*we will be using the term Latinx and Latine (pronounced La-teen-eh) to refer to people with origins from Latin American countries of all genders*
This section of the toolkit was written by the TransLatin@ Coalition. FORGE is grateful for their contribution in this section and advising throughout the toolkit
The TransLatin@ Coalition is now the largest national advocacy organization and direct service provider for Transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) people. The TransLatin@ Coalition employs over 70 TGI people in the cities of Los Angeles and El Monte. It is the only trans-led organization and direct service provider in Los Angeles founded on the activism of Transgender Latin@ Immigrants that directly works to address the needs of TGI people while planning strategies to improve our quality of life.
Overview
Latines represent the most numerous ethnic minority in the country. We are a diverse community of people from different national origins, races, ethnicities, and cultures, and the TGI Latinx community is no exception. Though little data exists to capture the specific demographics of the TGI Latine community, TGI Latines speak different languages, have a diverse racial makeup such as Black, Indigenous, White, or mixed race, and possess different immigration statuses. Though each factor has a distinct impact on individual community members and their needs, some specific needs and cultural factors resonate across the community. Recognizing the more significant trends in the needs reported by TGI Latines while honoring the individual’s story is an important aspect of improving the quality of services provided to aid TGI Latine survivors of violence.
In 2022, our organization launched Cultural Transformation Training and Development with the goal of building capacity and expanding cultural competency to better equip service providers’ responsiveness to TGI people of color, many of which live at the intersection of racism, transphobia, and poverty. We have worked with organizations and networks on a national level to bring this bilingual education to the forefront to close service-related gaps and improve the quality of services for our TGI community members. For more information on training, please reach out to us at training@translatinacoalition.org
Social Networks
Birth Family
Family is a central aspect of Latinx culture. For many Latines, family life and roles significantly shape identity. Woven into traditional Latine family structures are expectations of gender that are carefully included in the practices of raising children. Though there are some differences in the specific aspects of these expectations across different regions, generally, ideas of gender expectations can greatly influence a person’s range of expression throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. For many TGI Latines, meeting these expectations as youth is impossible, and as a result, they face severe backlash from their family members, which can include physical and verbal harassment. Nearly half of TGI Latines experienced at least one form of rejection by their family after coming out.
This discrimination led about 1 in 10 TGI Latines to leave their homes at a young age to escape violence. Transwomen and trans femmes are more likely than transmen and non-binary Latines to run away from home after coming out.[i]
2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey: Latino/a respondents[ii]
Forms of Family Rejection
- 16% had a family member send them to a “professional” to stop them from being transgender
- 12% experienced violence
- 12% ran away from home after coming out to their immediate family
- 11% experienced being kicked out of the house
Chosen family
As a result of family rejection or systemic political persecution, many TGI Latines are left without or with limited biological family networks and create their identities and social safety networks via the relationships with “chosen” family. Chosen family can include romantic partners, friends, and mentors. Because it is such a shared experience, the grief over the loss of family ties can bring people together in friendships and supplant biological family.
Romantic partners are also a source of support for many TGI Latines. Unfortunately, TGI Latines experience intimate partner violence at disproportionate rates The people most vulnerable to intimate partner violence in the Latine TGI community, regardless of gender identity, are those who work in the underground economy. Sex work within the TGI Latine community is generally openly discussed, particularly between transwomen in the community, because TGI Latinas are significantly overrepresented in sex work. Experiences with sex work can be a source of bonding and empowerment through the reclamation of sexuality and gender identity. It is important to destigmatize sex work and create environments that promote harm reduction.
2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey: Latino/a respondents[iii]
- 54% of respondents overall experience intimate partner violence
- 58% of trans men experience intimate partner violence
- 55% of non-binary people with “female” on their birth certificate have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime
- 74% of respondents who work in the underground economy experience intimate partner violence
Socioeconomic Status
Employment & Poverty
Several barriers impact the employment rates of TGI Latines. The biggest three factors are English proficiency, legal authorization to work and reside in the U.S., and employment discrimination based on ethnicity. For TGI Latines, the ability to be perceived as the identified gender creates an additional factor for discrimination. Entrepreneurship and participation in the underground economy are channels for overcoming systemic barriers to steady employment, poverty, and homelessness.
2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey: Latino/a respondents[iv]
- 40% earn income from employment 21% unemployed
- 11% report being fired for being transgender
- 22% have participated in the underground economy
- 13% worked in sex work
- 52% of transwomen have worked in sex work
TGI Latines in the U.S. are nearly twice as likely as white TGI Americans to be living in poverty. A significant majority of TGI Latines individually earn less than $50,000 annually, mirroring the general Latine population in the United States. For the TGI Latine population in the United States, combining resources and living with a chosen family in one house creates a financial safety net. It can be difficult for our community members to access social services such as rental assistance because of documentation, and uncertainty about how it can affect their immigration status in the future.
Homelessness & Health
TGI Latines with bachelor’s degrees are five times more likely to be homeless than the average American with a bachelor’s degree. Shelters are generally segregated by sex or gender and may require state-issued identification or U.S. residency to access resources and can be hostile environments for our communities. This can create barriers to accessing competent, safe, and efficient housing resources. As a result, networks of chosen families, intercommunity relationships, and trans-led and trans-specific community-based organizations like the Translatin@ Coalition provide sources of temporary or long-term assistance to intervene against homelessness. We must educate our community on their rights under federal law to access housing, emergency or domestic violence shelters and programs. We inform clients of their right to file grievances and walk them through the process if they experience discrimination or mistreatment at a publicly funded shelter or community-based organization.
