Coming Out: Living Authentically as LGBTQ+ Latine Americans

There are more than 1 million LGBTQ+ immigrants in the U.S., including 289,700 who are LGBTQ+ Latine undocumented immigrants.³

Of them, approximately 81,000 are LGBTQ+ DREAMers, including 39,000 who have participated in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created by the Obama administration to allow DREAMers to stay in the United States to complete their studies, work and continue contributing to American society.⁴ Approximately nine in 10 DACA recipients were born in Latin America, and the program has provided both greater economic security and educational opportunities.

All LGBTQ+ immigrants seek the opportunity to better their lives in the United States, to be safe from discrimination and to be free to live their full lives as LGBTQ+ people.

Many LGBTQ+ Latine immigrants come from countries that may be less accepting or even intolerant of LGBTQ+ people. In some countries, LGBTQ+ people are still criminalized for their identities. In too many places, LGBTQ+ people are censored, jailed, tortured and even put to death. Other immigrants come from places where LGBTQ+ people lack relationship recognition or face other forms of government-sanctioned discrimination.

In other cases, immigrant Latines may come from countries with more progressive laws than they are currently experiencing in the United States.

Across the country, several states have passed laws and developed policies targeting immigrants, including limiting healthcare access and identification documents, forced labor in immigration detention centers and banning immigrants from obtaining professional licenses such as disbarring undocumented lawyers. During these difficult times, remember that no one can make you any less American, Latine, LGBTQ+ or any other identity you may hold. More importantly, no one can ever make you any less deserving of love and respect. We support you and love you, and there are millions of Latine Americans and our allies who will continue fighting with you in these trying times.

For LGBTQ+ Latine immigrants in the United States:

It may be possible to obtain political asylum if LGBTQ+ people are persecuted in a person’s country of origin (consult with an attorney).

LGBTQ+ immigrants, whether undocumented or documented, who fall in love with American citizens can legally marry, and U.S. citizens can petition for their spouses to remain in the U.S. and become citizens themselves (consult with an attorney).

Some have identified and reclaimed their dual identities as “undocuqueer,” which expresses how both intersecting identities are equally important to who they are. Especially in today’s fraught political environment, living with these identities can mean dealing with an uneven landscape of social acceptance and political control over decisions within your daily life.

Despite the added pressures undocuqueer people may face in the coming out process, many find that living authentically allows them to lead fuller, happier lives. However, only you can determine your own level of safety and comfort when it comes to disclosing your LGBTQ+ identity.

Unfortunately, the risk of deportation for undocuqueer people may be particularly dangerous for those who could be sent to countries that are hostile or discriminatory toward LGBTQ+ people. Undocuqueer people are also more likely to be detained for longer periods and to be placed in facilities inconsistent with their gender identities.

Like many Latine Americans, especially those who are immigrants or the children of immigrants, you may feel like you are living in a multicultural world, grappling with the norms and expectations of both American and Latine cultures.

Determining when, if and how to work through these overlapping realities — especially if they conflict — may first require identifying what is important to you personally. Indeed, the role your LGBTQ+ identity plays in relation to your Latine identity may vary depending on the context and your current situation.

For instance, some individuals may grapple with reconciling their own gender identity or expression with the Latine value of machismo, which dictates strict gender roles for men and women, often without any room for other gender identities or expression. Some Afro-Latine people may wonder where they fit in with Black American and Latin American queer cultures in the United States. When we as a culture enforce these beliefs, we legitimize whatever abuses, whether physical or emotional, occur against the LGBTQ+ community and everyone else who falls short of the expectations of machismo.

It’s important to remember that how you live should not be limited or hindered by others’ beliefs about how you “should” or “should not” behave based on your gender identity or sexual orientation. Depending on your situation, this may be difficult to manage if such beliefs are reinforced by your family, peers or community. However, you will likely find that it gets easier to navigate these interactions over time, especially as you gain a greater sense of self and better understand what values are truly important to you.

Another aspect of multiculturalism often means speaking multiple languages and engaging in cross-cultural communication. It is already difficult for many people to express their sexual orientation or gender identity in their native language, especially when they are first coming out. Conveying these complex feelings and emotions across language or cultural barriers can be even more challenging, especially for Latine youth who speak a primary language different from their parents. Moreover, in some languages, effective translations for LGBTQ+ terminology and concepts may not exist.

