True Colors: The Lesbian and Gay Youth Lived Experience of the Coming out Process in Aklan
Keywords:
gay, lesbian, Aklanon, lived experience, positive outlook, coming outAbstract
This study explored the coming out stories of 10 Aklanon gay and lesbian youth aged 18-22. Participants were asked about their experiences coming out to themselves as young gays or lesbians, friends, and parents. Colaizzi's phenomenological technique and frequency coding were used to categorize responses across narratives and better represent participant experiences. All participants acknowledged, labeled, and accepted themselves as gay or lesbians; however, two directly disclosed their gender orientation to their respective parents. One participant's parents verbally acknowledged and accepted her; the other participant's parents ignored her. Their narratives revealed that acceptance of friends and parents resulted in increased self-worth and self-acceptance, thus contributing to their development of a positive gay and lesbian identity. Silence from their parents, leniency and the belief that they should strive to be better sons and daughters are signs of parental acceptance; however, future research should look into if Aklanon gays and lesbians who are deemed to be "adolescents" or "young people" go through the same sexual identity development.
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