When Your Sibling is Trans Too: How LGBTQ Siblings Help LGBTQ Youth Navigate Cisnormativity and Heteronormativity in the Family

Scholars have recently emphasized the importance of siblings in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. However, most of this literature assumed that these siblings are heterosexual and cisgender. This study considers how LGBTQ siblings may impact the experiences of LGBTQ youth, particularly as the youth navigates cisnormativity and heteronormativity within the family. We analyzed interviews with 26 LGBTQ youth who have LGBTQ siblings from the Family, Housing, and Me (FHAM) project. We find that LGBTQ siblings offer positive social support to LGBTQ youth, particularly for transgender and nonbinary youth who have transgender or nonbinary siblings. For most of the youth, having mutual disclosure of their gender/sexual identity with the siblings strengthened their relationship and built sibling solidarity. LGBTQ siblings were a consistent source of LGBTQ identity support and often shared the burden of confronting cisnormativity in family life. This work has implications for understanding the social support available for LGBTQ youth.