title: Complicating the coming out narrative: becoming oneself in a heterosexist and cissexist world.
abstract: Traditional stage models of LGBTQ identity development have conceptualized coming out as a linear process from "closeted" to "out" that all queer/trans individuals must follow if they are to be considered healthy and well adjusted. These stage models have been critiqued for their rigidity and absence of a dynamic understanding of the coming out process. In this article we explore the findings from a qualitative photovoice study with 15 LGBTQ youths in a small urban center in Ontario that supports these critiques. We explore the efficacy of the photovoice technique in investigating questions of sexual and gender identity. This article identifies some contextual factors that are important in understanding coming out as a social (rather than internal) process; it also identifies some of the ways in which these youths' experiences challenge normative understandings of the "good, out queer."
authors.affiliation: a Community Psychology Program , Wilfrid Laurier University , Toronto , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Alix
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holtby
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Robb
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Travers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012944:Social Support; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000523:psychology
keywords: LGBT youth; coming out; identity development; photovoice