Queer Socialization and Support Among Black Queer and Trans Young Adults: Exploring Identity Development Across Families of Origin and Chosen Families

This dissertation examines how Black queer and trans young adults navigate and transform familial networks to resist cisheteronormative socialization and cultivate affirming systems of care. Across three studies, I explore the relational strategies youth use to reshape family bonds, the motivations guiding their decisions to seek support across families of origin and chosen families, and the affirming practices that contribute to their identity development. Drawing on frameworks such as Black Queer Ethics, the Web of Support, and Queer of Color Critique, I center Black queer and trans young adults as active agents of resistance and relational transformation. Findings reveal that participants engage in practices such as repairing and repositioning family ties, cultivating chosen family, and setting empowered boundaries. They also make strategic decisions about support-seeking based on emotional safety, cultural resonance, and developmental needs. Additionally, affirmation is communicated through subtle gestures, co-exploration of identity, and communal support, expanding traditional understandings of queer socialization. Collectively, these studies highlight how Black queer and trans young adults construct culturally grounded, collective systems of care that challenge dominant narratives of family and offer new pathways for resilience, resistance, and relational well-being.