Non-binary Identities Research Articles

"Extremely toxic and evil" reflections on gender identity change efforts by Christian religious leaders: Implications for therapy with transgender and nonbinary clients.

Given the religious groundings that support the practice of gender identity change efforts (GICE), we sought to explore the beliefs of Christian religious leaders about this practice and their understanding of marginalized gender identities. Nineteen religious leaders mainly from diverse Mainline Christian Protestant traditions were interviewed. Queer theory-informed thematic analysis revealed two themes related to participants' beliefs about transgender and nonbinary identities: (1) Transgender and nonbinary identities are normative and authenticand (2) God created gender diversity. The analyses also highlighted two themes reflecting the pastors' beliefs about GICE: (1) GICE is harmfuland (2) Therapy should affirm transgender and nonbinary identities. Finally, the thematic analysis exploring participants' messages for couple and family therapists could be organized into two themes: (1) Christian religious beliefs do not justify the use of GICE and (2) Therapists should be helpful and not harmful. Implications for couple and family therapists are also discussed.

Effect of gender identity on the association between gender dysphoria and suicidality via appearance anxiety among transgender and gender-diverse young people: moderated mediation study.

Gender dysphoria is associated with suicidality among transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people. Gender dysphoria also results in a stress on appearance. The objectives of this study were to examine: (a) whether appearance anxiety mediates the effect of gender dysphoria on suicidality; and (b) whether gender identity moderates the mediating effect of appearance anxiety. A total of 117 769 college and university students were recruited in this cross-sectional study from Jilin Province, China. After screening based on participants' gender identity, 2352 TGD young people (aged from 15 to 25 years) were divided into three subgroups: female to male (FTM), male to female (MTF) and non-binary. Self-report inventories measured gender dysphoria, suicidality and appearance anxiety. A structural equation model was run to examine the relationships among TGD gender identity, gender dysphoria, appearance anxiety and suicidality. Among TGD young people, gender dysphoria was significantly positively associated with suicidality (β = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.11-0.18, P < 0.001). Appearance anxiety partially mediated the association between gender dysphoria and suicidality (β = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.05-0.08, P < 0.001). Gender identity moderated the mediating effects: compared with individuals with FTM identity, among those with MTF and non-binary identities, gender dysphoria showed stronger positive effects on appearance anxiety, and appearance anxiety showed greater effects in mediating the association between gender dysphoria and suicidality. Among TGD young people, gender dysphoria is significantly associated with suicidality via appearance anxiety, with gender identity moderating the mediating effects. Diverse treatments should consider the heterogeneity of TGD subgroups, with the aim of limiting the tendency of gender dysphoria to trigger appearance anxiety, thus further buffering against the risk of suicide.

Revisiting the sociophonetics of sexuality in spontaneous speech

This study surveys sociophonetic variation in sibilant and vowel production for 44 Bay Area English speakers. I focus on (i) whether sexual orientation is an independent predictor, or interacts with gender, and (ii) what the patterning of bi + (bisexual, pansexual, queer, etc.) and non-binary speakers adds to previous claims (e.g., Gaudio 1994, Pierrehumbert 2004, Willis 2023). All participants completed a Map Task in pairs; 37 participated in a sociolinguistic interview. Recordings were auto-transcribed, forced-aligned, and hand-checked. For /s ʃ z ʒ/, tokens under 0.05 sec, in /str/ clusters, and/or adjacent to another sibilant were excluded. Before getting COG and skew, 0.02 sec were subtracted from token edges and voicing was Hann band-filtered. For all vowels and sibilants, mean and midpoint f0 were taken, and F1-F4 for vowels (using the median of values at midpoint plus six surrounding timepoints). Results show sexual orientation alone is not a robust predictor of /s/ frontedness. Both gender and sexuality interacted with duration for /s/ frontedness and vowel f0; gender and sexuality also interacted to influence /ʃ/ frontedness and /z/ devoicing, as well as vowel space shape. These results imply that, when bi + and non-binary identities are incorporated, the phonetic indexation of sexual identity is not easily generalizable within orientation labels, at least for informal speech.

Dismantling Gender Binaries: An Emergent Model for Nonbinary Identity Development

The purpose of this article is to describe an emergent model that conceptualizes common experiences for nonbinary people as they explore and navigate their identities by synthesizing existing nonbinary identity development literature. We ground our manuscript epistemologically in queer theory, queer of color critique, and intersectionality theory. Our model traces stars that make up nonbinary identity development constellations: embracing fluidity and ambiguity, exploring transition, navigating disclosure, witnessing and mirroring, developing kinship networks, and worldmaking. We guide our conversations to practitioners, administrators, and policymakers in higher education and student affairs to complicate their understanding of gender identity development processes with goals of creating more gender-affirming practices and policies for nonbinary people in higher education.