TGI Latines who experience homelessness and engage in sex work are at heightened risk of developing a substance abuse disorder and HIV-positive status. Within the community, there is advocacy and support for the use of HIV-preventative medication such as PEP/PrEP when there is knowledge and access to such prevention. However, many knowledge gaps pervade within the community about what medication exists, how it works, and how to get access to it. Many TGI Latines rely on inter-community recommendations for accessing medical healthcare as well, so it is important to uplift peer ambassadors and compensate them for sharing public health information within communities.
Experiences of immigration, family rejection, dysphoria, and multifaceted discrimination all contribute to elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma within the TGI Latine community. To manage mental health, attending culturally competent therapy is a practice encouraged within the community. Because adequate and affordable options can be limited, inter-community referrals to trusted and reliable practitioners. While mental health is an important and needed resource, there is still a lot of stigma associated with the mental health field that is rooted in a lack of knowledge due to the lack of culturally relevant and accessible conversations about mental health topics. There is a dire need for more TGI mental health clinicians or clinicians who ally themselves as responsive to the needs of TGI people, and when you take into consideration possible language barriers, finding therapists that have both the language and TGI lived expertise becomes even more minuscule. Opening up conversations about mental health in community settings through formal or informal support groups and peer counseling services can be critical harm reduction tools as more is done to close these gaps in publicly funded community mental healthcare.
Immigration and Legal Authorization
Legal authorization/aid
In recent years, LGBTQ people have joined the migration caravans to the United States in greater numbers, particularly from Central America, fleeing organized persecution for expressing their gender identity and sexuality. The changes to U.S. immigration policy made in the last five years have had a significant impact on the TGI people seeking asylum. For example, the Migrant Protection Protocols that require non-Mexican immigrants to stay in Mexico while their U.S. asylum is processed continue to put them at risk for further violence and extortion. When it comes to immigration detention centers, many are segregated by biological sex rather than gender identity and use solitary containment cells, which leave TGI migrants unable to create important social networks for safety. In detention, TGI immigrants are often held for longer periods and are 97 times more likely to be assaulted or victimized by other border detainees.[v] Additionally, TGI individuals run greater risks of mental and medical health disruptions due to the outright lack of or limited access to hormones and anti-retroviral drugs for people living with HIV. Furthermore, Trans and gender non-conforming asylum cases, face prejudice from immigration judges who have specific cultural ideas about what it means to present as TGI that may not align with foreign presentations of gender nonconformity. Consequently, new emotional trauma is often developed as a result of a need to publicly divulge intimate, sensitive information, subject to scrutiny and disbelief, to avoid deportation and stay alive.
The process of authorized immigration also poses difficulties with finding work because different visas come with varying stipulations. No matter what documentation status a TGI Latine immigrant holds, the process of immigration is often traumatic, involving learning a new language and new way of life, and sometimes experiencing exploitation and violence or loneliness and social isolation. It is important to connect immigrants, especially recent arrivals, to appropriate free legal representation resources and programs. TGI people experiencing domestic violence or who are victims of violence may have additional protections and programs they qualify for under federal and state laws that support them with accessing legal status. Organizations offering free legal services can also disrupt misinformation about “public charge” and help educate migrants on what services they can access that do not affect their pathway to residency or citizenship.
Resilience & Storytelling
Healing within our communities is fostered by creating networks of chosen family, where individuals find support, love, and acceptance. By sharing our stories, we can create the visibility that helps us build community and help people feel understood and not alone. In our culture, storytelling is referred to as testimonio, which is a powerful tool for personal and collective healing, social and political change, and preservation of our histories. Speaking truth to power and storytelling are essential tools for TGI Latinx resilience. By sharing our stories, we challenge harmful stereotypes, reclaim our narratives, and inspire future generations. With storytelling, we can create a sense of community and belonging that is critical to our self-preservation and perseverance.
Another form of resilience is our artistic expression. TGI people continue to make a meaningful impact on the arts and culture of urban cities nationwide. Positive media representation continues to be an important tool for resilience that expands the possibilities of our reach as TGI Latinx people. Media has the potential to reach even those in rural areas who may have a heightened anxiety about being openly “out” as a TGI person; these representations in media serve as a reminder that they have a community of people like them that they belong to. Continuing to uplift the various forms of media or literature curated and led by trans folks reminds younger generations that they are not alone and that there are many different possibilities of what careers they can aspire to and how big their reach can be.
Here are a few examples to uplift:
- TransLash Media: Discover Eight Inspiring Trans and GNC Figures this Latinx Heritage Month
- The TransLatin@ Coalition:
- Netflix’s short series: El Secreto del Rio
Works Cited:
Herman, J.L., Flores, A.R., O’Neill, K.K. (2022). How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States? The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law
James, S. E. & Salcedo, B. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Latino/a Respondents. Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Transgender Equality and TransLatin@ Coalition.
Price, M.N., Nath, R., DeChants, J.P., Hobaica, S., Suffredini, K.(2023). The Mental Health and Well-Being of Latinx LGBTQ Young People. The Trevor Project.
[i] James, S. E. & Salcedo, B. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Latino/a Respondents. Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Transgender Equality and TransLatin@ Coalition.
[ii] James, S. E. & Salcedo, B. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Latino/a Respondents. Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Transgender Equality and TransLatin@ Coalition.
[iii] James, S. E. & Salcedo, B. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Latino/a Respondents. Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Transgender Equality and TransLatin@ Coalition.
[iv] James, S. E. & Salcedo, B. (2017). 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Latino/a Respondents. Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Transgender Equality and TransLatin@ Coalition.
[v] Fobear, K. (2021). Addressing Central and South American LGBTQ Asylum Seekers. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/11/16/addressing-central-and-south-american-lgbtq-asylum-seekers/