Resisting by Existing: Trans Latinx Mental Health, Well-Being, and Resilience in the United States

Abstract

Transgender Latinx people within the United States face unique experiences of discrimination, obstacles to physical and mental healthcare access, and decreased well-being due to interlocking systems of oppression at the intersection of racism, sexism, cissexism, and transphobia. In this chapter, the authors explore Trans Latinx peoples’ experiences with immigration, the law and the legal system, and healthcare system in the United States. The authors also provide an overview of sources of resilience and resistance and their impact on the Trans Latinx community’s well-being. Finally, the authors review the research on erased Latinx communities (i.e., Afro-Latinx and Indigenous) and pose a call for centering the experiences the most marginalized Trans Latinx communities in the United States.