“The third table where I would sit comfortably”: narratives of nonbinary identity routes

Background Research on nonbinary people has been growing steadily. However, most studies have focused on gender identity development in binary cisgender or transgender populations, and there is a lack of knowledge about the experiences and milestones of nonbinary identification, including the many challenges of living in a binary world. In Italy, nonbinary individuals are exposed to various forms of discrimination and face multiple forms of invisibility—linguistic, social, and legal. Aim The present study aimed to explore the complex experiences of Italian individuals who do not identify with either of the binary gender categories, shedding light on the processes of awareness of their nonbinary identity. Methods Twenty nonbinary participants, aged 19 to 36 years, were administered a semi-structured interview that was explicitly created for this study. The Consensual Qualitative Research methodology was applied to the transcripts of the interviews. Results The research delineated four domains: growing up in a binary world, referring to retrospective descriptions of gender normativity and lack of models; gender dysphoria, referring to descriptions related to body and social gender dysphoria; nonbinary awareness, referring to the influence of sexual and romantic relationships, friendships and aggregative spaces, as well as social media, traditional media and literary works—all contributing to the process of personal identity synthesis; and looking forward, referring to the tension of imagining an identity that is constantly evolving (i.e. fantasies and desires of medical and gender-affirming interventions, negative expectations regarding the future, and self-realization). Conclusion In societies with a binary understanding of gender, nonbinary individuals face complex challenges and must use multiple strategies to negotiate and express their identities. A deeper understanding of the processes of awareness of gender identity in this population may help to improve clinical practice with gender minoritized individuals.

Political Gay Science: Nietzsche, Conservatism, and Nonbinary Identity

Political Gay Science: Nietzsche, Conservatism, and Nonbinary Identity

“I Had Time to Do My Research, Had Time to Think and Educate Myself”: Using Information Work for Nonbinary and Genderfluid Identity Self-Recognition during COVID-19 Isolation

“I Had Time to Do My Research, Had Time to Think and Educate Myself”: Using Information Work for Nonbinary and Genderfluid Identity Self-Recognition during COVID-19 Isolation

Nonbinary people: Perceived social support in personal relationships and (virtual) communities

Background Nonbinary individuals grapple with societal and individual pressures from a pervasive lack of comprehension, acknowledgment, and affirmative social representation. This dearth of a societal conversation recognizing the validity of nonbinary identities leads to instances of discrimination. Social support is recognized as a buffer to these experiences and is positively related to better physical and psychological health. Aims To explore the processes nonbinary people experienced with their most significant relationships, be it romantic, friendships, and/or family members, before and after disclosure of nonbinary identification. Additionally, we sought to contextualize their participation, or nonparticipation, in activist groups and virtual communities. Methods The present study adopts a qualitative methodology to build an initial understanding of the perceived social support of non-binary people in Portugal. We conducted non-structured life story interviews with thirty-three Portuguese nonbinary people and analyzed the collected data using thematic analysis. Results The findings are illustrated by two main themes: the Flow of Relational Support, where we explored the support perceived or not by the most significant relationships; and The Search and Find of Community Support, where we characterized the search and find of support through the participation in activist and virtual communities/groups. Discussion The current findings illustrate the positive influence of perceived social support on the experiences of nonbinary individuals. Of note, these experiences were highly diverse, with no participants reporting comprehensive support from all the sources explored. Additionally, the detrimental impact of perceiving a lack of support in some critical areas remained prominent. Individuals struggled to gain recognition and validation, resulting from a lack of relational support and a reluctance to seek out and find community support. Nonbinary individuals confront intense scrutiny and prejudice from the broader social sphere, compromising their ability to live openly.

Representation of Non-Binary Identities in Feminist Literature of the Early 21st Century: A Literary Critique

This academic paper examines the representation of non-binary identities in early 21st-century feminist literature, focusing on the works Freshwater, An Unkindness of Ghosts, and Middlesex. The analysis explores the nuanced portrayals of non-binary characters, considering the intersections with race, class, and culture. The paper identifies evolving themes throughout the early 21st century, emphasizing the fluidity and complexity of gender in these narratives. Inclusivity is highlighted as foundational to feminist literature, contributing to empowerment and validation for non-binary readers. The impact extends beyond individuals, influencing societal attitudes, challenging stigmas, and catalyzing cultural change. The conclusion emphasizes the need for continued dialogue, intersectional exploration, and advocacy efforts to promote inclusivity in literature and contribute to broader social change.

