Self-Fashioning in Ona Pleirytė-Puidienė’s Diary

Improving the Experiences of Sexual and Gender Minority-Identifying Trainees in Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Current challenges faced by transgender and gender-diverse patients and providers in anesthesiology.

Perspectives on gender, gender expression, sexuality identity, and sexual orientation differ within and between generations given the great extent to which these concepts are embedded within social, cultural, and historical context. Across contexts, questions of authenticity are critical. This research compares generational perspectives about authenticity, gender and gender-related constructs, and sexuality. Through semi-structured interviews with a nonprobability, purposive sample of heterosexual and LGBTQ younger (aged 18–22) and older (aged 65+) adults, how a sense of authenticity is experienced and the degree to which individuals experience authenticity around sexual and gender identities are compared. Data were analyzed using the constant comparison method of analysis, and results indicate that while younger adult respondents held expansive terminology and knowledge related to sexual and gender identities, older adult participants lacked such fluidity, and that lack was an inhibiting factor in older adults being able to name and embody their authentic sexual selves. In conclusion, both position in one’s life course (age) and one’s generational cohort (historical, cultural, and social context) influence how individuals experience authenticity around gender and sexual identities.

Finding Your Passion: Work and the Authentic Self

The objective of this study is to elucidate the coping mechanisms that LGBTIQ+ individuals employ in response to discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity in the context of business life in Turkiye, with a particular focus on the influence of prevailing social norms and legal deficiencies. It is possible that LGBTIQ+ individuals may refrain from pursuing their rights in the event of discrimination. Consequently, LGBTIQ+ employees develop individual coping strategies in response to discriminatory practices. In this study, interviews were conducted with 19 LGBTIQ+ employees. The objective of the interviews is to ascertain the strategies that employees utilize to cope with discrimination. The structure and generally accepted norms of Turkish society, which justify LGBTIQ+ individuals’ concerns about discrimination and exclusion from social life, have formed the basis of scientific curiosity for this research project. The data obtained from the interviews were transcribed and subjected to a descriptive analysis. The findings were subsequently classified into the following categories: hiding in the workplace, hiding as a result of witnessing discrimination, living a facade, remaining silent in the face of discrimination, confronting discrimination, and not seeking legal rights. The findings indicate that the most prevalent coping strategy employed by LGBTIQ+ individuals is the concealment of their sexual orientation and gender identity. This approach often results in a sense of disconnection from their authentic selves in professional settings. Moreover, the primary strategies employed by LGBTIQ+ employees are identified as working for organizations that are relatively accommodating LGBTIQ+ individuals, working with acquaintances, and imitating a heterosexual lifestyle. The data indicate that individual coping strategies have been employed more frequently by gay and bisexual individuals than by transgender individuals.

PurposeWomen are starting businesses at unprecedented rates, yet little is known about the leadership of small business owners. Establishing new ventures may allow women to use their full abilities and benefit from a more level playing field. Business owners have the unique opportunity to lead and define their businesses based on their authentic selves, values and goals; therefore, they are more likely to be authentic leaders. Women in nontraditional industries may be challenged because the owner’s characteristics do not match those of the industry. When the enactment of one identity interferes with another identity, identity interference (II) occurs. Relational authenticity and role incongruity suggests that women founders must uniquely resolve II and find synergy among their gender and leader identities if they are to extend the boundaries of what it means to be a woman and an industry’s business leader. This research aims to determine whether gender and leader II was an antecedent or link to authentic leadership (AL).Design/methodology/approachStudy participants were from 63 businesses in the USA states of California, Ohio and Maryland. Three leader models were established to determine whether owner gender functioned as a moderator: all genders (n = 155), women only (n = 75) and men only (n = 65). The individual owners and their employees were the units of analysis and structural equation modeling was used.FindingsThe findings revealed that II was an antecedent to AL, owners were AL and owner gender moderated AL and II.Research limitations/implicationsThis study supports (Kernis, 2003; Gardner et al., 2005) the proposition that identity congruence is necessary for AL; the less interference found between gender and leader identities, the more authentic the leader. II functioned as an antecedent to AL. Moreover when the AL self’s subscales were examined relative to II, the components that were active varied dramatically based on leader gender. This suggests that addressing II and resolving the incongruence between what it mean to be a woman (or a man) and a leader contributes to the development of AL. Additionally, the AL boundary condition of relational authenticity was supported by this study; leader gender was related to the different amounts of AL (Eagly, 2005; Kernis, 2003). Support was found that AL was a dynamic process between leaders and employees. When authentic leadership questionnaire (ALQ) self (leader) and rater (employee) were compared, there was a significant amount of consistency between these ratings. For the all genders leader model, when ALQ self’s subscale was analyzed relative to the employees’ ratings, the leaders’ relational transparency was found to be active. The women only leader model revealed that AL was activated through internalized moral perspective suggesting they were able to tap into the hearts and minds of their employees. For the men only leaders, no relationship was revealed between ALQ self’s subcomponents and employee AL ratings. Relational authenticity suggests that this may be due to employees rating men owners more based on the experience and perceptions of men leaders in general and not these business owners in particular.Practical implicationsLeadership development professionals should address how II may help women examine who they are, how they work with others, and their values; decrease leader II by providing insight on how to manage potentially conflicting roles through examples of synergistic behaviors and benefits; and, build upon women owners’ ability to connect with their followers by sharing their goals and aspirations. Men owners may benefit by ensuring their employees know their business’ unique value proposition.Originality/valueThis research sought to link the identities of leader and gender to AL in the context of small businesses. It builds upon the AL theory of Avolio et al., (2004) and Jensen and Luthans (2006) who advocated using AL to study small businesses. This study determined whether business owners experienced interference between their gender and leader identities; II hindered the formation of AL and was an antecedent to AL; and the owner’s gender led to more or less AL and thus determined if leader gender moderated AL. The support for studying leader gender comes from role incongruity (Eagly and Diekman, 2005) and relational authenticity (Eagly, 2005; Kernis, 2003) which suggests that differences in how employees perceive AL may be a function of the owner’s gender. Added support comes from Jensen and Luthans (2006); they asked future studies to examine AL to determine the mechanisms behind gender differences in small businesses. Such research provides insight on the development of AL in theory and practice.

Content warning: this Article discusses suicidality. For transgender and some nonbinary youth, living under a chosen name is a first step toward becoming their authentic selves. For these youth, a name change is powerful; it allows them to choose a name that matches their gender identity. They consider their birth name to be a distressing “dead” name—one that they cannot relate to and need to bury. Using one’s chosen name decreases suicidality among transgender youth who face many challenges, including family rejection and other severe mental health stressors. Transgender and nonbinary youth can only require others to use their chosen names after obtaining a legal name change. But only two states in the nation currently allow minors to change their name legally without their parents’ consent and active assistance. Parental consent requirements are problematic because youth whose parents do not support their gender identity must wait, exposed to harm and distress. Thus, we deny them this first step towards correcting their gender and the accompanying mental health relief—delaying youth who have otherwise transitioned years before adulthood. In the meantime, with identification cards that do not match their gender identity, transgender and nonbinary youth are at risk of discrimination and other harm. They may drop out of school and avoid seeking employment for fear of bias and rejection. Our laws must change to protect our transgender and nonbinary youth by allowing them to change their legal name independently. Their mental health and well-being depend on these crucial reforms.

PurposeIn response to calls for more research on gender(s) in digital contexts, this paper aims to ask, how do individuals engage in self-presentation of their gender identities on social media?Design/methodology/approachUsing a multi-method qualitative approach, this research explores the narratives of 17 Millennials as they negotiate their online gender expressions with a particular focus on the image-based social platforms, Facebook and Instagram. Specifically, in-depth interviews, a collage technique and visual data from informants’ social media pages were analyzed to identify emergent themes.FindingsDrawing on the theoretical work of Goffman’s (1971) self-presentation and Butler’s (1999) gender performance, this research highlights a pervading discourse of authenticity or the desire for Millennial social media users to craft and perform a perceived “authentic self” online. This often entails both expressions of gender fluidly and gender policing. Further, four strategies emerge in the data which reveal how individuals negotiate and navigate their gendered self-presentation online, either in an agentic manner or as a protective measure.Originality/valueWhile much research exists on online self-presentation, gender(s) has been under-researched in a digital context. Existing studies examine the content of social media pages (e.g. Facebook profiles or women’s Instagram pages) as it relates to gender, but largely do not explore the lived experiences and narratives of individuals as they negotiate their gendered expressions. In addition, the use of visual data through the collage technique adds valuable insight into how gender is experienced and performed. Findings reveal that while Millennials are often touted as a gender-fluid generation, tensions still exist in online gendered expressions.

