Table 1.
Summary of themes and subthemes definitions and exemplar quotes.
| Theme | Subtheme | Exemplar Quote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Support Experiences of being supported, made to feel welcome, or other positive interpersonal interactions. Sources of support included friends, sexual or romantic partners, family members, LGBTQ peers, and others. |
Family Support Support provided by immediate and extended family. |
Time Spent | “I got to spend time with my mom and sister” (Black/African American lesbian and cisgender girl, age 16) |
| Conversations | “my dad talked positively and open mindedly about prince, David Bowie, and morisseys way of embracing their feminine side which was really nice to hear coming out of such a typically macho guy like my dad he’s pretty awesome” (White bisexual and cisgender girl, age 15) | ||
| Gender Affirming Language | “My parents and siblings have gotten better at using the correct name and pronouns for me.” (Black questioning and gender fluid individual, age 15) | ||
| Engagement with LGBTQ+ Community and Media | “My sister and I played a video game the gay characters/characters that are supportive of the LGBTQ community, which was fun and helped me feel more comfortable.” (Hispanic/Latino/a/x, multiracial, asexual, and cisgender girl, age 12) | ||
| Encouraging Openness and Expression | “My mom showed clear support of me going to prom with a girl!” (White bisexual and cisgender girl, age 17) | ||
| General or Unspecified Support | “My dad understanding and being supportive of my sexuality and gender” (White bisexual/queer and transgender boy/man, age 18) | ||
| Support from Heterosexual/Cisgender and Unspecified Friends and Peers Support provided by friends and peers. |
Time Spent | “Got to hang out with my friends” (Hispanic or Latino/a/x, multiracial, lesbian and cisgender girl, age 16) | |
| Conversations | “Being able to talk openly about people that I like to my friends without being judged.” (White bisexual and cisgender girl/woman, age 18) | ||
| Gender Affirming Language | “My friend is really trying to put in the work and get my pronouns right.” (White asexual and transgender boy, age 14) | ||
| Engagement with LGBTQ+ Community and Media | “Saw a kid with a pride shirt in my History class!!” (White lesbian and cisgender girl, age 13) | ||
| Encouraging Openness and Expression | “my friend via offered to help me find a swimsuit that i feel comfortable in since we’re going to a pool party on wednesday!” (White lesbian/queer female and questioning individual, age 18) | ||
| Identity Affirmation | “Friends online validating my gender identity” (White pansexual and transgender boy, age 15) | ||
| General or Unspecified Support | “Supportive friends and family” (White gay and cisgender boy, age 16) | ||
| LGBTQ+ Peer Social Support Support provided by, or extended to, LGBTQ+ peers in a manner specific to that relationship of shared identity and experience. |
Identity Affirmation | “Having a trans friend help me attain gender euphoria” (Black/African American queer and nonbinary person, age 18) | |
| Time Spent | “I spent my day with my theatre friends who are mostly LGBTQ as well and it’s always nice to be surrounded by people who are in the same community as you.” (White bisexual and cisgender girl/woman, age 18) | ||
| Discovery of LGBTQ+ Peers | “Met another gay guy at my school” (White gay cisgender boy, age 16) | ||
| Belonging among LGBTQ+ Peers | “I got a chance to hang out with a group of people who are LGBT+ and it was nice to fit in somewhat” (Black/African American and White lesbian and genderqueer/gender non-conforming individual, age 18) | ||
| Supporting/Affirming LGBTQ+ Peers | “Someone who is definitely just starting to explore their sexuality texted my friend and told her that they were really glad to have talked to me openly about their developing LGBT identity today which was really nice! I feel like I’m in a position where I can help him become more comfortable about himself, which is great.” (White gay and cisgender boy/man, age 18) | ||
| Vicarious Peer Affirmation | “a kid on my class is on T and his voice is cracking and he can hit the l-l-owww notes which gave me hope for his future but also all of our futures.” (White lesbian/queer girl/woman and questioning individual, age 18) | ||
| Support from Romantic and Sexual Relationships. Support provided by romantic and/or sexual partners. |
Identity Affirmation | “spent a fair amount of time with my partner who cares a lot for my gender identity and sexuality” (Middle Eastern pansexual cisgender boy, age 17) | |
| Time Spent | “I got to go on an unexpected road trip with my boyfriend.” (American Indian and White gay and cisgender boy, age 17) | ||
| General Support | “My girlfriend is the highlight of my day and she makes me so unbelievably happy and supported and safe. She’s a good egg.” (White lesbian and cisgender girl/woman, age 18) | ||
| Support from Other and Unspecified Individuals Support provided by other people not included in the above categories (e.g., teachers, coworkers, waiters, etc.) or by unnamed individuals or groups. |
Conversations | “I came out as trans masc to my psychiatrist and we had a great conversation about gender and sexuality. He’s supportive and accepting in my transition.” (White and Hispanic/Latino/a/x pansexual and transgender boy, age 17) | |
| Identity Affirmation | “My English teacher, who is pretty much my second mom, was really supportive when I told her about my girlfriend. Not that I was worried about her reacting negatively, but she was just super excited for me, which was a good feeling.” (White lesbian and genderqueer/gender non-conforming individual, age 17) | ||
