Youth's Lives Every Day
Being Latinx is beautiful. Being queer is beautiful. However, while holding both identities can merge the best parts of two worlds, we also know it can come with significant challenges. Our research on LGBTQ+ young people of color showed that 64% of LGBTQ+ young people of color who experienced racial discrimination also experienced sexual orientation and/or gender identity-based discrimination in the past year. Two identities sometimes means two reasons for people to unjustly attack you.
We know the Latinx community is facing persecution in America today, particularly in the form of racial profiling, ICE raids, and hateful political propaganda which emboldens racially motivated attacks. Similarly the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans and nonbinary people, are the subject of targeted political attacks that threaten their rights, subsequently negatively impacting their mental health and fueling aggression against them physically and online. According to our 2025 National Survey, 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, policies and debates caused them stress or anxiety and over half of LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-17 experienced bullying in the past year.. These compounding factors have a measurable difference in the health and well-being of young people who hold both identities.
While LGBTQ+ Latinx people face discrimination around the world, there is still a rich experience lived within these two identities. There are Latinx Pride celebrations throughout the United States, including ones in DC, Dallas, Seattle, Boise, and San Diego. In Mexico, Pride is celebrated much like it is in America. Referred to locally as “la marcha del orgullo,” Mexico hosts large-scale parades and celebrations to honor their LGBTQ+ community. In Chile, they host an international LGBTQ+ film festival called Amor Film Festival. And in Colombia they host a lively festival called Carnaval Gay de Barranquilla. All over the world, Latinx communities create ways to celebrate being queer, loud and proud.
One thing that the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities have in common is finding joy and celebrating even when life is hard. But what does it mean to be Latinx AND queer? Gay Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco once wrote on the subject: “I am shaped by the Spanish of my mother’s kitchen, the English of my schoolyard, and the geography of two homelands. To be queer and Latino is to constantly weave those worlds into one truth.”
Latinx and queer people continue to prove time and again that they are resilient and powerful, and that these identities are so much more than the injustices they face. These identities are two beautiful pieces of what makes you who you are–like a piece of art composed of many elements that span countries, languages, and lived truths.Latinx and queer people continue to prove time and again that they are resilient and powerful, and that these identities are so much more than the injustices they face. These identities are two beautiful pieces of what makes you who you are–like a piece of art composed of many elements that span countries, languages, and lived truths.
Latinx queer people shouldn’t have to be strong all the time. They deserve a world where ALL parts of them are safe and celebrated. To build that reality we must take actions both big and small, such as:
- Voting and voicing concerns to lawmakers with power to enact policies that impact their health and safety.
- Talking to youth in our lives about their lived experiences and supporting them through listening, safety planning or directly acting as an advocate on their behalf with consent.
- Promoting and supporting safe community spaces like local LGBTQ+ centers or Pride events.
You have the power to make a difference and help construct a world where Latinx and queer young people feel safe and free to live and thrive.