Exploring the gender care experiences and perspectives of individuals who discontinued their transition or detransitioned in Canada.

Those who detransition have received increased public and scholarly attention and their narratives are often presented as evidence of limitations with contemporary gender-affirming care practices. However, there are scant empirical studies about how this population experienced their own process of gaining access to gender-affirming medical/surgical interventions, or their recommendations for care practice. To qualitatively explore the care experiences and perspectives of individuals who discontinued or reversed their gender transitions (referred to as detransition). Between October 2021-January 2022, Canadian residents aged 18 and older with experience of stopping, shifting, or reversing a gender transition were invited to participate in semi-structured, one-on-one, virtual interviews. A purposive sample of 28 was recruited by circulating study adverts over social media, to clinicians in six urban centres, and within participants' social networks. Interviews ranged between 50-90 minutes, were audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Following constructivist grounded theory methodology, interview data were analyzed inductively and thematically following a two-phase coding process to interpret participants' experiences of, and recommendations for, gender care. Participants were between the ages of 20-53 (71% were between 20-29). All participants identified along the LGBTQ2S+ spectrum. Twenty-seven out of 28 of the participants received medical/surgical interventions (60% were ages 24 and younger). A majority (57%) reported three or more past gender identities, with 60% shifting from a binary transgender identity at the time of initiating transition to a nonbinary identity later in their transition journey. To access medical/surgical interventions, most participants were assessed via the gender-affirming care model pathway and also engaged in talk therapy with a mental healthcare provider such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Some participants experienced their care as lacking the opportunity to clarify their individual treatment needs prior to undergoing medical/surgical transition. Decisional regret emerged as a theme alongside dissatisfaction with providers' "informed consent" procedures, such that participants felt they would have benefitted from a more robust discussion of risks/benefits of interventions prior to treatment decision-making. Overall, participants recommended an individualized approach to care that is inclusive of mental healthcare supports. To optimize the experiences of people seeking and receiving gender care, a thorough informed consent process inclusive of individualized care options is recommended, as outlined by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, standards of care, version 8.

Queer Eye: The Urgency Of Self-Representation In The Study Of Coming-In Processes And Self-Acceptance Of Nonbinary Transgender Individuals

The non-binary Trans identity is one of the marginal identities beginning to be recognized worldwide. Research articles and academic resources available on non-binarynonbinary Trans identities write about various aspects of the internal and external processes of self-acceptance of non-binary Trans individuals, including gender dysphoria, transphobic internalization, gender deconstruction, and environmental cisnormativity, with various concepts and theories that raise disparities and unanswered questions. In this literature review, the authors collected and critically analyzed 16 documents to fill theoretical gaps regarding research into non-binary Trans identities. It was found that research on non-binary Trans identities has gained popularity in the past decade. However, of the available sources of research articles, few studies have used queer theory to analyze experiences of non-binarynonbinary Trans identities

Evaluation of Traditional Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth.

Sexual and gender minority youth assigned female at birth (SGM-AFAB) experience higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) than heterosexual and cisgender youth. To inform efforts to reduce these disparities, we explored whether IPV risk factors identified in the general population are associated with IPV among SGM-AFAB young people. Using multiwave longitudinal data from a 400 SGM-AFAB youth (ages 16-20 at baseline), we estimated between- and within-persons effects of demographic/contextual characteristics (gender, sexual identity, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status), developmental/background factors (childhood violence), and psychological/behavioral factors (antisocial behavior, depression, problematic alcohol and cannabis use) on a range of IPV experiences (victimization and perpetration of psychological, physical, sexual, and SGM-specific IPV). In this SGM-AFAB sample, IPV experiences were associated with many traditional risk factors identified in the general population, including race, economic stress, childhood violence, antisocial behavior, depression, and use of substances (particularly cannabis). In contrast to previous research, we did not find that SGM youth with transgender or gender nonbinary identities, or with bi- or pan-sexual identities, were at greater risk for IPV than other SGM youth. Very few putative risk factors were associated with SGM-specific IPV. Findings suggest SGM youth could benefit from IPV prevention approaches that target common risk factors at multiple ecological levels (policies to reduce poverty and racism, parenting programs, interventions to reduce mental health and substance use problems). Continued research is needed to explore how risk for IPV among SGM-AFAB youth may vary by gender identity, sexual identity, and stigma-based experiences.

Association of Transgender or Gender Non-Binary Identity on Disease Characteristics and Survival Outcomes in Prostate Cancer.