How phony and real were defined and undermined in late twentieth-century literature and film? The epithet 'phony' was omnipresent during the postwar period in the United States. It was an easy appellation for individuals who appeared cynically to conform to codes of behavior for social approbation or advancement. Yet Holly Golightly 'isn't a phony because she's a real phony', says her agent in Breakfast at Tiffany's. In exploring this remark, Abigail Cheever examines the ways in which social influence was thought to deform individuals in mid century American culture. How could a person both be and not be herself at the same time? The answer lies in the period's complicated attitude toward social influence. If being real means that one's performative self is in line with one's authentic self, to be a real phony is to lack an authentic self as a point of reference - to lack a self that is independent of the social world. According to Cheever, Holly Golightly 'is like a phony in that her beliefs are perfectly in accordance with social norms, but she is real insofar as those beliefs are all she has'. Real Phonies begins in the postwar period to examine the twinned phenomena of phoniness and authenticity across the second half of the twentieth century - from adolescents like Holly Golightly and Holden Caulfield to sports agents like Jerry Maguire. Countering the critical assumption that, with the emergence of postmodernity, the ideal of 'authentic self' disappeared, Cheever argues that concern with the authenticity of persons proliferated throughout the past half-century despite a significant ambiguity over what that self might look like. Cheever's analysis is structured around five key kinds of characters: adolescents, the insane, serial killers, and the figures of the assimilated Jew and the 'company man'. In particular, she finds a preoccupation in these works not so much with faked conformity but with the frightening notion of real uniformity - the notion that Holly, and others like her, could each genuinely be the same as everyone else.

LGBTQ cultural competence for pharmacists

This article focuses on self-study action research that looks at how I teach and how my teaching is perceived by my students and colleagues. I am a teacher educator of visual arts and prepare my students to work in New Zealand primary schools. To teach future teachers through the medium of visual arts to, in their turn, inspire and encourage their students is my challenge and inspiration. In order to teach in a meaningful way, I believe it is essential to be true to your authentic self and use your own strengths. Developing self-knowledge enhances the abilities of these generalist pre-service education students and enables them to offer their future students their very best. My active engagement in identifying my strengths and developing self-knowledge and reflection informs and encourages my lifelong learning. It provides me with an opportunity to examine my own teaching practice and make changes as necessary. This article presents my rationale, theoretical perspectives that have informed my research (including links to self-study, action research, positive psychology and art education theories), the process followed, data gathered, subsequent reflections, and the impact this study has had on my work.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global issue that is reported in multiple contexts, including higher education institutes (HEI) and sports settings. Individuals whose gender identity or gender expression diverges from the dominant norms within sports or HEIs are at an increased risk of experiencing GBV. Gender-based violence is broadly defined as any form of interpersonal violence directed at individuals based on their gender identity or gender expression. Undergraduate physical education (PE) students are uniquely positioned to act as change agents in the prevention of GBV, given their connection to both education and their ambition to become professionals in the sport sector. The aim of this study is to investigate PE students' perceptions of GBV, their attitudes, and intentional bystander behavior when witnessing GBV. An explorative qualitative research design using focus groups was conducted in Spain and Belgium and involved 65 undergraduate PE students selected through convenience sampling from 5 HEIs, 41 identified as males and 24 identified as females. Data were gathered through 9 focus groups guided by a semi-structured interview guide and subsequently analyzed via Nvivo through reflective thematic analysis. Students perceived GBV as psychological, physical, and sexual violence directed at individuals based on their sex or gender identity. Their perceptions of GBV prevention were shaped by social norms and generational differences. Key barriers to intervening in GBV situations included societal norms, a lack of competencies, and the natural stress response PE students experienced when witnessing GBV. The findings of this study underscore the need to shift GBV prevention interventions from merely raising awareness and disseminating knowledge to equipping PE students with skills in stress management and self-regulation. These insights lay the groundwork for developing more effective, context-sensitive GBV prevention interventions within HEIs.

