Negotiating the Confluence - Middle-Eastern, Immigrant, Sexual-Minority Men and Concerns for Learning and Identity

Oct 15, 2026

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Sexual-minority male immigrants relocating from Middle Eastern contexts to the United States and Canada experience distinctive challenges during entry and integration. A multiple case study with three participants uses qualitative case analysis to examine learning and identity needs. Findings emphasize unmet expectations for life after migration and the complexities of engaging in sexual-minority settings. Transformative learning frames their learning experiences, highlighting needs such as finding appropriate communities and questioning popular-culture narratives about “gay rights” and citizenship, informing educational and social program design.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose and Scope

Framing Integration and Learning Needs

Negotiating the Confluence: Middle-Eastern, Immigrant, Sexual-Minority Men and Concerns for Learning and Identity Matthew A. Eichler Texas State University-San Marcos Robert C. Mizzi University of Manitoba Abstract Sexual-minority male immigrants re-locating from the Middle East to the United States and Canada have particular experiences upon entry and integration into their new societies. The needs of learning and identity are highlighted through a multiple case approach involving three men. Interviews were conducted with the three participants, which were analyzed by the authors using qualitative case analysis. The data highlights the unmet expectations for life as a new immigrant, as well as the complexities of becoming involved in sexual-minority settings. Their learning experiences may be explained using a theoretical framework of transformative learning. These findings suggest that sexual-minority immigrants have complex needs, such as identifying with appropriate communities and deconstructing false representations of “gay rights” and citizenship in popular culture. Educational and social programs could address these needs when considering what might be important for immigrant adult learners. Key words: homosexuality, adult education, transformative learning, immigration Matthew A. Eichler is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational, Workforce, and Leadership Studies at Texas State University-San Marcos (USA) . He teaches online and blended courses in interdisciplinary research methods and career and technical education for working adults. His research interests include learning in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally movements; interdisciplinary adult students as complex problem solvers; and social issues in distance learning. Robert C. Mizzi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. His research interests include sexuality and gender issues in education; educators who cross borders for work purposes; and studies of professional regulation. Brock Education Volume 22, No. 2, Spring 2013, pp. 84-98 M.A. Eichler and R. Mizzi Negotiating the Confluence Introduction Sexual-minority 1 males immigrate to developed2 nations from less developed nations for a variety of reasons. We hold that sexual-minority males that immigrate to the United States and Canada from Islamic Middle Eastern countries are a group largely hidden in scholarship on sexual-minorities and mobility. This is a study of three immigrants who face the challenges of integrating into life in the United States and Canada as sexual-minorities. The cases, in part, point out the degree to which North American and sexual-minority culture are hospitable to sexual-minority male immigrants from the Middle East. Immigration is often characterized by complex bureaucratic systems that are designed to make the complex process labour intensive, expensive and difficult (Epps, Valens, & González, 2005) . This means that although some sexual-minority males will be able to successfully cross borders, most applicants cannot due to the complexity. For sexual-minority males in particular, this process becomes increasingly difficult because they must determine whether identifying as a sexual-minority male through, for example, describing their same-sex partnership status on an application form, will negatively affect their application due to the pervasive nature of homophobia. Keeping in mind this context, the purpose of this paper is to explore the lives of Middle Eastern, sexual-minority, male immigrants to the United States and Canada. Our use of the term immigrant is not without awareness of the political ramifications. Within the Canadian context, the term immigrant has two distinctive definitions in the literature: (a) a “transitional category”that refers to individual being admitted into one country and yet have not received citizenship and (b) a “folk version” whereb

FAQs

What is the study’s main focus?

The study explores the lives of Middle Eastern sexual-minority male immigrants in the United States and Canada, emphasizing how immigration shapes learning needs and identity development.

How were the participants and data analyzed?

Three immigrants were interviewed, and the authors analyzed the interviews using qualitative case analysis with a multiple case approach.

What theoretical framework helps explain the learning experiences?

The findings suggest that transformative learning can help explain the participants’ learning experiences during integration.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben