Latinx Gay Fathers’ Pathways to Parenthood, Social Stigma, Helpfulness
of Social Relationships and Comfort Being Out: A Life Course Perspective
Abstract
Historical events change the socio-cultural and political contexts that
Latinx gay men live in, shaping how different generations are impacted
by and respond to minority stress over time, as well as their external
support and comfort being out—factors crucial in buffering the effects
of stigma. The stigma Latinx gay fathers face is informed by racial and
xenophobic prejudice they encounter as Latinx individuals and negative
attitudes towards their parenting abilities as gay men. To better
understand the lives of Latinx gay fathers, we employed a life course
perspective to explore their pathways to parenthood, experiences and
avoidance of stigma, helpfulness of social relationships, and their
comfort being out. Eighty-six Latinx gay fathers from 47 states in the
U.S. participated. Over half of participants’ first and second children
were genetically related to them. Participants reported low frequencies
of sexuality-based stigma and even lower levels of stigma avoidance, as
well as relatively high levels of comfort being publicly out and
helpfulness of social relationships. Generational differences between
Latinx gay fathers in the AIDS-1 (born 1950-1969) and AIDS-2 generations
(born 1970-1980s) were salient, signifying the importance of historical
context in understanding this population.