Resistance Strategies and Identity Reappropriation of LGBTQ+ Migrants in Québec

The realities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) migrants and racialized people are complex, due to the violence and/or invisibilization they may have experienced, both in their country of origin and in the land of establishment (Chehaitly etal., 2021; Roy, 2013). Some have been forced to leave their country of origin because of heteronormative and cisnormative violence, because of political violence or because of unsafe social and legal environments. However, once in Québec, they face new challenges such as professional disqualification, search of employment and housing, and regulation of their migratory status. Thus LGBTQ+ migrant and racialized individuals are faced with major challenges and may experience forms of increased stigmatization (Chbat & Chamberland, 2021). Based on an intersectional theoretical framework that recognizes the intersecting systems of oppression such as racism, cissexism, and heterosexism, this article presents the results of a qualitative research that examined the unique journeys of 21 LGBTQ+ migrants and racialized people who participated in the UNIE-LGBTQ survey (SSHRC-2016-2023), the largest partnership research ever conducted in Québec on the experiences of inclusion and exclusion encountered by LGBTQ+ communities. In addition to presenting the multiple challenges faced by these individuals, this article will also highlight the resistance and resilience strategies shared by them, namely their implication in community-based resources and their critical narrative towards the dominant normative discourse on the coming-out and the visibility of sexuality. Finally, this article will propose some recommendations for practice to reflect on concrete measures that could improve the living conditions of these multimarginalized people.