Managing Suicidality: The Experiences of Canadian-Based Racialized Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (GBTQ) Men

The interconnections of multiple minority stress and masculinities diversely operate to impact racialized gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GBTQ) men’s mental health outcomes. However, limited research has explored the connections to racialized GBTQ men’s suicidality within Canadian contexts. Guided by interpretive descriptive methodology and using virtual photovoice methods, the current study addresses this gap by drawing on the narratives of 26 Canadian-based racialized GBTQ men. Using constant comparison analytics, three interconnected themes were inductively derived: (i) suppressing isolation and emotional pain , (ii) processing the underbelly of suicidality , and (iii) building mental health strategies . In suppressing isolation and emotional pain, participants spoke to a lack of social support and capacity to fully deal with their suicidality. In this context, distracting themselves from suicidal thoughts was used as a means for staying alive. In processing the underbelly of suicidality, participants reflexively interrogated an array of marginalizing experiences and inequities, with the goal to better understand and waylay their suicidal thoughts. Lastly, in building mental health strategies, participants engaged professional and/or relational supports to sustainably manage and mitigate their suicidality risks in the long term. These findings provide crucial insights for tailoring culturally and gender-responsive mental health promotion and suicide prevention programs that can help racialized GBTQ men manage their suicidality and bolster their mental health resilience in the long term.