Abstract
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) community has been historically underserved by the field of psychology, particularly as queer and trans identities intersect with other aspects of identity. Internalized cisheterosexism and resilience are constructs that stand to influence one’s exploration of queer and trans identities, although the mechanisms by which this happens are not yet clear. The present study uses qualitative interview data from twelve LGBTQ+ participants who hold non-cisgender and non-heterosexual identities to explore how certainty in one’s queer identities develops and how this developmental process is influenced by experiences of internalized cisheterosexism and resilience. Using grounded theory and interpretative phenomenological analysis techniques, the present study identified seven themes related to how identity certainty develops for members of the queer and gender diverse communities: the role of appropriate vocabulary; the evolution of gender and sexual identity clarity over time; the importance of access to queer community in developing identity certainty; the desirability of not adhering to the social expectations of a strict gender binary; queerness and its intersections with other identities; and, the role of relationships in identity development and certainty. Themes related to how external and internalized cisheterosexism influence the identity development process were: the role of oppression and the role of social perceptions of sexuality and gender. Themes related to how resilience influences the identity development process were: the importance of generativity and supporting others and the role of authenticity in improving quality of life. Implications of these findings to psychological research and practice with the LGBTQ+ community and areas for future inquiry are identified.