LGBTQ+ Individuals’ Experiences of Involuntary Disclosure

Abstract

Within the LGBTQ+ community, the coming out process is not only considered a primary milestone, but also a complex, individualized experience. Researchers have found that individuals’ coming out experiences vary drastically depending on their age of coming out as well as on others’ responses, settings of disclosure, and level of comfort with one’s own sexual orientation. LGBTQ+ individuals experience their own internal coming out process to further understand their sexual orientation before they can engage in the external coming out process; all of which impacts their decision of whether to disclose their sexual orientation. A common fear within the LGBTQ+ community is involuntary disclosure. Throughout the literature, LGBTQ+ individuals, both adults and adolescents, express their concern of having their LGBTQ+ identity involuntarily disclosed. Although this is a common phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community, there is minimal, if any, research on the experience and impact of involuntary disclosure (Eliason, 1996; Ragins, 2008; Marasco & Astramovich, 2021; Tuite et al., 2021). Thus, leading to the literary gap and research question: What are the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals whose sexual orientation was involuntarily disclosed? Members of the LGBTQ+ community (N = 14) who experienced involuntary disclosure completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews to better understand this phenomenon. While these participants’ identities and experiences were unique and varied, some of their experiences remained the same. Findings indicate that involuntary disclosure is a psychologically distressing experience of one’s LGBTQ+ identity being disclosed, questioned, or assumed without their prior knowledge, preparation or consent.