Redefining Collectivism: Family and Community among Sexual and Gender Diverse People of Color and Indigenous People: Introduction to the Special Issue

Is with great enthusiasm that we introduce to you our special issue on family and community among sexual and gender diverse (SGD) People of Color and Indigenous People (POCI). We believe that this special issue meaningfully increases knowledge and awareness of the relationship between SGD POCI individuals and their families and communities. Throughout the special issue, the editors and authors aimed to use positive, strength-based approaches to explore the efforts of POCI families and communities in promoting and cultivating the well-being and growth of their SGD members. At its core, this special issue sought to: (a) move away from White-centered models and conceptualizations of SGD POCI well-being; (b) provide a counter narrative to the White-supremacist belief that POCI families and communities hold more negative views toward SGD family members than their White counterparts; and (c) center the stories of SGD POCI and their collective about culturally appropriate measures, values, and beliefs. Research has well-documented the importance of family and community support in the wellbeing of SGD individuals (see Abreu, Rosenkrantz, Ryser-Oatman, Rostosky, & Riggle, 2019). SGD individuals who lack support from their family experience poorer physical and mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, increased suicidal ideation; Bouris et al., 2010; McConnell, Birkett, & Mustanski, 2016). Also, because of heteronormativity and cissexism, family members often experience intense emotional reactions when an individual identifies as SGD (see Chrisler, 2017; Huebner, Roche, & Rith, 2019). Most of the scholarship focused on SGD individuals and their families and communities comes from predominantly White individuals in the United States, with little attention given to understanding the role of race, ethnicity, and culture (see Abreu, Riggle, & Rostosky, 2020). Given these findings, the editors wanted to create a special issue that provides holistic narratives about SGD POCI and their families and communities by moving away from comparative studies that depict SGD POCI and their families and communities as deficient. It was the editors’ hope that this special issue would allow for unique discussions about SGD POCI narratives using appropriate cultural lenses to contextualize SGD POCI stories. In this issue, we sought to incorporate disciplinary and interdisciplinary submissions from scholars and practitioners, including empirical studies, critical analyses, and reviews to inform practice, policy, and directions for future research. The authors in this special issue responded to this call by: 1) addressing intersectional approaches to studying SGD POCI in family and community contexts, 2) highlighting the experiences of SGD POCI within their families and communities, 3) using positiveand strength-based approaches to understanding the experiences of SGD POCI, 4) conducting systematic analyses of theways in which SGD identities impact their