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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jan 6.
Published in final edited form as: J LGBT Youth. 2020 Sep 14;19(1):31–52. doi: 10.1080/19361653.2020.1813672

It’s a Kiki!: Developmental benefits of the Kiki scene for Black gay/bisexual/transgender adolescents/emerging adults

Gary W Harper a, Richard LaBoy b, Marne Castillo b, Gabriel L Johnson a, Sybil G Hosek c, Laura Jadwin-Cakmak a
PMCID: PMC8735768  NIHMSID: NIHMS1669934  PMID: 35003510

Abstract

Younger members of the House and Ball Community (HBC) have created an emerging social scene called “Kiki” that has shared elements with the HBC. Given the growing popularity of the Kiki scene in urban communities with large numbers of Black gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) adolescents and emerging adults, it is important to understand the developmental benefits of the Kiki scene. We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 30 GBT adolescents and emerging adults (ages 15-24) who attended Kiki-related events and 15 older opinion leaders affiliated with the HBC. Participants described how the Kiki scene provides them with a range of supportive and affirming functions and offers a place where they can achieve important developmental milestones. The results clustered into three primary thematic areas of development: Executive Functioning Development, Social-Emotional Development, and Physical and Emotional Safety during Development. Within each of these thematic areas are sub-themes that further explicate the ways in which these functions are supported. We believe this to be one of the first papers exclusively focused on the positive aspects of the Kiki scene for adolescent and emerging adult development, and we encourage other researchers to further explore this emerging socializing force and its potential benefits to development.

Keywords: Kiki, development, LGBT, Black, adolescents and emerging adults

Introduction

Black gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) adolescents and emerging adults typically experience multiple intersecting layers of oppression and marginalization due to their age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity and expression (Balsam et al., 2011; Frye et al., 2015; Harper & Wilson, 2017; Wilson & Harper, 2013). These combined forms of discrimination have been associated with increased levels of mental health challenges, including depression and suicidal ideation (Thoma & Huebner, 2013; Wilson et al., 2016). Managing this oppression can lead some Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults to experience isolation and a lack of “belonging” in most realms of their life including their family of origin, school, and neighborhood (Arnold et al., 2018; Wilson et al., 2016). One place where Black GBT young people can experience acceptance and support related to their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression is the House and Ballroom Community (HBC; Arnold & Bailey, 2009; Castillo et al., 2012; Lemos et al., 2015; Telander et al., 2017).

House and ball community

The modern HBC is a primarily urban-based culture that has been in existence for more than 50 years and, like other cultures, has its own unique structures, norms, and practices (Arnold & Bailey, 2009; Bailey, 2009; Phillips et al., 2011; Rowan et al., 2013). The HBC consists of family-like structures called “houses” and performance-based “balls” where members compete for trophies and cash prizes. The “houses” adopt a family structure in which a House Father and Mother mentor members of their house (“children”) as they compete against other houses (“walk”) at balls in various categories (e.g., Realness, Runway, Vogue, Sex Siren). There is a hierarchical structure within the HBC whereby members attain national status over time (e.g., Stars, Statements, Legends, Icons) by winning multiple competitions at balls in various cities, thus becoming revered role models in the HBC.

Many members of the HBC join as adolescents and remain in the culture as they age. Some Black GBT adolescents who are rejected by their biological family, friends, and community due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression find the HBC to be a safe and supportive environment. Alternatively, for those young people who have not experienced familial rejection, the HBC is a way to gain additional social support beyond that provided by the family (Dickson-Gomez et al., 2014). The HBC can provide adolescents and emerging adults with a range of developmentally important benefits, since they typically receive family and social support, guidance and mentorship, and recognition and validation (Arnold et al., 2018; Kubicek et al., 2013; Lemos et al., 2015). In some ways, the HBC provides its members with the same identity and social benefits derived from membership in adolescent peer crowds, which are macro-level subcultures defined by shared sets of behaviors, values, and norms that transcend geographical boundaries (Brown, 2004; Moran et al., 2017).

The perception of HBC culture and practices by academics and others who are outside of the culture is influenced by the burgeoning literature on this unique community. Much of the empirical research conducted to date has focused on HIV-related factors, given the disproportionately higher rates of infection among Black GBT adolescents, emerging adults, and adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2017, 2018a, 2018b). We conducted a review of the peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2019 using Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest electronic databases in order to reveal the extent to which the published literature on the HBC has focused on HIV. In each database, we entered various combinations of the terms “house,” “ball,” and “community,” as well as the combined term “house/ball.” After reading abstracts from the 140 articles we initially discovered in these searches, and eliminating duplications across the databases, we found 26 unique articles focused on the HBC. Full reviews of these articles revealed that 81% (21 of 28) had a primary or secondary focus on HIV.

