Examining Internalized Homonegativity: Narratives of Same Sex Attracted Black Men

Research describes how Black cisgender queer men become limited in their sexual identity development when they internalize anti-gay messages disseminated from familial, religious, and social spaces. A hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research study was conducted to explore nine Black cisgender same gender loving men's experiences with homonegativity. Results suggest that internalized homonegativity may reflect challenges that transcend same sex sexual and romantic engagement. Internalized homonegativity may arise due to fear of lost privilege that is contingent on masculine performance in various social contexts.