While it is becoming increasingly common for people to identify as transgender or gender-non-binary, our understanding of the influence of gender identity on disease severity of hormone-sensitive malignancies, including prostate cancer (PC) is limited. The goal of this study is to compare the aggressiveness of disease and survival outcomes between transgender or gender non-binary (TG) and cis-gender (CG) patients with PC. The cohort included patients diagnosed with PC between 1999 and 2022 within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Database. TG patients were identified with an ICD 9 or 10 diagnosis code that occurred prior to PC diagnosis. Treatment information and baseline disease characteristics were ascertained through the VHA electronic health records. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to estimate the association between TG status and presenting with Gleason > = 8, PSA > 20 ng/mL, and metastatic disease at diagnosis. Covariates in these models included age at diagnosis, race, ethnicity, marital status, and smoking status. Metastases were identified through natural language processing from cancer or radiology documents. Time to metastases was defined as the time from PC diagnosis to metastases, with other causes of death considered as competing risks. The association between TG identity status and metastatic disease was calculated with a Cox regression model. The difference in overall survival was assessed with the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. The final cohort was composed of 282,264 individuals, 219 (0.08%) of which were identified as TG. TG patients have similar odds of presenting with presenting with Gleason Score ≥8 (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.18, p = 0.31), PSA >20 ng/mL (OR 0.78, p = 0.59), and metastasis at diagnosis (OR 0.47, p = 0.29). There were 34,918 patients who develop metastatic disease at any time, 24 of which were TG. The 10-year cumulative incidence of metastases for TG and CG individuals was 11.5% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 6.6-16.1%) and 13.9% (CI: 13.7-14.0%), respectively. There was no significant difference between TG status and risk of developing metastases (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.93, p = 0.71). The 10-year overall survival for TG and CG was 73.4% (CI: 66.5-80.9%) and 65.0% (CI: 64.8-65.2%), respectively. There was no significant difference between TG status and overall survival (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.83, p = 0.13). TG individuals do not appear to have a difference in disease characteristics at diagnosis or survival compared to CG individuals. Future research should be done to determine the effect of gender affirming treatment on these outcomes. Furthermore, it is unclear if diagnosis codes are accurately identifying TG individuals.

A qualitative exploration of positive body image experiences among nonbinary individuals

One group whose positive body image experiences remain under-explored is individuals who identify as nonbinary, gender fluid, and/or genderqueer (including other nonbinary identities). Thus, we sought to answer the questions: What does it look like to have a positive body image for a nonbinary person? and How do nonbinary persons form and maintain a positive body image? To answer these questions, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 nonbinary individuals who were assessed as having positive body image using the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015a). Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified as characterizing the core features of positive body image among nonbinary persons: body appreciation, body- and self-acceptance, bodily appearance embodied their authentic self, and holding flexible ideals for ways of being. Six themes were identified as related to on-going processes that explain how body image is formed and maintained among nonbinary persons: reframing negative body image information, staging resistance, experiencing representation, receiving and giving social support, practicing self-compassion and self-care, and using dress to create a satisfying presentation of self. In keeping with the tenets of queer theory, findings reflected how gender identity set a context for participants’ positive body image experiences.

Writing (with) the body: the case of Kim de l’Horizon’s Blutbuch

ABSTRACT In recent years, narratology has yielded innovative views on how certain narratives create and convey meaning through embodied processes. Such ‘embodied narratives’ have increasingly been considered to reflect the way human perception itself functions: by drawing upon corporeal impressions before mental cognition, and physical sensation before language. This article suggests that Kim de l'Horizon's Blutbuch offers further productive insight regarding the nature and function of the embodied narrative. The novel – an auto-fictional tale that deals with non-binary identity – shot to fame in the winter of 2022 after winning prestigious literary awards in the German-speaking world; and it has been lauded, in particular, for the pride of place it offers to the author-narrator’s embodied perspectives on gender identity. As this article will argue, however, Blutbuch also foregrounds a biopolitical worldview in which all boundaries – and not just those of gender – are seen as superfluous. In doing so, not only does the novel allows its author-narrator to create a narrative body that reappropriates for itself the agency that cisnormative discourse would traditionally deny it, but it also proposes an expanded understanding of the embodied narrative: one that conceives of such forms of writing as metaphors for the body itself.