Although community members and academics recognize the importance of decreasing HIV, much of the HIV-related research focused on the HBC has been deficit-based and not focused on understanding sources of strength and resilience within the HBC (Arnold et al., 2018; Kubicek et al., 2013; Wong et al., 2014). Despite an increasing number of studies demonstrating how strengths like social support within the HBC can protect members of the community from HIV infection (Arnold & Bailey, 2009; Kubicek et al., 2013; Young et al., 2017; Zarwell & Robinson, 2018), there is a dearth of literature focused on the general developmental and psychosocial benefits of the HBC irrespective of HIV prevention. This desire to focus more strengths-based research on normative developmental processes, resilience, and cultural strengths has been recommended for other populations of sexual and gender minority youth of color as well (Johns et al., 2018; Toomey et al., 2017; Wade & Harper, 2017).

Kiki scene

The Kiki scene emerged from the larger HBC in New York in the 2000s as members of the HBC along with activists and community-based organizations (CBOs) serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents and emerging adults recognized a need to create a safe place where GBT young people of color could socialize, vogue, practice, and receive much needed services (e.g., HIV prevention, testing, food, shelter) (Matthes & Salzman, 2019; Smeyne, 2014). Over time the young people attending these events created their own Kiki houses, drawing largely from traditional HBC structures, but emphasizing the importance of youth leadership and culture (Feidelson, 2019; Matthes & Salzman, 2019; Smeyne, 2014). In 2016 a documentary simply titled “Kiki” was released that offered insights into the lives of members of New York’s Kiki scene, illustrating the ways in which the Kiki scene provides a safe space and community structure for GBT adolescents and emerging adults, especially those experiencing homelessness, violence, and health issues (Sims, 2017).

The Kiki scene in Philadelphia originated from social gatherings in basements of the homes of younger (ages 14–24) members of mainstream HBC (Castillo & Hosek, 2018; Snorton, 2015). These younger members sometimes felt a lack of respect from older members of the HBC and were intimidated to practice and perform around those who were more established in the HBC. Thus, they created Kiki events in order to have a space where they would engage in friendly competition without the pressure and stress associated with mainstream balls. Kiki events also provided a way for younger members to gain leadership skills and experiences as well as perfect their talent in a more comfortable environment. In Philadelphia, CBOs began to host Kiki events as a way to provide safe spaces for younger HBC members and to connect them with HIV and other health-related services. These Kiki events hosted by CBOs also served as a drop-in for young HBC members so community members renamed them “Kiki Lounges.” Through various Kiki functions, members started to develop their own separate system of houses and balls as they did in New York. There are many young people who participate in both groups, perhaps as a Kiki leader and a HBC house member.

Given the growing popularity of the Kiki scene in New York, Philadelphia and other urban communities with large numbers of GBT adolescents and emerging adults of color, it is important to gain an understanding of the developmental benefits that participation in Kiki can offer. In alignment with a resilience paradigm (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005; Zimmerman, 2013), we utilized qualitative inquiry methods to explore and understand the various ways in which the Kiki scene supports Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults on their developmental journey, and helps them to thrive in the face of adversity. Although the parent study from which these data were taken was focused on HIV, as has been the case for the majority of HBC-related research to date, our in-depth interviews allowed for the collection of a broad scope of data that allowed us to explore and understand the lived experiences of participants as they navigated the Kiki scene. Past problem-focused studies have provided valuable information and insights into the challenges experienced by Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults (Wade & Harper, 2017), but this paper focuses on supportive and protective elements that exist within the Kiki scene in order to provide researchers and practitioners with information regarding assets and resources that may be the focus of future resilience-focused research and practice (Zimmerman, 2013).

Methods

Data for this study come from qualitative implementation science data that we collected as part of the POSSE Project, which is an effectiveness-implementation trial of a popular opinion leader intervention designed to address HIV prevention in the Chicago and Philadelphia HBCs. The intervention works in a collaborative manner with members of the HBC and Kiki scene to identify opinion leaders who are then educated and trained in delivering HIV/STI prevention and treatment messages to other members of the HBC/Kiki scene through formal and informal conversations, gatherings, and events. The qualitative implementation science data revealed that the Kiki scene was quite popular and rapidly growing in Philadelphia, whereas it was not a common social phenomena in Chicago. Thus, the data for this study come exclusively from individual in-depth interviews conducted with both opinion leaders and community members in Philadelphia.

