Re‐theorizing the Sexual Minority Closet
Evidence From Queer South Asian Women
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7706502 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sonali Patel (0000-0001-8476-9607, University of British Columbia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | e70016-e70016 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1755-6171 • E-ISSN: 1755-618X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/cars.70016 |
| PMID | 40963186 |
| OpenAlex | W4414339979 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 79 |
Scholarship generally assumes the closet is a place of safety from the perceived risks associated with coming out. However, this overlooks its function as a source of violence, particularly for those belonging to multiple marginalized communities. Drawing on 40 qualitative interviews with second‐ and 1.5‐generation queer South Asian women (QSAW) in Canada, this article offers a re‐theorization of the closet as a dual site of safety and violence. My findings show that the convergence of sexual expectations of coming out with ethnic demands of staying closeted exacerbates QSAW's vulnerability to violence from family, the LGBTQ+ community, and intimate partners, who use violence as a tool to enforce, contest, and exploit the closet, respectively. Ultimately, the results stress the dangers of pressuring QSAW to come out to their parents. The findings are significant for understanding the intersectional complexities of the closet
Closet · Ethnic group · Intersectionality · Qualitative research · Queer · Scholarship · South asia · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Sex work and related issues
There Goes the Gayborhood?
Between Men
Stigma and disclosure
Elevated physical health risk among gay men who conceal their homosexual identity.
Beyond the Closet as Raceless Paradigm
Internalized Homophobia, Intimacy, and Sexual Behavior among Gay and Bisexual Men
Caring, Control, and Clinicians' Influence
Stigma
That's so gay! Microaggressions and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Stigma and Sexual Orientation
Ethnography
A Developmental Model of the Sexual Minority Closet
Toward a More Relational Model of Sexual Minority Identity Concealment
A focus group exploration of the impact of izzat, shame, subordination and entrapment on mental health and service use in South Asian women living in Derby
International Perspectives on Family Violence and Abuse
The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the State
Ethnography
Families of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth
A Qualitative Approach to the Intersection of Sexual, Ethnic, and Gender Identities
Disclosure, discrimination and desire
I never faced up to being gay’
British Pakistani lesbians existing within the confines of the closet
Sexual orientation concealment and mental health
Differentiating disclosure and concealment in measurement of outness for sexual minorities
Conceptualizing the closet
Perceptions of ‘coming out’ among British Muslim gay men
Contextual constraints and choices
Theorizing a denial reaction to coming out
The gay-friendly closet
Motivations for Sexual Identity Concealment and Their Associations with Mental Health among Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer, and Fluid (Bi+) Individuals
Snowball sampling
Shifting Sexual Boundaries
Violence in the “double closet”
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Lesbian Women of Color
Community Alienation and its Impact on Help-seeking Behavior Among LGBTIQ South Asians in Southern California
Understanding Context and Culture in the Parenting Approaches of Immigrant South Asian Mothers
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth in community settings
South Asian women
Gender Roles and Cultural Continuity in the Asian Indian Immigrant Community in the U.S
Mapping the Margins
The contested closet
Economic Inequality and Intolerance
Unhealthy closets, discriminatory dwellings
The psychological implications of concealing a stigma
The Problem of Coming Out
Character Weaknesses" and "Fruit Machines
Did the Supreme Court Come Out inBush V. Gore? Queer Theory on the Performance of the Politics of Shame
Immigrant Closets
The Promise of Double Living. Understanding Young People with Same-Sex Desires in Contemporary Kampala
Growing Support for Gay and Lesbian Equality Since 1990
A Critical and Intersectional Model of LGBTQ Microaggressions
Management of a Concealable Stigmatized Identity
Topology of the Closet
Coming Out Experiences of Hispanic Sexual Minority Young Adults in South Florida
What Gay Studies Taught the Court
Negotiating Space with Family and Kin in Identity Construction
Ethnic Identity, Religion, and Gender
Paradoxes of Sexuality, Gay Identity, and the Closet
Using Zoom Videoconferencing for Qualitative Data Collection
Thematic networks
Hiding in the closet
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
Coding In-depth Semistructured Interviews
In pursuit of love
Expanding Notions of LGBTQ
Sociological Theories of Intimate Partner Violence
Doing Sexuality
Distinguishing but not defining
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |