{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T07:49:04Z","timestamp":1787816944174,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]],"date-time":"2026-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771372800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Identity-based communities that share common characteristics, beliefs, and experiences (e.g., Black LGBTQ+ communities) have historically been conceptualized as protective bubbles that buffer Black LGBTQ+ individuals against the deleterious effects of systemic racism and cisheterosexism. However, this monolithic narrative often masks the internal power dynamics that divide belonging. This study explores the exclusionary dynamics embedded within these safe spaces, examining how internal hierarchies of skin tone, socioeconomic status, and gender performance function as proximal stressors. Guided by a critical constructivist paradigm, this study utilized Reflexive Thematic Analysis to analyze open-ended survey responses from 74 Black LGBTQ+ adults. Data were drawn from a larger mixed-methods study and analyzed using a six-phase recursive process to identify latent patterns of intragroup gatekeeping. The analysis revealed that the sanctuary of the community is restricted. Three primary themes emerged: (1) Phenotypic Capital and the Politics of Authenticity, where lighter skin tone triggered authenticity scrutiny and darker skin tone faced rejection based on physical appearance; (2) Socioeconomic Gatekeeping, where belonging was stratified by the cost of participation and protective insularity within working-class spaces; and (3) Policing the Binary, where rigid adherence to gender archetypes created a landscape of performance surveillance. Access to community resilience is not a universal right but a negotiated status contingent upon the payment of a resilience tax. To promote genuine health equity, researchers and practitioners working with this population must move beyond the uncritical referral to \u201ccommunity\u201d and actively dismantle the internalized systems of oppression that fracture collective survival.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16020292","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]],"date-time":"2026-02-18T15:28:18Z","timestamp":1771428498000},"page":"292","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["\u201cOh, You\u2019ve Come to Visit the Yard?\u201d: Phenotypic Capital, Intragroup Marginalization, and the Gated Sanctuary in Black LGBTQ+ Communities"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2086-272X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Keith J.","family":"Watts","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40508, USA"},{"name":"Center for Health, Engagement, and Transformation, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2870-4056","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shawndaya S.","family":"Thrasher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole","family":"Campbell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Darden College of Education & Professional Studies, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5500-893X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laneshia R.","family":"Conner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40508, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julian K.","family":"Glover","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women\u2019s Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6403-6227","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janet K.","family":"Otachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2462-6010","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"DeKeitra","family":"Griffin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Intersectionality, heteronormativity, and Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families","volume":"2","author":"Battle","year":"2008","journal-title":"Black Women, Gender & Families"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.117.3.497","article-title":"The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation","volume":"117","author":"Baumeister","year":"1995","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1002\/ejsp.2292","article-title":"When identity hurts: How positive intragroup experiences can yield negative mental health implications for ethnic and sexual minorities","volume":"47","author":"Begeny","year":"2017","journal-title":"European Journal of Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.1177\/1468794112468475","article-title":"Now I see it, now I don\u2019t: Researcher\u2019s position and reflexivity in qualitative research","volume":"15","author":"Berger","year":"2015","journal-title":"Qualitative Research"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1267","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2012.300750","article-title":"The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality\u2014An important theoretical framework for public health","volume":"102","author":"Bowleg","year":"2012","journal-title":"American Journal of Public Health"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","article-title":"Using thematic analysis in psychology","volume":"3","author":"Braun","year":"2006","journal-title":"Qualitative Research in Psychology"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1002\/capr.12360","article-title":"Can I use TA? 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