Participants

Participants for this study included 30 GBT adolescent and emerging adult (ages 15–24) community members and 15 opinion leaders (OLs), for a total of 45 unique individuals. Community member participants met the following criteria: 1) self-identified as Black; 2) were between the ages of 15–24; and 3) were in attendance at an HBC/Kiki event at the time of a POSSE assessment. HBC events included balls, vogue schools, Kiki lounges, and fashion/talent shows. OLs met the following criteria: 1) a member of the Philadelphia POSSE Community Advisory Board (CAB) or individuals identified as influential individuals in the initial participant-aided socio-grams generated by index participants (CAB members); 2) a member of the Philadelphia HBC or Kiki community; and 3) completed the OL training at the outset of the project.

Data collection procedures

Implementation-focused individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with POSSE Project community member participants after they completed their usual study visits. Study visits occurred at assessment events that we planned and coordinated through partnerships with our CAB and collaborating community agencies, including balls, vogue schools, Kiki lounges, and fashion/talent shows. Randomly selected community member participants were invited to participate in an optional IDI following their regular study visit, for which they received an additional incentive. Participants who were selected for the IDI but who were unable to complete the IDI at the POSSE assessment event were given the option of completing it at the study research office on another day. OLs were notified of the opportunity to complete an IDI at an OL monthly meeting (Reunion), as well as via the OL POSSE Facebook page. Those OLs who volunteered to participate where scheduled for an IDI until our designated number of interview slots were filled (n = 15). All IDIs with OLs were conducted at the study research office. Interviews for both groups occurred between October 2016 and June 2017.

The interviewer for this study was a clinical child/adolescent psychologist with several years’ experience working with Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults involved in the HBC. Research team members who had extensive experience working with the HBC, some of whom were part of the community, developed the semi-structured interview guide that we used. The primary focus of the IDIs was to gather data on various aspects of the implementation of the POSSE Project, but the interview also included discussions of both the HBC and the Kiki scene in general. The interview guide was grounded in phenomenological and constructivist frameworks, which provided a general structure for discussion but required participants to provide their own conceptualizations of terms and phrases based on their lived experiences. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim by an external transcription company.

Analytic procedures

Given our focus on understanding the benefits that adolescents and emerging adults may acquire as a result of being involved in the Kiki scene in Philadelphia, we conducted interpretive phenomenological qualitative analyses (Moustakas, 1994; Patton, 2002). Phenomenological analytic approaches provide insights into factors that a given group of people have in common as they experience a particular phenomenon, such as involvement in the Kiki scene. Our analytic approach was inductive in nature and involved two stages. A total of four analysts participated in the analysis process, and they possess multiple social identities that were in alignment with the study population (i.e., three were people of color, two were GBT identified, one was an active member of the HBC and the other three had extensive histories of working with the HBC). We utilized manual handcoding of the data and analysts met multiple times throughout the analysis process both in person and through video conferences.

In the first stage of analysis, two analysts coded sections of text that described benefits that adolescents and emerging adults involved in the Kiki scene gain from their participation. They then created thematic categories that served to represent the various groupings of benefits that were discussed in the transcripts. Any discrepancies in coding or thematic grouping were resolved through consensus-building discussions. Following this stage, the other two analysts joined the first two analysts in discussing all of the primary themes and finding representative quotes in the transcripts. The full team then discussed collapsing of sub-themes and themes in order to present the data in a parsimonious manner. Comparative analyses were conducted to explore any potential differences between the responses of the GBT youth community members and the OLs with regard to the themes and sub-themes. No differences were revealed so the data from community members and OLs are combined, and reported as one sample.

Results

Participants described how the Kiki scene provides them with a range of supportive and affirming functions and offers a place where they can achieve important milestones in adolescent and emerging adulthood development, especially since there are often few places where these young people can safely engage in the type of exploration associated with meeting basic developmental needs. The findings clustered into three primary thematic areas of adolescent and emerging adulthood development that are provided by the Kiki scene: Executive Functioning Development, Social-Emotional Development, and Physical and Emotional Safety during Development. Within each of these major thematic areas are sub-themes that we describe in the following sections. We offer representative quotes to further elucidate the content of the sub-themes, and we provide pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of the participants.

Executive functioning development

When asked about their experiences within the Kiki scene, participants described aspects of their involvement that supported Executive Functioning Development. Executive functioning is an umbrella term for the neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation such as planning, problem solving, shifting, goal setting, decision-making, creativity, cognitive flexibility, and achievement orientation (Nyongesa et al., 2019). Executive functioning skills can be enhanced through repeated experiences where the adolescent or emerging adults can explore various ways to utilize such skills and practice using them (Prencipe et al., 2011; Riggs et al., 2006). Young people involved in the Kiki scene described three main ways this occurs: Builds Confidence through Practice and Flexibility, Builds Creativity through Supportive Experimentation, and Builds Achievement Orientation through Healthy Competition.

