IIYIIE PSYIIIIE iiy esilier I'llIlIIllll|ll O Immigrant and Refugee Lesbians — An Interview with Dr. Oliva Espin oming out as a lesbian is c difficult enough, but is even more stressful when the woman is an immi- grant and is struggling to come out in a new country and using a new language. For several years now, Dr. Oliva Espin, a professor of women’s studies at San Diego State University, has been studying the lives of immigrant and refugee les- bians. The topic had to do with her own life experience as an immigrant and with the immi- grant clients she was seeing in her psychotherapy practice for over twenty years. “I saw that there were some experiences that were common to immigrant women,” Dr. Espin told me. “A major theme I found most interesting was how often the woman would be talking to me in Spanish, for example, and then switch to English when she began talk- ing about being a lesbian. There seemed to be something about using a second language that helped distance lesbians from whatever they had been told was bad in their original language.” “I also think that women who have come out as lesbians when they were still children, may have more disruptions about their own identity,” Dr. Espin said. “They ask ‘Who am I?’ or ‘What is wrong with me?’ For them, coming out so young gets mixed up with other Events Activities Advocacy Education Networking Buyer's Co-Op Vermont People With AIDS Coalition P.O. Box 11 Montpelier, VT 05601-0011 in Vermont 800-698-8792 or 802-229-5754 issues of identity. For girls who also feel that they are not ‘real Americans,’ or who as immi- grants are different in color or in language or in cultural tradi- tions——being lesbian is one more thing that strains their relationship with their par- ents.” Furthermore, the parents may feel that their daughter’s lesbianism is something she has “caught from those not get mixed up with the tur- moil of adolescence although it may get mixed up with the tur- moil of migration if they are recent immigrants. Dr. Espin has found two types of immigration experi- ences. Some women were les- bian before the migration, or else were somewhat dissatis- fied with what they were even if they had no language for November 1999 I Out in the Mountains I15 just those from traditional cul- tures. Being away from the familiar environment gave them permission to come out; being lesbian was very freeing in this way. “I’ve even spoken with lesbians born in the US who have told me that they had to move all the way across the country in order to come out.” The other group of women Dr. Espin interviewed was actively lesbian in their home country, immigrated to the US, and found that the US lesbian culture was different and had to adjust. “Some women who were used to playing roles very actively,” Dr. Espin continued, “If they were used to being ‘the man,’ they couldn’t understand why their partner did not want to cook their meals, for exam- ple. Or, vice versa, women who lived lives that were very clos- eted in their home countries, found it terribly offensive when I would use the word ‘lesbian’ and were threatened by not having a cover-up.” In gener- If they were used to being ‘the man,’ they couldn't understand why their partner did not want to cook their meals. al, Dr. Espin found that immigrant communities focus very much on the ‘decency’ and ‘purity’ Americans.” When immigrant lesbians come out as adults, they have a stronger sense of identity and coming out does this. “Coming to a new country made it possible for them to come ou .” This is true for women from all countries, not Susan McKenzie MS. Licensed Psychologist—Master Experienced therapist specializing in the individual and relationship issues of Lesbian Women and Gay Men Quechee 8 0 2 2 9 5 - 5 5 3 3 Insurance Accepted-Sliding Fee Scale of the — ~ women in their community. “Because the communities are experiencing difficulty adjusting to the US, they want to prove that they are good people. It is the behavior of women that describes the family. So when you have a lesbian daughter, how are you going to explain that to your- self and to your community? They may think that this is what happens to all women when they come to America.” Dr. Espin has also found that lesbian daughters tend to be more educated than their par- ents or their heterosexual sis- ters. As a result, the lesbian daughters tend to be making more money and in many cases running the community centers and activities. “So coming out is also difficult for the lesbian immigrant in terms of the com- munity losing their trust in her. The community doesn’t have the language skills, the educa- tion, and the access to the dom- inant culture that she does.” Dr. Espin has written about her experiences in two recent books: Women Crossing Boundaries: The Psychology 0f Immigration And The Transformation Of Sexuality (Routledge, 1999) and Latina Realities: Essays On Healing Migration And Sexualities (Westview, 1997). V Esther Rothblum is Professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont and edi- tor of the Journal of Lesbian Studies. She can be reached at John Dewey Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT email esther.rothblum@uvm.edu. 802.660.8396 Diane M. Felicio, Ph.D. mediator Trying to work it out and getting nowhere? 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