What is it about?
Black trans people experience structural racism and oppression that socially and economically isolates them, creating conditions for a unique experience of loneliness. In this essay, I engage queer of color critique to explore structural forces that work together to exclude Black trans people. The purpose of this conceptual piece is to advance loneliness theory to include structural isolation to explain manifestations of loneliness due to discrimination and oppression of Black trans people.
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Why is it important?
Loneliness is a hot topic and emerging public health crisis. This article explores how the complex nature of discrimination at the intersection of race, gender, and class provides nuanced understanding of how loneliness is not simply a maladaptive personality trait, but a manifestation of systemic erasure. It is vital that interventions to reduce isolation and loneliness are at their core anti-racist and anti-oppressive so that everyone has an opportunity to belong.
Perspectives
This was a labor of love, sweat, and tears. I am grateful to many colleagues, peers, and reviewers, who helped make this work a reality. As the world becomes more and more disconnected and polarized, strategies to reconnect people to one another and build empathy are vital. EVERYONE DESERVES TO BELONG!
Trey Jenkins
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: (Un)Belonging: The Production of Black Trans Loneliness, Affilia, May 2023, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/08861099231173957.
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