A Shift in Doctrine

Across the United States, there is a growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in Latine Catholic communities. Just like any group of people, religious communities vary greatly in their attitudes and level of inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, even within the same denomination or sect. Moreover, the number of LGBTQ+ affirming religious communities across the country is steadily increasing, and that is true among Latine religious communities as well.

Remember, only you can decide the degree to which faith plays a role in your life and how you choose to integrate it with living an authentic life.

However, it is important to recognize despite your ability to reconcile your faith and LGBTQ+ identity, your family may have difficulty accepting your sexual orientation or gender identity because of their own religious beliefs or traditions.

For more information on this topic, please refer to HRC’s Religion & Faith resources, including our bilingual project A La Familia.

LGBTQ+ Latine heritage and can be traced back to pre-Colombian times. Many indigenous cultures in the Americas have long had traditions of two-spirit people, or those sometimes considered to be a third gender or otherwise gender-expansive.

In Mexico, the Zapote people have a long history of recognizing muxe people, young people assigned male at birth who embrace identities as women or non-binary people. Muxe individuals continue to be celebrated as cornerstones of the community, especially in rural areas in the state of Oaxaca.

Same-sex relations are well documented in the Maya civilization, encompassing what today includes portions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, especially in rituals and other ceremonies.

In Peru, archaeological discoveries of several erotic ceramics led scholars to study the role of sexuality in the Moche community, a pre-Inca civilization. In addition, Spanish missionaries noted that same-sex relationships were “widely accepted in several regions of the country” among indigenous communities.

In some countries, LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have progressed even further, or more quickly, than in the United States.

A January 2018 advisory opinion issued to Costa Rica by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights states that same-sex couples are legally entitled to civil marriages and that member states must make the process of changing gender markers on state-issued identification streamlined, inexpensive and simple. While the opinion is not legally binding, all 33 member states in the Americas are required to abide by the American Convention.

The World Health Organization has called Argentina “an exemplary country,” especially in regards to transgender equality. In 2012, the country passed the Ley de Género (Gender Law) which ensures coverage for transition-related health care under private and public health care plans. Under the law, Argentina also became the first country in the world to protect the rights of transgender and gender-expansive people to change their gender identity, name or image on official documents without the approval of a judge or doctor. In 2022, Argentina created a position within the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry that focuses exclusively on the promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights. Additionally, Alba Rueda became Argentina’s first-ever Special Representative on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

In Brazil, two transgender women, Duda Salabert and Erika Hilton, were elected to Congress during the 2022 elections.

Patria Jiménez, a lesbian rights activist and the first openly LGBTQ+ legislator in Latin America who was a federal deputy in Mexico

Carmen Muñoz, Vice-Minister of Government and Police of Costa Rica and Costa Rica’s first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Legislative Assembly

Sandra Morán, the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to Guatemala’s National Congress

Alba Lucía Reyes, whose son was bullied and committed suicide in 2014, inspiring her to devote her career to creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students in Colombia

Diane Marie Rodríguez Zambrano, an LGBTQ+ activist who became the first openly transgender person elected to Ecuador’s National Assembly in 2017

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an openly gay Costa Rican jurist appointed in 2017 as the U.N. Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

LGBTQ+ rights advocates Tamara Adrián and Rosmit Mantilla, the first openly transgender and first openly gay deputies, respectively, elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly

Carlos Bruce, the first openly gay member of Peru’s National Congress and the current Minister of Housing

Kátia Tapety, who became Brazil’s first openly transgender elected official in 1992

Jean Wyllys, an openly gay member of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies

José Manuel Canelas, Bolivia’s first openly gay congressperson and the Vice Minister of Planning and Coordination

Claudio Arriagada and Guillermo Ceroni, the first openly LGBTQ+ members of Chile’s Chamber of Deputies

Jaime Parada Hoyl, the first openly gay elected official in Chile

Osvaldo Ramón López, an openly LGBTQ+ former Argentine senator who was the first elected official to marry a same-sex partner

