Youth Trajectories for “protestant-Muslims” Across the Gender Stream: Inherited Complex Intergenerational Trauma of Bangladeshi-Canadian Youth in the Greater Toronto Area

Paper Abstract: The mental well-being of Muslim, gender-diverse Canadian youth of Bangladeshi origin in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is increasingly at risk, largely due to parental expectations and traditional pressures. This phenomenon has led to identity crises, a lack of belonging, and mental health challenges, necessitating new approaches to studying youth well-being.

This project proposes to examine these issues through a novel theoretical framework that combines historical and intergenerational trauma with intersectionality. Using concept mapping, the research will explore how these youth navigate familial expectations, abuse, and violence, and how their experiences relate to the broader South Asian diasporic experience.

The 24-month empirical study will involve youth across the gender spectrum, their parents, community stakeholders, and residents in three diverse suburbs of the inner GTA, partnering with two grassroots organizations. Methods will include reciprocity-oriented listening tours, interviews, and interactions between youth and parents to revive cultural rituals and symbols, promoting empathy and awareness.

The research aims to theorize how a historical trauma perspective can be integrated into future diaspora social-health justice research, better addressing the well-being needs of Muslim immigrants of color. It also seeks to explore opportunities for expanding this model to other postcolonial immigrant populations globally, potentially offering new insights into addressing mental health challenges in diverse communities.