Hyper(In)visible Wounds: AfroLatina Doctoral Students Navigating Racial Battle Fatigue and Its Effect on Mental Health

This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of AfroLatina doctoral students, focusing on how hyper(in)visibility in academic spaces shapes racial battle fatigue (RBF) and mental health. Through in-depth interviews, findings revealed that AfroLatina doctoral students experience significant psychological and physiological distress due to occupying a liminal space where they are simultaneously overlooked and hyper exposed in academic environments. Participants described the emotional toll of being “othered,” the exhausting labor of constantly educating others about their AfroLatinidad, and the challenge of defending their intersectional identities within both Black and Latinx communities. These experiences manifest as embodied responses characteristic of RBF, including stress, anxiety, and depression. The study extends RBF theory by identifying hyper(in)visibility as a distinct mechanism affecting AfroLatina students, demonstrating that enrollment alone doesn’t equate to success for students with complex ethnoracial identities. The invisibility of AfroLatina identities within both Black and Latinx spaces creates unique challenges that traditional frameworks often fail to capture. The research challenges resilience narratives by highlighting how institutions systematically burden AfroLatina students with disproportionate educational and cultural labor. By centering AfroLatina voices, this study contributes critical insights into how hyper(in)visibility operates as an embodied phenomenon that requires institutional transformation rather than individual adaptation.