In line with this year’s Black History Month theme ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, we’re having a look into Black Mental Health, and BIPOC experiences within LGBTQ communities. In the UK Black History Month has come to a close, however the continuation of our anti-racist journey is at the centre of our values. Hence, seeking to further understand Black Mental Health within the LGBTQ community is an area of work we strive to revise and revisit.
In this blog, we’re particularly focusing on eating distress, BIPOC mental health, and Black and Ethnic Minority experiences drawing reference from Black Beetle Health who produced a report on ‘Mental Health and Eating Distress’ in 2022.
It’s no stranger that Black and minority groups experience a higher rate of mental health challenges. Within BAME communities, LGBTQ folks are 20% more likely to experience homophobic abuse online/ in person than non-BAME folks. Statistics like these perhaps offer an explanation to why 62% of QTPOC people experienced depression in the last year, compared to 52% of white LGBTQ folks.
In Black and Brown communities, eating disorders are twice as likely than those within the LGBTQ community. In QTPOC communities, among males who have eating disorders, almost 42% are gay. Moreover, Black and brown trans communities are much more likely to develop eating difficulties than white cisgender people. For the trans folks dysphoria can play a role, therefore, in some instances, gender affirming hormone therapy may alleviate eating distress.
The mental health experience of Black, Brown and QTPOC folks differ from white LGBTQ communities, of which additional struggles such as racism, finances, social and political challenges endure an array of complexities.
For example, in the Black Beetle Health report, there is a link between food bank usage and food insecurity in line with eating distress which is higher for ethnic minority groups.
Alongside the theme of this year’s Black History Month – ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ exploring the connection within mental health as well as queer identity is prevalent in our anti-racist journey. At MindOut, we’re always learning and will continue to develop a better understanding of the experiences of Black, Brown and QTPOC communities, and in turn provide appropriate support both externally and internally within the community at MindOut.