While much of the literature on gender in librarianship approaches this issue at an organizational level, this qualitative study investigates how individuals working in libraries perceive their gender identities as a resource for their professional goals and how this intersects with other social identities including race and sexuality. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach to analyze in-depth interviews with 29 librarians from a variety of backgrounds, we develop four overarching themes: Visibility and Connection to Library Users , Credibility and Presumed Competence , Lack of Awareness and Hyperawareness , and Being Your Authentic Self and Concealing Yourself .

Conservation scientists work in diverse settings, sometimes requiring them to exist in spaces where they do not feel safe, included, or accepted. This is often the case for the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and others) community, which is frequently marginalized in conservation spaces. We conducted an anonymous, semistructured, online survey of members and nonmembers of the LGBTQIA+ community of conservation students and professionals in North America to explore participants’ lived experiences in conservation. Our 737 responses (response rate 26.8%) included 10% who identified as genderqueer, gender nonconforming, questioning, nonspecific, genderfluid, transgender woman, agender, transgender man, 2‐spirit Indigenous, or intersex (gender expansive), and 29% as bisexual, queer, lesbian, gay, asexual, pansexual, omnisexual, questioning, or nonheterosexual (queer+). We found that non‐LGBTQIA+ respondents overestimated the degree to which LGBTQIA+ respondents felt included in the field of conservation by 5% (sexual orientation) and 18% (gender identity). Respondents’ feelings of safety and belonging were up to 50% lower in most work settings compared with non‐LGBTQIA respondents; the lowest frequencies were reported by gender expansive respondents (40.9–64.4%). Contextual responses indicated that the lack of safety and belonging related to direct experiences of bullying (23 long‐form descriptions out of 73 gender expansive respondents and 15 of 217 queer+ respondents), concerns around safety in rural settings (4 of 73 gender expansive respondents and 20 of 217 queer+ respondents), and concerns around not being able to express their authentic selves (7 of 73 gender expansive respondents and 5 of 217 queer+ respondents). The intersection between gender identity and race also played a role in feelings of safety, belonging, and disclosure of sexual orientation (1 of 73 gender expansive respondents, 6 of 217 queer+ respondents). The most frequent support resources used by LGBTQIA+ conservation scientists included one‐on‐one support from peers, mentors and external collaborators, support group, and wellness and counseling services outside of work.

Gender is a pervasive and regulating social institution that is operationalized in mainstream Western culture as a natural extension of the ontological difference perceived to exist between the binarily sexed bodies of male and female. Feminist theory has widely established, however, that gender is done - i.e., gender is not a naturally occurring phenomenon, but is an ongoing construction engaged and replicated by individual actors and which, while compulsory, is nevertheless optional. Within this canon is a small number of feminist theorists, notably Judith Lorber, Judith Bulter, and Nancy Tuana, who argue that the constructive manifestations of gender performativity (that is, doing of gender) are not limited to the social sphere. They argue the role of gender in the construction of the material body, asserting that doing gender has a constructive role in physical embodiment: what we do influences, and in fact creates, what our bodies are. This study engages feminist theory on the production of the body through a qualitative exploration of the lived experience of gendered bodily change, as described in the first-hand narratives of trans-identified individuals. I predict that the analysis of the narratives in the sample will show that in comparison to cisgender individuals, trans individuals possess a heightened awareness of the performative nature of gender, and that trans individuals consciously engage performativity in order to conform to the normative expectations associated with the desired gender role. I further predict that trans individuals experience sexually dimorphic bodily change to be a direct result of changes to their gender identity. The interview analysis findings provide mixed support for the first hypothesis, demonstrating that while trans individuals in the sample do demonstrate a heightened awareness of the ways in which gender is performed, the respondents’ insights came largely from their experiences in their compulsorily cisgender, pre-transition lives, rather than their current gender embodiments. The concept of performativity and its perceived implication of artificiality clashed with the respondents’ sense of their gendered actions as an expression of an authentic self, and my analysis thus addresses performativity as a necessarily polemic concept located between the subjectivity of the individual narratives and the theoretical position that gender is done. The findings provide a substantial level of support for the second hypothesis that trans individuals understand experienced bodily change to be a direct result of changes in gender identity. This study’s exploration of trans experiences of lived bodily change contributes a narrative