First, participants talked about how Kiki Builds Confidence through Practice and Flexibility. As compared with mainstream HBC, the more relaxed and less competitive environment of the Kiki scene provides a low-stakes environment for trying different types of performance, trial and error learning, receiving feedback from peers, and practicing in a supportive environment. As one OL shared, "That’s the time where you can practice, mess up and everything” (Keith). The less rigid and judgmental environment of the Kiki scene provides adolescents and emerging adults with more opportunities to explore different aspects of performing at balls, and through this process enhance their creativity and cognitive flexibility. One participant explained how the Kiki scene allows for this flexibility:

So mainstream has a better way of controlling categories and making sure that people who are walking know what they’re walking. And that’s what they’re best at. The Kiki scene allows you to be a performance person and then walk mainstream or walk—I mean walk runway or walk face or walk sex siren. Other categories that you want to walk, but you can’t because the mainstream scene only sees you as a performance person. So like for me I do runway. I couldn’t walk—I couldn’t walk runway one mainstream ball and then walk performance the next ball. (Todd; community member)

Another participant echoed how the lower stress, practice environment of Kiki is encouraging and confidence-building, thus providing a space for participants to take more risks when engaging in trial and error learning as they build a repertoire of new skills and abilities:

The Kiki scene is like a ballroom scene. But Kiki is like play so it’s like a play version of the real scene. But it’s like more so for the youth doing the same thing like walking the runway and vogueing and face and stuff like that. Basically it’s like—The Kiki scene is supposed to be for encouraging—building your confidence. (Dion; community member)

Second, participants shared that the Kiki scene Builds Creativity through Supportive Experimentation. Participants often stated that mainstream HBC takes things too seriously. The Kiki scene, on the other hand, has a more relaxed environment that allows for supportive experimentation. Another participant described the creative personas that individuals adopt when “walking” in the Kiki or mainstream scene, commenting that in the Kiki scene, people take themselves less seriously and are able to experiment with different personas:

I don’t know. People have these personas and it’s not them, so in the real scene, people take it too seriously. It’s supposed to be the real scene, you’re supposed to be yourself. The scene, you can have that persona and make it seem like you’re somebody but it’s totally different. In the Kiki scene, everybody’s calm, chill. It’s not that serious, but in the real scene, people think they’re like Barbie and it’s not that. (Thomas; community member)

Finally, Kiki participation Builds Achievement Orientation through Healthy Competition. Like mainstream HBC, the Kiki scene provides opportunities for competition, but in Kiki the competitive spirit is still grounded in an atmosphere of support. This supportive competition allows participants to receive encouragement as they strive to meet or exceed a standard of excellence, seek and receive constructive feedback on their performance, and continually strive for ways to improve—all aspects of an achievement orientation. As one community member said,

So it’s good that we do have these types of events [Kiki Lounges] because it makes you feel wanted, you know. And it makes you feel like, I can come here and do this [practice voguing] and I won’t feel—nobody will look at you in any type or any other way. (Marcus; community member)

The Kiki scene allows for fairer judging and less pressure. The competition that does exist does not carry over into the “streets” after the Kiki lounge. As another community member shared, “People [in mainstream] get too competitive and want to fight. We [in the Kiki scene] really don’t have that. I don’t know what’s so different but we never have it.” (Donald). This allows adolescents and emerging adults engaged in the Kiki scene to practice new skills, set goals, and push themselves to achieve these goals in a healthily competitive environment. As another participant explained,

To me, it’s like everybody stepping out of their comfort zone and actually doing what they like to do without people throwing shade, or fighting or something. (Devonte; community member)

Social-emotional development

Participants described how their involvement in the Kiki scene helps to promote their social-emotional development. Similar to executive functioning development, social-emotional development is also an umbrella term, and it typically is used to describe development of critical skills related to cooperative and pro-social interactions with others. This includes the development and maintenance of peer friendships and adult relationships, as well as emotional regulation processes such as management of conflict and aggression and the development of self-worth (Aviles et al., 2006). Adolescents and emerging adults involved in the Kiki scene described three main ways in which the scene supported their social-emotional development: Provides a Positive Socializing Environment, Provides Enjoyment and Fun, and Provides a Positive Outlet and Stress Reduction.