| Gender Affirming Language | “My name was used almost entirely, I wasn’t misgendered much today, my school’s IT guy seemed to forget I was trans” (Multiracial pansexual and transgender boy, age 16) | ||
| General Support | “i was able to speak with my social worker at school who is generally supportive of my identity and sexual orientation” (Middle Eastern pansexual and cisgender boy, age 17) | ||
| Romantic and Sexual Relationships Romantic and sexual experiences not constituting social support. |
Interest Feelings of romantic or sexual interest, attraction, or infatuation experienced by the participant, or attraction, flirtation, or other romantic/sexual interest expressed to the participant by another individual. |
“A girl who used to flirt with me called me cute today.” (White lesbian and genderqueer/gender non-conforming person, age 17) “Saw a pretty cute girl today and was able to enjoy that.” (White bisexual and cisgender girl, age 17) |
|
| Physical Intimacy Sensual or sexual activity engaged in by the participant, ranging from kissing to having sex. |
“it was really great to experience my new body with my significant other.” (White queer and transgender boy/man, age 18) | ||
| Positive Connection to the LGBTQ+ Community: Participant’s engagement with the LGBTQ+ community, whether through different representations of said community or through events, gatherings, and affinity groups. |
Representation Visibility and positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ figures, symbols, or themes in media, physical objects, and academic instruction. |
Positive Media Representation | “Seeing LGBT movies and freaking out because it’s literally the cutest thing ever to watch and I can relate to them” (Latino bisexual and cisgender girl, age 14) |
| Flags or Symbols | “Saw a love is love sign.” (White gay and cisgender girl, age 16) | ||
| Curriculum and Teaching | “We had a discussion on LGBT civil rights movements in apush [Advanced Placement United States History] which was neat” (Middle Eastern pansexual and cisgender boy, age 17) | ||
| LGBTQ+ Community Groups and Events Community groups or gatherings hosted by or for LGBTQ+ people, as well as LGBTQ+-centric places, school programming, and demonstrations. |
Community Pride Events | “I went to the pride parade and it was AMAZING!!!” (White questioning and transgender boy, age 13) | |
| Clubs or Other Groups | “I met with a club at school today that was focusing on pride month, and we planned out a couple celebratory things we could do next week to celebrate pride. It was pretty nice to be with people who cared about the same things as me, even if it was only for about an hour.” (White pansexual and cisgender girl, age 13) | ||
| Other LGBTQ+ Events or Places | “My brother and I went to the “gayborhood” in Philadelphia and it was really nice to feel like there was a place in the world where LGBTQ people were accepted and wanted” (Black/African American and White lesbian and genderqueer/gender non-conforming person, age 18) | ||
| School Activities | “My school is doing many things this week to help support lgbt people. This includes assemblies etc.” (White asexual biromantic and cisgender girl, age 15) | ||
| Activism | “I felt solidarity in a protest” (White bisexual cisgender girl, age 17) | ||
| Exploring and Disclosing Identity Acceptance, expression, and disclosure of gender identity and sexual orientation. |
Identity Affirmation Internal acknowledgement and approval of one’s own identity and physical expression thereof. |
Self-Acceptance and Pride | “I’m just proud of who I am” (Black/African American pansexual and cisgender girl, age 16) |
| Sexual Orientation Identity Expression | “queer ppl smiling at me in public bc of my pink hair (i feel blessed and visibly gay which is nice)” (White lesbian/queer female and questioning individual, age 18) | ||
| Outness All steps along the process of coming out, including decision-making, act of disclosure, and continual outness or visible queerness/transness. |
“Being grateful I didn’t have to be in the closet.” (White queer and cisgender girl, age 15) | ||
| Gender Expression and Affirmation Experiences of outwardly expressing gender identity through attire, body, and other aspects of physical gender presentation, as well as systemic validation and support of gender identity and gender-affirming resources. |
Gender Expression and Presentation Multiple aspects of outward-facing gender presentation, including participant’s own level of comfort with their identity expression, the feedback received from others, and the ability to alter visibility of secondary sex characteristics, particularly breasts. |
Happiness with Gender Expression and Presentation | “it was pretty cool to be out and be able to look down and see my mostly flat chest. that was really great. and i felt very masc today which was great” (White queer and transgender boy/man, age 18) |
| Reactions to Gender Expression and Presentation | “An old guy asked me where the nearest men’s room was (which implies he saw me as a guy)” (Multiracial and pansexual transgender boy, age 16) | ||
| Binding | “I got to wear my binder” (White and Hispanic/Latino/a/x genderqueer/gender non-conforming person, age 18) | ||
| Gender Affirmation Beneficial resources or systemic behaviors that affirm a participant’s gender identity. |
Gender Affirming Healthcare | “my top surgery is coming up so I am excited” (White gay and transgender boy, age 17)“I got my prescription for testosterone today. I start tomorrow.” (White and Hispanic/Latino/a/x pansexual and transgender boy, age 17) | |
| Access to Affirming Bathrooms | “Getting permission from my school to use the restrooms that correlate to my gender rather than sex” (White asexual panromantic and agender person, age 14) | ||