“Like a Constantly Flowing River”: Gender Identity Flexibility Among Nonbinary Transgender Individuals

Abstract

Gender is one of the first identities we learn and binary distinctions based on gender (e.g. girl/boy, woman/man, cisgender/transgender) are pervasive. The conceptualization of gender identity among transgender individuals is uniquely complicated by dichotomous notions of gender/sex. This is particularly true for individuals in the transgender community who are gender non-conforming or experience their gender outside the binary. The present research investigates the conceptualization of gender identity among non-binary transgender individuals by exploring the gender identity labels they choose and the descriptions they provide for their gender identity and experience. Participants included 197 adults recruited from a larger study on transgender experience who completed an online study. Participants ranged in age between 18-70 and self-identified as gender variant (n = 129) or agender (n = 68). Qualitative responses were analyzed via thematic analysis. Six themes were identified as related to the way gender non-conforming individuals describe their gender identity: 1) Gender Identity Using Binary Terms of Gender/Sex; 2) Gender Identity as Blended; 3) Gender Identity as Fluid; 4) Gender Identity as Non-Binary; 5) Transgender as Gender Identity; and 6) Agender Conceptualizations. Discussion focuses on the ways that gender non-conforming individuals’ experience of gender identity may contribute to the way we conceptualize identity flexibility.