Analia Pasantino, the first openly transgender police chief in Argentina

In 1989, three-term Madison Common Council alderperson Ricardo Gonzalez became the nation’s first openly gay Latino elected official. In Puerto Rico, Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez, the fifth woman to serve on Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court, also became the first openly LGBTQ+ chief justice in U.S. history when she assumed that position in 2016. Mary Edna González became the nation’s first openly pansexual lawmaker when she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012. Similarly, Carlos Guillermo Smith became Florida’s first openly gay Latino state lawmaker in 2016. Nitza Quiñones Alejandro became the first openly gay Latina to become a federal judge in 2013. In 2005, openly lesbian former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez became the only Latina sheriff in the country. Valdez, an Army veteran, also became Texas’s first Latina and first openly LGBTQ+ nominee for governor when she won the Democratic primary in May 2018.

In local communities and across the nation, we celebrate the work of advocates like Arturo Vargas, Bamby Salcedo, José Gutiérrez, Ruben Gonzales, Anthony Romero, Jorge Gutierrez, Isa Noyola, Ezak Perez, Drago Renteria, Jennicet Gutierrez and Diego Sanchez, who have challenged us to question the bias, discrimination and prejudice that disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people of color in America.

We also look to artists and writers like Frida Kahlo, Alex Sanchez, Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga, Rose Troche, Denice Frohman, Julio Salgado and Ricky Martin, who have shared their stories and intersectional perspectives through their work. Meanwhile, U.S. and international athletes like Orlando Cruz, Rudy Galindo, Bianca Sierra and Stephany Mayor have broken boundaries in the fight for equality both inside and outside the sports arena.

Celebrities including Michelle Rodriguez, Sara Ramirez, Mark Indelicato, Stephanie Beatriz, Demi Lovato, Emily Rios, Wilson Cruz and Natalie Morales live openly and authentically, inspiring others to live their truth and serving as role models for Latine youth. Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ cinema and television are on the rise in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking areas of the world, bolstered by the wider accessibility provided by digital platforms.

In 1993, Strawberry and Chocolate became the first Cuban picture to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards and Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Awards in 2003. In 2016, openly gay filmmaker Dante Alencastre’s documentary Raising Zoey followed the story of HRC Youth Ambassador Zoey Luna and her family as she fought for her right to self-identify in school. Chile’s A Fantastic Woman, featuring openly transgender actress Daniela Vega, received international acclaim and won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In the past decade, more and more television shows are featuring LGBTQ+ Latine characters and storylines. In 2009, Grey’s Anatomy debuted network television’s longest-running relationship between a same-sex couple that included bisexual Latina Callie Torres. On Ugly Betty, openly gay writer and producer Silvio Horta introduced America to Justin Suarez. In 2017, the reboot of One Day at a Time followed the coming out story of Latina lesbian teenager Elena Alvarez. Set in East Los Angeles, the 2018 series Vida provides an intersectional lens on LGBTQ+ Latine culture across class, race, culture, sexuality and generations.

Shows with LGBTQ+ Latine leads include Pose, Gentified, Los Espookys, The Owl House, Love Victor, One Day at a Time, Veneno and La Casa de las Flores.

Other prominent LGBTQ+ Latine stories in media include My So-Called Life’s Enrique Vasquez, The Office’s Oscar Martinez, Broad City’s Jaime Castro, Glee’s Santana Lopez, Jane the Virgin’s Dr. Luisa Alver, Brooklyn 99’s Rosa Diaz, Looking characters Agustín Lanuez and Richie Ventura, Sense8’s Hernando, True Blood’s Jesús Velásquez, Telenovela’s Gael Garnica, and reality TV stars Carmen Carrera, Mondo Guerra, Valentina, and Wendy Guevara, among others.

About the Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation improves the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people by working to increase understanding and encourage the adoption of LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices. We build support for LGBTQ+ people among families and friends, co-workers and employers, pastors and parishioners, doctors and teachers, neighbors, and the general public. Through our programs and projects, we are enhancing the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people and their families, as we change hearts and minds across America and around the globe. The HRC Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

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The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.

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UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger. For more information on UnidosUS, visit www.unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.