A roadmap for sex- and gender-disaggregated health research

Sex and gender are fundamental aspects of health and wellbeing. Yet many research studies fail to consider sex or gender differences, and even when they do this is often limited to merely cataloguing such differences in the makeup of study populations. The evidence on sex and gender differences is thus incomplete in most areas of medicine. This article presents a roadmap for the systematic conduct of sex- and gender-disaggregated health research. We distinguish three phases: the exploration of sex and gender differences in disease risk, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes; explaining any found differences by revealing the underlying mechanisms; and translation of the implications of such differences to policy and practice. For each phase, we provide critical methodological considerations and practical examples are provided, taken primarily from the field of cardiovascular disease. We also discuss key overarching themes and terminology that are at the essence of any study evaluating the relevance of sex and gender in health. Here, we limit ourselves to binary sex and gender in order to produce a coherent, succinct narrative. Further disaggregation by sex and gender separately and which recognises intersex, non-binary, and gender-diverse identities, as well as other aspects of intersectionality, can build on this basic minimum level of disaggregation. We envision that uptake of this roadmap, together with wider policy and educational activities, will aid researchers to systematically explore and explain relevant sex and gender differences in health and will aid educators, clinicians, and policymakers to translate the outcomes of research in the most effective and meaningful way, for the benefit of all.

Degendering Parents on Birth Certificates.

Birth certificates typically designate parents as "mothers" or "fathers," although some US states offer nongendered designations. The authors argue that gendered characterizations offer scant legal or moral value and that states should move to degender parental status on birth certificates but retain that information in registrations of birth. Registrations of birth identify the person giving birth to a child, when, and where, and they report demographic and health information useful for civic and public health purposes. Birth certificates typically report a child's name, sex, date and location of birth, and parentage so far as known. As documents establishing parents' standing in relation to children and vice versa, as well as age and presumptive citizenship, birth certificates add no legal or moral value by gendering parents. Gendering parents on birth certificates obliges the state to rely on exclusionary criteria of "mother" and "father." By contrast, degendering parental status withdraws the need for such criteria and confers benefits on people with transgender and nonbinary identities, as well as undercutting any problematic presumption that parents have responsibilities to their children qua mother or qua father.

Wondrous Bodies: Trans Epistemology and Nonbinary Saints

Abstract: This article places Marcella Althaus-Reid’s theological reflection on popular devotion to the figure of Santa Librada in Argentina in conversation with scholarship on androgyny, nonbinary identity, and medieval gender-crossing saints. Tying together strands of medieval writing on wondrous bodies and contemporary articulations of nonbinary identity foregrounds how nonbinary embodiments destabilize modern conceptions of binary gender. Although I am not suggesting a return to premodern conceptions of the body, medieval texts are instructive insofar as they offer an epistemology of embodiment that evades the consolidation of binary categories of sex and gender.

Feeling the weight of the water: young nonbinary individuals and their strategies for manoeuvring through a binary world

ABSTRACT Studies of transgender individuals often focus on the transgressive nature of their identities and practices or on experiences of transphobia, rejection and violence. Rather than focusing on transgression or marginalization, this paper offers insight into practical knowledge, presenting a feel for the game that young nonbinary individuals develop out of social necessity, as the social world, with its gender binary social structures, remains resistant to nonbinary identities and practices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 12 nonbinary participants in Slovenia and Bourdieu’s concept of practical knowledge, this paper analyses skilful practical strategies for coping with anticipated and experienced misrecognition. These strategies encompass tactful playing along with the binary rules of the game, pushing the rules into a state of limbo and directly engaging and confronting the rules of the game. Moreover, a differentiated domain of strategies emerges, according to the parameters of safety, anticipation of achieving recognition and affective investment in the relations. Overall, the data show that nonbinary individuals are skilful agents who apply a range of practical strategies to manoeuvre through a gender binary world. The article enables insight into young people as actively engaging with objective conditions that are not of their making.

Gender-open grandparenting: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT More and more aging adults are becoming grandparents in an era of heightened LGBTQ+ awareness, especially of transgender and nonbinary identities. This era is marked by progressive forms of childhood gender socialization as well, including the relatively recent advent of ‘gender-open parenting’: gender-open parents do not assign a gender to their children, and use they/them pronouns for the children until they express their own sense of gender. However, little research addresses these developments in grandparenting and gender diversity. This exploratory study builds on the grandparenting literature and examines the experiences of 11 grandparents from a larger project on gender-open parenting. Grandparents within these families must learn the tenets of this new paradigm to interact with their grandchildren. Using interview data and thematic analysis, several dominant themes from grandparents’ experiences are examined, including: their initial apprehensions, their efforts with gender-neutral language, their mediating roles with others, the new perspectives they develop, and their lingering ambivalence. The discussion employs the conceptual frameworks of family systems, family ecology, and ambivalence to highlight the varying shades of agency and support the grandparents represent. Altogether, the findings raise important implications for research in grandparenting, gender, and LGBTQ+ family relationships.