(Un)Belonging: The Production of Black Trans Loneliness

Abstract

Black trans people frequently deal with the violent consequences of systemic erasure. Particularly, Black trans people experience structural racism and oppression that socially and economically isolates them, creating conditions for a unique experience of loneliness. In this essay, I engage queer of color critique to explore structural forces that work together to systematically and violently exclude Black trans people. The purpose of this conceptual piece is to advance loneliness theory to include structural isolation to explain manifestations of loneliness due to discrimination and oppression of Black trans people. I discuss my motivations and methods to engage in this work, my theoretical framework, followed by a critique of the theoretical underpinnings of loneliness research. Later, I identify and define three manifestations of structural isolation—anti-Black racism, cisheterosexism, and neoliberalism. Then, I discuss how these forces work together to produce structural isolation among Black trans people and how that isolation places them at risk for loneliness. I conclude this article with a discussion on how queer of color critique provides a framework for a more inclusive analysis of race, gender, and class in social work studies. Finally, I put forward my perception of the critical implications for social work.