With regard to how the Kiki scene Provides a Positive Socializing Environment, participants talked about how the Kiki scene gives adolescents and emerging adults more opportunities for connecting with their peers in a positive social way. As one participant shared:

Some of the good things about the Kiki scene is that you can make a lot of friends. A lot of great people. You meet a lot of great people and you go to a lot of different places. Especially because you know they travel. Probably go to Baltimore. Probably go to New York. So yeah. (Eric; community member)

Additionally, the age differential between those in the Kiki scene is typically not so large—providing an opportunity to connect with other young people their age. One participant stated,

Lounges, they’re really fun, like voguing I think it’s like good [to] express yourself so I go there and I vogue, meet my friends. Some friends I haven’t seen in a while I see. It’s very nice. (Robert; community member)

Unlike mainstream events, which people may travel to from all over the country, adolescents and young adults attending Kiki lounges are more likely to be local, so they provide a good space for building community and friendships. Another participant stated,

The Kiki lounge is not as packed as mini balls and real balls, and then they might have a few and it’s not so much people coming from out of state. It’s more of Philly community together and just having a good time, and that’s what I love about it. (Jonathon; community member)

Another socioemotional benefit of the Kiki scene is that it Provides Enjoyment and Fun, especially for adolescents and emerging adults who may be contending with stress due to GBT stigma and discrimination. Participants find the Kiki scene more fun than mainstream events, and it gives them something to look forward to. Young people get an opportunity to relax and have fun at Kiki lounges.

It’s so much fun. It’s so much more alive. It’s vibrant. It’s exciting, like you want to go to a Kiki scene ball, like the same people you see at a mainstream ball will be at a Kiki ball. Their effects is probably ten times better, and it’s just more fun. It’s a lot more fun. (Mario; community member)

They actually are fun. They are fun. Like I said, it’s an extra curriculum you could do like if you don’t have nothing else to do like on your spare time, if you don’t want to go home, you come here, enjoy yourself, lollygag around with a couple of friends. It’s fun. [laughs] (Darnell; community member)

Finally, the Kiki Provides a Positive Outlet and Stress Reduction. It gives adolescents and emerging adults something to do, especially for younger participants, who do not often have many opportunities to connect with other GBT youth of color in a safe environment. As one OL shared, “It gives me the outlet. The kids need the outlet also” (Stephan). Additionally, for some, coming to the Kiki lounges serves as self-care that helps them reduce stress and assists with the regulation of emotions. As another OL shared, “Yeah, it was like a stress reliever, like dancing is like a stress reliever for me” (Allan). The Kiki scene provides space for engaging in healthy self-care and coping behaviors.

That you get to really sit up here and laugh with your community. You get to enjoy yourself and feel comfortable around your kind of people. (Devonte; community member)

Physical and emotional safety during development

Participants described how, as compared to mainstream HBC, Kiki provides a space that offers both Physical Safety and Emotional Safety. The creation of such spaces is particularly important for these young people since adolescent and emerging adulthood development occurs within multiple contexts, and these contexts may present unique challenges for GBT youth of color (Harper, 2007; Harper & Wilson, 2017).

In terms of Physical Safety, there is less fighting in the Kiki scene than in mainstream HBC. As one community member participant described, the competition in the Kiki scene is less intense than in mainstream HBC, which means less fighting and more fun:

[Kiki] It’s not so much drama. It’s not house against house. It’s not stuff like that. Philly scene is like the family. Then when we go to other stage [city], it’s like they’re not your family. So it’s not like we’re just fighting each of the different houses because, in mainstream, if you go to another stage, you’ll end up fighting. So then it’s like yeah. It’s [Kiki] more fun. I think it’s more fun, in my opinion. (Darrell; community member)

Having a creative community space that is physically safe is important for Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults, not just in contrast to the fighting and violence that can occur within mainstream HBC events, but also because many young people deal with violence outside of the HBC from family, friends, and others in their community. As another community member participant described:

Seeing, like, basically the gay community join together for something, the gay community being together to show talents that not the whole world—I mean the whole world’s seen it, but it’s not an everyday thing. To see that people that I know that’s going through struggles, when they come here [Kiki Lounge] it’s not a struggle. To see that they know that they can be somewhere safe, because not everybody there is safe, not everybody that is gay is safe from their family or their friends. So, that’s the main thing that I like to see. And that’s what’s so, why I come here. Because I’m not always safe. (Shawn; community member)

The Kiki scene also provides a greater level of Emotional Safety for those involved. The Kiki scene is a more confidential space where adolescents and emerging adults experience acceptance as they experiment with their identities. Unlike in mainstream HBC events, young people do not have to worry about others laughing at them. As one participant described:

You’re not looked at like that, and mainstream ballroom, whatever you walk or your category, you have to be that. In the Kiki world, this is for fun. It’s a Kiki. If I want to throw a wig on today—everybody is just going to laugh and say, "Oh, you look cute." You know, mainstream, you can’t do that. It has to be a lifestyle, you know? (Mario; community member)

Participants also expressed how good it is to be around other GBT young people, which helps them to feel relaxed:

It gives us cleanness. I like it. I like that. And on top of that it just gives a lot of us—when I say us I mean of us—you know what I’m saying—gay, bisexual, and all that—a place to just come you know relax and be cool. No there’s not a drama there. I like that. (Shawn; community member)

Finally, the supportive environment of the Kiki scene provides a space to escape from the troubles of the outside world:

So I mean, I like my [Kiki] house. Honestly, it’s an outlet from the real world. So it’s like we can escape all the pain, all the troubles that we’re having, and just be with each other and vogue, have a walk, have a good time, do what we have to do to release the stress that we have. So honestly, the Kiki scene, I like it. I think we need—I think as a gay male, in the gay community, we need the Kiki scene, because this is a scene that we can be ourselves and not be afraid to be ourselves. You see what I’m saying? (Eric; community member)

Discussion

The Kiki scene has emerged out of the HBC with younger leaders and members who have created Kiki events in order to have a space where they can engage in friendly competition without the pressure and stress associated with mainstream balls. Our data demonstrate that the structure of the Kiki scene and the Kiki lounges provides participants with an array of supportive and affirming functions that assist them in their adolescent and emerging adulthood development. In addition, the Kiki scene gives them a place where they can achieve important milestones in adolescent and emerging adulthood development—especially since there are often few places where these young people can safely engage in the type of exploration associated with meeting basic developmental needs.

Our findings clustered into three primary thematic areas of adolescent and emerging adulthood development that are provided by the Kiki scene: Executive Functioning Development, Social-Emotional Development, and Physical and Emotional Safety during Development. The first two areas (Executive Functioning and Social-Emotional Development) represent substantive domains of development experienced by adolescents and emerging adults that play a significant role in their ability to develop into successful adults. Executive functioning development provides the young person with the skills and abilities needed to manage their day-to-day activities and resources, and to be able to plan for the future (Nyongesa et al., 2019), and typically continues through the age of 24 as brain maturation progresses (Kolb & Gibb, 2011). Our participants described the Kiki scene as providing them with skills and practice needed to build confidence through practice and flexibility, and to build creativity through supportive experimentation. In addition, they described how the Kiki scene also provides them with a competitive, yet affirming, environment where adolescents and young adults develop a sense of achievement and accomplishment through engaging in healthy competition.

The other substantive area of development that was supported by participation in the Kiki scene was Social-Emotional development, which involves the development of critical skills related to cooperative and pro-social interactions with others. The participants in our study discussed the ways in which the Kiki scene promotes their social-emotional development through providing a positive socializing environment where they could develop supportive and affirming relationships with their peers and develop more intimate friendships with others who had similar lived experiences. In addition, the Kiki scene also provides adolescents and emerging adults with a place where they can have fun and enjoy themselves, which is not always possible outside of Kiki and HBC settings due to pervasive sexual and gender minority discrimination and stigma. The last function within social-emotional development is to provide adolescents and emerging adults with a positive outlet where they can connect in a pro-social manner with other GBT youth of color, and engage in self-care through reducing their stress levels and regulating their negative emotions. Some of these coping and health-promoting functions are served through the vigorous physical activity that accompanies either rehearsing or performing, as well as through discussions with other GBT adolescents and emerging adults.

The final major theme related to adolescent and emerging adulthood development was not a general area of development as with Executive Functioning or Social-Emotional Development, but instead was focused on how the Kiki scene provides both a physical place and a social and emotional space where adolescents and emerging adults can progress through various developmental processes safely. The creation and continuation of these emotionally and physically safe spaces and places is critical for Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults, since they often contend with multiple layers of stigma and discrimination. In addition, they may not have the support of family members and social/cultural institutions (e.g., churches) to provide them with safe places for developmental exploration (Harper, 2007; Harper & Wilson, 2017).

Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults often must contend with multiple layers of oppression and marginalization due to their age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity and expression, often with limited acceptance and support from family members and other members of their own ethnic/racial cultural community (Harper & Wilson, 2017; Hightow-Weidman et al., 2011). This study contributes to the emerging literature that is focused on understanding sources of strength and resilience within the larger HBC (Kubicek et al., 2013; Wong et al., 2014), and we believe is the first to focus specifically on the Kiki scene. This study is also unique because rather than highlighting how strengths within the HBC can protect members of the community from HIV infection, it focuses instead on the benefits of the Kiki scene with regard to facilitating and enhancing developmental processes that are critical to adult development. It is important for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to keep in mind that adolescents and emerging adults involved in the HBC, as well as the emerging Kiki scene, are first and foremost developing adolescents and emerging adults who are entrenched within multiple developmental processes that can result in dire consequences for later adult functioning if they are not adequately addressed as young people.

