We are united by pain. Vulnerability and resilience of Central American trans and gay migrants in transit through Mexico

Abstract

This paper analyzes the experiences of vulnerability and the development of resilience in trans women and gay men from Central America who transited through Mexico to the United States between 2017 and 2020. Based on interviews conducted in a shelter for lgbt+ migrants in Tijuana, it is shown that vulnerability is expressed in acts of violence and discrimination by authorities, criminal organizations, and other migrants, in response to the sexual orientation and gender identity of trans women and gay men. In contrast, resilience developed thanks to the support provided by networks of the lgbt+ community itself in the form of chosen families and civil society spaces. From this, it is observed that even within vulnerability, mobility enables the development of resilience through new ways of living gender and sexuality.