In, Out, and In Between: Coming Out and the Wellbeing of Young Queer People in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore how young queer people in Halifax, Nova Scotia experience and characterize coming out, and how they see it as affecting their wellbeing. Twelve people who identify with a queer sexual identity, aged between 18 and 25 and residing in the Halifax region participated in the study. All took part in a semi-structured interview, and five of those interviewed submitted a journal entry afterwards. I use social constructionism, stigma theory, and minority stress theory, in tandem with affectual, situational, and relational framings of wellbeing to unpack the complex nature of coming out. My findings demonstrate that, for participants, coming out is continuous, never-ending, strategically managed, and relatively casual. My findings also reveal that coming out can be beneficial, with positive effects — in terms of self-affirmation, and relationship and community building — as well as challenging, with negative effects — in terms of stressful or discomforting moments of anticipation, and relationship strain among family. This duality underscores the dynamic relationship between coming out and young queer people’s wellbeing, and the variable unevenness that participants encounter as they decide whether or how to come out in their everyday lives.