Intersectional (in)visibility of transgender individuals with an ethnic minority background throughout a gender transition: Four longitudinal case studies

Abstract

AbstractThis study draws on four longitudinal case studies of transgender individuals with an ethnic minority background that undergo a gender transition while being in employment in the Netherlands. Four individuals were each interviewed four times over a period of 2 years. They were asked to make sense of their experience using a narrative approach. Using an intersectional lens, the findings reveal that non‐White transgender individuals experience intersectional invisibility and intersectional hypervisibility in a dynamic and ongoing way, which influences their experiences and concurrently fosters and hinders their gender expression as they go through a gender transition while being in employment. More specifically, we build on the literature on managing (in)visibility by showing how transgender individuals with an ethnic minority background manage their (in)visibility in a dynamic and sometimes strategic way in which they reflect on the perceived consequences of their (in)visibility and then adjust their gender expression and/or strategy to elicit more positive outcomes for themselves. Practical and theoretical implications as well as suggestions to enhance our understanding of this understudied population at work and create a more inclusive work environment are presented.