We found that the Kiki scene provides unique opportunities for younger members of the HBC to experiment with different parts of their identity. Since younger members of the HBC initiated the Kiki scene, the majority of adolescents and emerging adults who are involved are within the same general age category. This creates a social environment consisting of age-similar peers who are also experiencing similar developmental challenges, thus providing both peer-based social support and modeling of executive functioning and social-emotional developmental skills and strategies. In addition, the Kiki scene provides protection from physical and emotional dangers that may exist within both the larger society and the “mainstream” HBC due to diversity of age and status within the HBC, giving individuals a sense of safety and security. Given that many members of the HBC and Kiki scene have experienced multiple layers of oppression and trauma, the safety of the Kiki scene and Kiki lounges provides one of the only safe havens where these Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults can develop executive functioning and social-emotional skills without having to worry about their safety. These safe spaces may also provide young people with skills that will support their resistance of societal oppression and discrimination, as well as the further development and maintenance of resilience processes.

Our data suggest that the Kiki scene is a critical social network that assists in promoting executive functioning and social-emotional development. As such, it serves many of the same social and developmental functions as peer crowds (Brown, 2004; Moran et al., 2017). Although peer crowds have traditionally been defined by lifestyle characteristics such as Elites, Athletes, Academics, Deviants and Others (Sussman et al., 2007), more recent conceptualizations of these adolescent and emerging adult peer crowds has expanded to include multi-ethnic urban cultures such as Hip-Hop Culture (Walker et al., 2018). The Kiki scene should be included in the expansion of peer crowds, representing an intersection of multiple identities of race, sexuality, gender, gender expression, and class. Participant responses to how the Kiki scene provides different mechanisms of support should be further investigated. These findings, if expanded upon, can provide insight into how the Kiki scene can be protective against factors that impact adolescent and emerging adults at large and racial and sexual and gender minorities in particular.

Strengths, limitations, and future research

This study is perhaps the first to describe the benefits of engagement in the Kiki scene for Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults. It also presents a departure from prior HBC literature, which has primarily focused on various aspects of HIV prevention and HIV management. This study also sampled both adolescents and emerging adults who were currently involved in the Kiki scene, as well as older members of the HBC (OLs) who work directly with young people who are involved with the Kiki scene. We also conducted the interviews at different venues within the HBC and Kiki scene across different dates and times to get an array of adolescents and emerging adults in our study. The qualitative nature of the data collection and analysis is another strength, as this is a relatively new phenomena that is most amenable to qualitative inquiry.

By understanding the supportive and protective elements that exist within the Kiki scene from the perspective of Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults who are part of this social structure, we will be better able to collaborate with members of the community in a participatory manner to develop and implement community-level interventions that support health and wellbeing. These interventions could be focused on an array of physical and mental health issues, and because they are developed in a participatory fashion with members of the Kiki scene and delivered within their own community, the chances of prolonged sustainability will be greater. Our findings suggest that the Kiki scene assists with Executive Functioning Development, Social-Emotional Development, and Physical and Emotional Safety during Development—all foundational elements in an array of health promotion areas. Thus, for some Black GBT youth, the Kiki scene may be a primary setting for learning ways to improve their health.

Despite these strengths, there were limitations to this study. We only collected data in Philadelphia, so the phenomena of the Kiki scene as it was described to us may be unique to this geographic region. Given the relative newness of the Kiki scene and the natural progression of social and cultural movements, the Kiki scene is changing and developing different norms over time. Also, as more adolescents and emerging adults are engaged in the Kiki scene, its increased size may change social dynamics, as well as the social norms and expectations of its members. Because we collected our sample participants at Kiki and HBC-related events, it may be that those adolescents and emerging adults who attend these events are more strongly connected with other young people in the HBC and Kiki communities, and have had more positive experiences with the Kiki scene than others.

Our sample of adolescent and emerging adult Kiki community members included a range of individuals between the ages of the 15 and 24. This age range includes young people who are at different levels across various domains of human development (e.g., cognitive, social, emotional, identity), and who are exposed to different societal developmental milestones (e.g., legal age to drive, vote, give consent, drink alcohol). This variability may have influenced participants’ perceptions of the Kiki scene since those in different age brackets will likely have unique developmental needs. Future studies may utilize an age and/or developmental-level based stratification sampling system to appropriately capture and analyze potential developmental differences in the data. Last, since the primary focus of this inquiry was to explore and understand how the Kiki scene supports Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults on their developmental journey in order to inform future resilience-focused research and practice, we did not specifically analyze the data with an eye toward uncovering potential challenges that participation in the Kiki scene may present for young people. Since prior studies of the HBC have documented disproportionately higher rates of negative health outcomes among its members as compared to other ethnic/minority GBT individuals (cf., Kipke et al., 2013; Lemos et al., 2015; Murrill et al., 2008), it may be that Black GBT adolescents and emerging adults who are engaged in the Kiki scene experience unique health-related challenges, but that is beyond the scope of the current study.

