Breaking the Silence: Navigating the Complexities of Coming Out in the Lives of Black Men.

Abstract

Coming-out is a continuous process within LGBTQ communities, involving self-recognition and identity disclosure in the presence of family and friends, shaped by journeys of self-acceptance and by societal attitudes that significantly influence the dynamics of identity affirmation. This study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the fictional, scripted online series "About Him," produced by Signal 23, which depicts four queer Black men, Damien, Vincent, Kendall, and Justin, navigating identity development, community expectations, and public perception through the journey of coming-out. Drawing on the intersection of queer and color critique, this analysis examines how visual framing, dialogue, and narrative sequences construct Black queer disclosure as a negotiation within racialized, heteronormative systems. The exploration of the intersection between self-acceptance and identity affirmation within the coming-out process, using data analysis, was examined across 13 episodes of season 1. The findings reveal that the series frames coming-out not simply as personal authenticity, but as a strategic process shaped by masculinity performance, cultural dynamics, identity concealment, and resistance, functioning not as narrative failures but as adaptive responses to intersecting pressures. By centering mediated representation in the study, it extends scholarship to demonstrate how fictional media texts actively participate in constructing LGBTQ lifestyles around Black male queerness. The exploration of the intersection between self-acceptance and identity affirmation within the coming-out process through data analysis was used from the series to answer two research questions: (1) How does the coming-out process contribute to self-discovery and identity development among individuals exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity? (2) How do societal attitudes and cultural factors influence the coming-out experiences of individuals identifying as gay? Furthermore, the analysis examined discourse and discursive practices through narrative and character depictions categorized into four key themes: (1) self-discovery, (2) identity development, (3) societal attitudes, and (4) identity concealment, as portrayed in the media landscape, which contribute to ongoing conversations about sexuality, representation of race, and masculinity in LGBTQ media scholarship.