Coming Out to the Streets

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth disproportionately make up the U.S. youth homelessness population. In Coming Out to the Streets, Brandon Andrew Robinson examines their lives.
Based on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork in central Texas, Coming Out to the Streets maps the LGBTQ youth’s lives prior to experiencing homelessness – within their families, schools, and other institutions – and while the youth live on the streets, deal with police, and navigate shelters and services for people experiencing homelessness. Through this documentation, Robinson shows how poverty and racial inequality shape how LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness negotiate their gender and sexuality. Robinson contends that solutions to addressing LGBTQ youth homelessness need to move beyond blaming families for rejecting their child. By highlighting youth’s voices, Robinson calls for queer and trans liberation through systemic change.