathways for community and support for marginalized communities.

Discussion

The purpose of the study was to explore the facilitation of community and support among Black transmasculine people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black racism and transphobia. While there has been growing research examining stressors caused by COVID-19, the authors are unaware of any studies centering on the lived experiences of community and support for Black transmasculine community members. Our findings utilized constructivist grounded theory paired with the integrated frameworks of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1990) and Prilleltensky’s psychopolitical validity (2008) to yield a model for pathways toward community and support for this population. Level one of the model includes locating the awareness of community and support by reflecting on these three components: (a) processing intersectional experiences, (b) expressing the interconnectedness of community and support and, (c) community reflection of COVID-19. The community can then experience level two of the model and provide integrated action toward community and support through these three pathways: (a) constructing community-built resources, (b) cultivating community, and (c) fulfilling general community needs.

Overall, the model is a co-constructed, tangible, and translational intervention that expands on the Black transmasculine community’s chosen pathways for facilitating wellness, community, and support. The model holds an intersectional frame on both levels by encouraging the community to reflect on the intersection of their experiences, as this facilitates a more critical understanding of their multilayered experiences of systemic oppression. Within level one, the community experiences heightened awareness of intersectional oppression and uses this knowledge to cultivate community action toward wellness. Theoretically, this process allows for the community to have conversations about power, privilege, oppression, and center the needs of the most marginalized in efforts toward wellness and liberation. Furthermore, Prilleltensky’s model (2008) suggests that wellness is not achieved unless it is experienced simultaneously across personal, relational, and collective levels. Both levels of the model work together to ensure that wellness is met across all three domains. Through focus group discussion, participants reflected on their experiences of community support across personal, relational, and collective levels. Findings from this reflection suggest that: (1) a sense of community was built within the focus groups themselves and (2) personal, relational, and collective pathways to community and support were identified, further support wellness across all three domains. Remarkably, the model extends beyond conceptualizations of wellness and translates into collective actions toward liberation.

This study adds valuable novel information to the community psychology literature as we explored the process of developing sense of community for Black transmasculine people. Notably, this study provides the only known theoretical model that furthers our understanding of community and support throughout COVID-19 and anti-Black racism for Black transmasculine people. Findings from this sample further complement and extends the findings of other research examining the Black transmasculine experience in relation to Black transmasculine people’s navigating minority stressors such as transphobia, discrimination, cissexism, racism, violence, mental health and physical health issues (Jourian & McCloud, 2020; White et al., 2020). Participants reflected on the psychological impact of COVID-19 related barriers such as the loss of a job, becoming ill from COVID-19, and isolation. Importantly, the increased display of Black violence across the national headlines and social media occurred in the vacuum of social isolation due to COVID-19 lockdown, which added to the compounded exposure of stress for this sample. By examining the interconnectedness of community and support, participants centered on the importance of commonalities, unconditional support, authenticity and survival.

Our findings align with Prilleltensky’s model of psychopolitical validity which examines personal, relational and collective aspects of oppression, wellness, and liberation through a psychopolitical lens (Prilleltensky, 2008). Prilleltensky underscores the importance of holding a psychopolitical lens in promoting wellness, as liberation cannot be achieved without accounting for the role of power/privilege (i.e., epistemic validity) and actively deconstructing systems of power and oppression (i.e., transformational validity). In our theme of locating the awareness of community and support, participants described how they experienced power and inequality within their intersectional experiences and the resulting sources of wellness they utilized from within the Black transmasculine community. Additionally, in our theme of integrated action toward community, participants described opportunities for reallocating community resources, community building, and collective movement toward liberation. In adherence with the model, participants within the Black transmasculine community provided context for their critical understanding of intersectionality and how it shaped their individual and collective lives and pathways toward collective action and liberation.

These findings support the community-based literature of other transgender BIPOC experiences of coping, community, and survival (Abreu et al., 2021b; Abreu et al., 2021c; Gonzalez et al., 2021) Participants shared experiences of coping and resilience, benefits of collective coping and the role of community in promoting security and survival for Black transmasculine people.

Participants within this study also reflected on their personal experiences of oppression, while holding an intersectional lens (Combahee River Collective, 1977; Crenshaw, 1990). Many participants connected these intersectional experiences to overarching global systems of anti-Blackness, cissexism, and transphobia. Many participants resonated with the feeling of being in a community with people who understood their hardships and connected with hopes for the future. In addition, participants noted feeling a sense of belonging in the ability to be authentic and vulnerable with fellow Black transmasculine community members. Furthermore, participants underscored the importance of cultivating community resources in resistance to systemic oppression, which included the sharing of knowledge, resources such as finances and healthcare, and prioritizing the safety and wellness of those most vulnerable within the Black transmasculine community.

Limitations

This is the first known model for examining support and community for Black transmasculine people navigating anti-Blackness, transphobia, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research of the model is necessary with other Black transmasculine people, as well as other marginalized populations. Due to the large gap in research on the experiences of Black transmasculine people, there is a need for research that focuses on experiences and outcomes based on different geographical positioning, political climate, age, and socioeconomic class. Future research could also explore relationships across multiple levels of the model. For example, exploring if there are relationships between processing intersectional experiences, defining the interconnectedness of community and support, community reflection on COVID-19 and constructing community-built resources, cultivating community, and fulfilling general community needs. Our study was limited to virtual focus groups with Black transmasculine experiences in the United States, ages 25- 35 years. The research team was restricted to virtual interaction with participants due to concurring COVID-19 lockdowns and the resulting concerns for the safety and wellness of the researchers and participants. While the benefits of in-person meetings might include greater group cohesion and greater attunement to group dynamics, virtual focus groups may provide participants with increased physical and mental security. Additionally, virtual meetings may have allowed for participants to show up in ways that adhered to COVID-19 restrictions and promoted safety in disclosure and harm.

There was limited variability in location among participants, which may impact experiences of navigating and accessing community support and resources. Additionally, while there was some diversity in the participants among their sexual orientation and religious identity, there was limited group discussion specifically referring to the role of religious experiences. Future research could explicitly explore the role of spirituality and religion in the experiences of community and support among Black transmasculine adults (Lockett et al., 2022). While efforts were made to reduce power differentials based on class, educational level, socioeconomic status, and other intersections of identities; these differences in power and privilege may have impacted participant’s willingness to disclose their personal experiences with other participants and the research team.

Clinical implications and future research

Further understanding the experiences of community and support for Black transmasculine people is vital to implementing culturally sensitive care and facilitating community-centered wellness. Utilizing this knowledge to help Black transmasculine populations facilitate community and support can be done within the community and with allies. Clinicians, activists, allies and coconspirators can work with the community in achieving these goals. Writing letters to community leaders and politicians to lobby for systemic change in fulfilling general community needs, communicating with the community to access the role in supporting more platforms for connectivity and community for Black transmasculine people, and donating, time, effort, and other support to Black transmasculine people doing the community work, helps to amplify the work they are doing and build more community and support. Understanding how vital being in community is integrated with the feelings of community and support, clinicians can also help provide spaces where Black transmasculine people can be in community such as, offering support groups, providing a safe environment for the community to gather, or increasing awareness of resources where Black transmasculine people can be in community in places where Black transmasculine people are isolated. Additionally, while this study focused on exploring the idea of community support and how support is experienced by Black transmasculine people, future research may want to explore how experiences of community support impact the physical health experiences of Black transmasculine people as they oftentimes encounter disproportionate barriers and negative experiences when it comes to accessing physical health resources (Agénor et al., 2022; Freeland, 2021).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Funding Statement

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.