Future research should explore the Kiki scene in other cities to examine the similarities and differences in experiences. Longitudinal mixed-methods studies would also be beneficial since they could further illuminate the ways in which the Kiki scene does or does not actually facilitate changes in executive functioning and social-emotional development. Such studies also may include quantitative measures of executive functioning and social-emotional development in order to track changes in these developmental processes over time. Further ethnographic work needs to be conducted on the Kiki scene and Kiki lounges, since these are social movements that are likely changing as they expand and grow, and it is not clear if these changes will help to support or deter from healthy adolescent and young adulthood development.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the tireless efforts of our Chicago and Philadelphia Community Advisory Board members for their time and commitment to this study and their community. In Chicago: Icon Father Tommy Avant Garde, Legendary Overall Father Amari Christian, Legendary Father Mario Balenciaga, Mother ShaSha Golden/Lauren, Kweli Balenciaga, Legendary Kentrele Mizrahi/Father Rajah, Relic Mizrahi, Legendary Alonzo Balmain/Baldwin, Nate Baldwin, Jeff Omni, Rykko Herrera, Amya Khan/Baldwin, and Adonte Prodigy/Baldwin. In Philadelphia: Legendary Mike Ebony, Ja’Nae Balenciaga, Legendary Bubby Revlon, Dippy 007, Legendary Season Lanvin, Shimmy Old Navy, Ike Ebony/Avalon, Jay Escada, Legendary Aamina Prodigy, Kemar/Old Navy/Mizrahi, Nick Prodigy/Avalon, Joshua Ninja, Legendary Fuzzy Blahnik, Icon Jay Blahnik, Tatyana Escada/Farragomo, Maurice West/Avalon, Tori Prodigy, Legendary Hakeem Balenciaga, Legendary Markise Prodigy, Kash Balenciaga, Dominique Ebony, and Will Blahnik.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (5 R01 MH104106).

Biography

Gary W. Harper, Ph.D., M.P.H. is a Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education and a Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Harper’s applied research and community work focus on the mental health and sexual health needs of LGBTQ adolescents and emerging adults. For more than 25 years, Dr. Harper has worked collaboratively with community agencies and community members to develop and evaluate a range of culturally and developmentally appropriate mental health, sexual health, and HIV prevention intervention programs for youth—working domestically in large urban cities and globally in Botswana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, and Zambia. Given the participatory nature of Dr. Harper’s work, he prioritizes active community engagement with an array of community stakeholders, and focuses not only on health-related risks but also on individual and community-level resilience.

Richard LaBoy’s work and volunteer experiences involves working with under-served communities, specifically young LGBTQ people of color on psychosocial and sexual health issues including; homelessness, HIV/AIDS, mental health treatment, substance use/abuse, fighting poverty and discrimination. Currently, as member of the Adolescent Initiative at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (a unit of the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network & an NIH-funded research network), he is assisting in the organization, coordination & implementation of intervention trials for HIV-infected & at-risk youth. With his professional experience and ties to Philadelphia’s LGBT community he has successfully engaged community leadership, implemented prevention methodologies, and collected data to ensure that study outcomes are met.

Marné Castillo, PhD, M.Ed, is Clinical and Research Director of the Adolescent Initiative in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) where she oversees HIV care, services, programming and research. She is the Principal Investigator for the CHOP Adolescent Trials Network Site and sits on multiple community boards and committees focusing on youth health and development.

Gabriel Lee Johnson, MPH is a University of Michigan Doctoral Student in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and research assistant with the Resilience + Resistance Collective where he assists in developing interventions and conducting research for sexual and gender minorities in the United States and abroad.

Sybil Hosek, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist/HIV Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Stroger Hospital of Cook County with over 18 years of experience in the development and implementation of HIV-related research studies and behavioral interventions. Her research focuses on primary and secondary HIV prevention interventions for adolescents and young adults from key populations disproportionately impacted by HIV. Dr. Hosek also conducts research on biomedical HIV prevention products for adolescents, including PrEP and microbicides, and the development of behavioral interventions to improve uptake and adherence to these new biomedical strategies.

Laura Jadwin-Cakmak, MPH, is Research Director of the Resilience + Resistance Collective in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health where she conducts behavioral research and develops interventions for diverse populations including LGBTQ communities and health care providers in the U.S. and internationally.

Footnotes

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial interests or benefits to disclose.

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