Journal of Latinx Psychology, Vol 14(3), Aug 2026, 248-266; doi:10.1037/lat0000304
Latinx trans and nonbinary community members experience disparate psychological and physical negative health outcomes due to cisnormativity within Latinx cultural spaces and the oppression experienced within wider society. However, there is a dearth in literature regarding the process through which marginalized individuals come into a more liberated and wellness-inducing understanding of themselves and their communities, especially outside of the therapy room. Guided by liberation psychology theory, this qualitative study explored the process through which five Latinx nonbinary individuals identified and transformed cisnormative messages into liberated understandings of themselves and their communities. We used Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis to analyze the subset of lifeline interviews collected as part of a larger parent study, Project Affirm, from the participants who identified as nonbinary Latinx individuals. We constructed three themes: (a) experiencing and internalizing pervasive oppressive contexts, (b) engaging in transformative internal and external experiences or “switch points,” and (c) accessing liberative experiences and contexts. More specifically, all five participants identified instances in which pervasive oppressive contexts facilitated the internalization of cisnormativity and how access to liberative contexts increased their ability to resist cisnormativity. For all participants, transformative internal or external experiences, or switch points, initiated decisions through which they responded to pervasive oppressive contexts in new ways, which led to building and experiencing more liberative contexts. This study answers several calls to widen the scope of practice to include oppressive social determinants of health. Practitioners and educators’ understanding of the cyclical and iterative process of uninternalizing cisnormativity in Latinx nonbinary individuals is necessary for culturally responsive practice, education, and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)