Complexities of Informal Social Support Arrangements for Black Lesbian Couples

This qualitative study examined how Black lesbian couples receive informal social support from their social networks. Guided by an integrated framework of symbolic interactionism and Black feminist theory, interviews were conducted with 11 Black lesbian couples (22 individuals) in committed relationships. Using grounded theory methodology, it was found that Black lesbian couples received informal social support from different sources, but that this support was provided to individuals as a means of sustaining individuals' roles as daughters and mothers. Although extended families actively fulfilled perceived family obligations, they negated the existence of lesbian individuals' sexual identity, intimate relationships, and families built with lesbian partners. Friends, church communities, and gay and lesbian communities did not validate Black lesbian couplehood or families headed by Black lesbian couples, but served as supportive sites for individuals. Black lesbian couples responded to social invisibility by engaging in self-validating processes and limiting access to their families.