Intergenerational Storytelling as a Developmental Resource in LGBTQ+ Communities

ABSTRACT

LGBTQ+ people continue to be threatened by systemic censorship and erasure in public spaces and discourses, making community-based resources for positive development crucial. In this study, we examined one such developmental resource—LGBTQ+ intergenerational storytelling about cultural-historical events. LGBTQ+ adults (N = 495) ranging in age from 17 to 80 years (M = 39.22, SD = 19.89) responded to an online survey about LGBTQ+ intergenerational storytelling and relationships. Results showed that although LGBTQ+ intergenerational storytelling was reported to occur infrequently, sharing stories across generations was considered important, and LGBTQ+ people desired even greater intergenerational connection. Intergenerational narratives reported by participants were primarily about cultural-historical events involving adversity and oppression (e.g. AIDS crisis), policy and legislation (e.g. marriage equality), and protest, resistance, and activism (e.g. Stonewall uprising). Stories were mostly told by older friends in private or social settings for the purpose of passing on LGBTQ+ history. Lessons learned through storytelling were diverse but tended to focus on appreciation and affirmation. Valuing intergenerational storytelling was associated with positive psychosocial identity. This study suggests that intergenerational storytelling may be an important developmental resource for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities.

KEYWORDS:

• LGBTQ+
• cultural-historical events
• intergenerational narratives
• intergenerational storytelling
• intergenerational relationships
• psychosocial identity
• collective continuity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Independent findings from this dataset were also presented in Weststrate and McLean (2022).

2. Generations are defined by cultural-historical circumstances of development. Given that LGBTQ+ lives are forged in a dynamic and rapidly evolving social, political, and cultural context, a difference of 10 years represents a significant shift in developmental ecology, which, in turn, gives rise to different generational experiences (Weststrate, 2022; Weststrate & McLean, 2010, 2022). In other words, the typical rules for defining generations in society at large do not necessarily apply at the scale of the LGBTQ+ communities (Halkitis, 2019; Hammack et al., 2018).

3. Partial eta squared (η_p²) is effect size indicator for group comparisons with a small effect=0.01, medium effect =.06, and large effect =.14 (Lakens, 2013).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities grant [RC0873] from Western Washington University.