Trans Identities Research Articles

Key aspects in the development of gender identity and sexual orientation according to trans and gender diverse people: a qualitative approach.

For decades, the sexuality of trans and gender diverse people has been researched from a pathologising and medical perspective. This approach makes assumptions about the experiences of trans people, limiting concern for unique and individual experiences, especially for those with non-binary or gender diverse identities. A growing number of articles however are beginning to take the viewpoints of trans people seriously, taking into consideration their unique experiences and insights within the context of sexual and romantic relationships. This study examines the development of gender identity and sexual orientation of a group of trans individuals in Spain. Thirteen self-identified trans participants were interviewed about their sexual orientation, gender identity and the interplay between both those aspects. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed to analyse the data. Five major categories were identified: reinterpreting experiences through identification with gender identity and sexual orientation; questioning gender identity and sexual orientation norms; understanding the interplay between gender identity and sexual orientation; developing as a couple; and building a community. Findings highlight the dynamic and relational nature of gender identity and sexual orientation and provide further insight into the interaction of these aspects in the development of trans and gender diverse identities.

Toward a Theology of Trans Opacity: Trans Studies’ Critique of Queer Theory in Conversation with Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Revelation

While it is generally known that the disciplinary origins of feminist and queer religious studies are enmeshed with the production of anti-trans feminisms, theological legacies of this historical entanglement remain largely unaddressed. Although later feminist and queer theologies might not explicitly take up these anti-trans positions, trans identity is still often instrumentalized in its incorporation into queer and feminist theological discourse for rhetorical and methodological gain without attention to the subjectivity and self-understanding of trans people themselves. This article argues that the theology of Karl Barth, when read with his feminist and queer critics, provides resources for critiquing this kind of trans instrumentalization in his doctrine of revelation and critique of natural theology. Moving beyond either reactionary dismissal or instrumentalized incorporation, this article instead argues for a right to opacity for trans people in Christian theology and practice resourced from Barth’s theology.

On Testimonial and Hermeneutical (In)justices in the Use of Trans Narratives in Bedrock Gender

ABSTRACT In this article, we consider a recent philosophical attempt to narrate transgender experiences in response to what Miranda Fricker has termed ‘epistemic injustice’, against the background of highly polarized debates concerning trans identities in both academic philosophy and popular culture. We bring out some of the difficulties and challenges involved in doing epistemic justice to trans testimonies via an analysis and critique of Daniele Moyal-Sharrock and Constantine Sandis’ philosophical paper ‘Bedrock Gender’. We consider how the paper raises distinct issues related to testimonial and hermeneutical injustice in its emphasis on trans testimonies of gender certainty. In response, we consider what is at stake in understanding and using the testimony of gendered experiences for furthering a philosophical account of gender. In scrutinizing the epistemology of trans in the paper, we argue that combatting epistemic injustices related to gender requires self-reflexivity and an understanding of the complexity of gendered realities as well as the moral-existential aspects of testimonies of gender. We suggest that rather than speaking of gender in terms of ‘bedrock’ and ‘certainty’, thinking philosophically about gender must involve a critical investigation and ongoing conversation of how gender identification can both confirm and contest our sense of who we are.

Gender discontents? The emergence of trans and gender nonconforming experiences in Ireland’s Gay Community News (1988–1998)

ABSTRACT Research pertaining to the emergence and presence of trans and gender nonconforming identities in press materials has been lacking, particularly within the queer Irish context. This article fills this gap by presenting the findings of a study exploring the emergence of gender nonconformity through the alternative queer media outlet, Gay Community News (GCN). Using the first decade of the GCN’s reportage (1988 to 1998), this article explores 113 issues of GCN, including supplements, deploying textual analysis to uncover how GCN negotiated and represented trans and gender diverse identities. Through this analysis, three key themes relating to trans visibility emerge across this decade: 1. Negotiating the inclusion and exclusion of trans femme identities; 2. Transvestite identity and its normal attachments and 3. Information provision and consciousness-raising. In exploring these themes, this article argues that alternative media have been crucial for the emergence of trans and gender diverse visibility in the Irish queer press. Additionally, it contends that this community is very much minoritised regarding the kinds of inclusions offered to them. While highlighting the activist potential of alternative media like GCN, the article demonstrates that trans visibility was often complex, marred by exclusions and expectations around conformity.

Trans-becoming: decoding interactionist trans identity in Nagarkirtan (2019) and Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (2012)

The unique characteristics of Indian trans-identity are shaped by cultural intricacies, setting it apart from its Western counterparts. Despite facing marginalisation in mainstream Indian society, the intricacies of their constructed trans-culture further complicate their experiences. According to the interactionist perspective of gender identity within sociological theory, an individual’s interactions with peers, family, and society influence the development of their gender identity. Examining this concept within the diverse Indian context reveals the significant nuances of Indian trans-identity. Two Bengali-Indian films, Kaushik Ganguly’s Nagarkirtan (2019) and Rituparno Ghosh’s Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish (2012), depict the intense and challenging journeys of individuals embracing their trans identities. This research aims to analyse the films from an interactionist perspective, exploring how the Indian cultural discourses portrayed in the films influence the formation of trans identities. The findings suggest that the development of trans identity involves complex processes influenced by social interactions, where conflicts between one’s generalised self and instinctual self arise due to sexual digression. Additionally, this study indicates that the sexual scripting of trans individuals is influenced by various factors, including class, culture, financial status, and social position, making it challenging to conform to the binary gender script of a normalised society. This qualitative research utilises the Interactionist theory of gender identity to analyse the two Bengali-Indian films.

Precarity Factors of Street-Based Sex Work Within Criminalised Contexts: A Study in Athens, Greece

This community research study aims to investigate the intersecting self-identified precarity factors and identities associated with street-based sex work in a criminalised context, specifically in Athens, Greece, to improve the effectiveness of individualised care interventions. Interviews of 264 cis and trans female sex workers were conducted from June 2021 to December 2022, at a community day centre for sex workers in Athens. The community-based precarity index for sex workers was used, which was developed at the community centre, using factors identified by sex workers themselves. Street-based sex workers more commonly reported interrelated precarious factors, such as perceived problematic substance use, homelessness, client violence, medical issues, and trouble with the police. Trans and refugee identities were both associated with street-based sex work as well. Harm reduction, gender-affirmative and multilingual and multicultural interventions are essential in street-based sex work intervention programs. Decriminalisation of sex work is recommended to reduce the harms and risks associated with sex work.

2145 Physical and mental health needs of older transgender adults in the U.K.: a scoping review

Abstract Introduction The number of adults in the UK who identify as transgender is increasing, through greater recognition of trans identity and growing numbers of individuals transitioning in later life. The term ‘Transgender’ encompasses a diverse range of experiences and identities, including those who identify as non-binary, gender-fluid, and gender-queer. However, within this review, we use the shortened term ‘trans’ and the following broad definition: ‘people whose gender is different from the gender assigned to them at birth.’ We conducted this exploratory review to examine the literature regarding the specific health and social care needs of older trans adults. Methods We utilised scoping review methodology and thematic qualitative analysis to systematically search and map the literature related to the physical and mental health challenges related to the ageing experience among trans adults in the UK. Results We identified 22 relevant papers through combined systematic search and additional manual reference review. We recognised five key themes within the literature: Systems and Structural Factors, Health and Mental Health, Social Care, Diversity and The Future. The former three themes relate to limitations presented by current models of care, barriers within services and potential areas for development. Key areas identified include challenges related to the application of a binary gender model within healthcare systems as well as advanced care planning and ensuring gender-affirming care where capacity is lost including living with dementia. The latter two themes identify gaps in the current literature and provide examples of trans-inclusive positive practice. Conclusions There is an ongoing need for researchers, clinicians and policymakers to ensure that the needs of older trans adults are studied, understood and accommodated within policy and practice. Service providers delivering care to older adults must understand trans-specific needs, particularly around advanced care planning, to ensure that trans people are supported to age well.

Legalizing transphobia: from courtroom to legislature, how gender‐critical activism is hurting us all

AbstractThis article scrutinizes the strategic legal and political actions taken by gender‐critical feminist (GCF) scholars and activists aimed at curtailing protections afforded under existing equality law and criminal justice policies that safeguard transgender individuals against discrimination and victimization. Two prominent legal judgments are critically reviewed to highlight the phenomenon of crowdfunded litigation and to exemplify the ways in which the law can be (mis)used to shape public perceptions of trans identities and, consequently, how this impacts trans individuals’ full and equal participation in society. The subsequent analysis examines how the previous and current governments’ support of the GCF movement has led to newly proposed, and recently enacted, legislation and policies restricting trans rights and legal protections. The article concludes by reflecting on how these coordinated legal interventions detrimentally affect the emotional, physical, and social well‐being of trans individuals, while simultaneously contributing to a broader political narrative aimed at dismantling protections against discrimination and victimization for all marginalized groups.

Exclusionary inclusion? Streaming platforms and trans inclusive policies and practices: A case study of Netflix

This article examines the incongruence within Netflix’s corporate practice: while on the one hand the streamer promotes trans inclusion along with trans talent development in Netflix’s production culture, both on and off screen, on the other hand its industrial practices and representational output demonstrate a different approach. This article argues that, while the streamer positions itself as a champion of inclusion and diversity in the television industry, Netflix is invested in transness as an economic frontier rather than in adopting anti-transphobic practices. In making this argument, this article fosters a three-pronged approach to explore the treatment of trans identities by Netflix. Firstly, the article analyses Netflix’s corporate practices in relation to promotion of its limited series, Tales of the City. Secondly, the article explores the media event of Dave Chappelle’s comedy special The Closer and the subsequent trans employee walkout. Thirdly, it performs on audit of Netflix’s website and corporate materials to highlight how Netflix has developed a response to trans inclusion in relation to the walkout. Exploring these facets through Aron Kundnani’s (2023) critique of the diversity industry, this article argues that, on a policy and corporate performativity level, Netflix’s approach to trans inclusion can be defined as transliberalist (Raha, 2015), so that its practices result in a platform catalogue that is simultaneously at best trans-affirming and at worst transphobic.

My pronouns are fuck ICE: on the colonial gender continuum, colonial dysphoria, and loving illegality

This paper examines the role of the Multicultural Community Center (MCC) at the University of California, Berkeley in fostering inclusivity for trans-Latinx students, with a focus on Afro-Latinx and Abya Yala Indigenous students. It explores the emotional and social impacts of recognizing trans identities within educational settings, assessing how these recognitions interact with broader transgender inclusion practices. The study introduces the “Colonial Gender Continuum” framework to highlight the pervasive colonial influences on gender equity efforts, emphasizing the complex realities trans students navigate. Through detailed narratives, it reveals the intersectional challenges faced by trans Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color (BISOC), including colonial dysphoria—a profound psychological turmoil rooted in the historical and ongoing colonial impacts on gender identity. This condition exacerbates the struggles of trans students, highlighting the need for educational practices that address and rectify colonial practices in gender equity efforts.

20,000 Species of Bees: Fictional film as a tool for queer pedagogies

Films on trans children often portray transgenderism as a disorder with a tragic ending for the protagonists, thereby ignoring the existing research on children being capable of expressing their own gender. In this article, we perform a close reading of the feature film 20,000 Species of Bees from a queer and feminist perspective. We focus on the potential of the film as a tool for educational practice as part of queer pedagogies. This coming-of-age movie portrays a family in which both daughter and mother undergo an identity crisis, challenging the traditional (gender) norms in the Basque society in which they are embedded. We argue that, unlike some of the recent films featuring trans children, 20,000 Species of Bees breaks with the conventional structures of mediated trans identities as problematic and opens a new perspective on the pedagogical use of the media, particularly cinema, as a space for imagining a ‘future to become’.

“It Might Have a Little to Do with Wish Fulfillment”: The Life-Giving Force of Queer Performance in TTRPG Spaces

In Cruel Optimism, Lauren Berlant asserts that “fantasy [can serve] as a life-sustaining defense against the attritions of ordinary violent history,” which is a statement that holds true for many queer role-players in TTRPG spaces (Berlant 2012, 45). Around the table, these worlds enable players to discover and render their identities legible in social utopian spaces and rehearse their performance for life outside of them. Through engaging with scholarship, autoethnographic writing, and cultural production surrounding TTRPGs, queer identity, avatars, and gender performance, this project asserts that TTRPGs function as safe spaces for becoming, due in part to the ability to create an avatar, or “flexible representational stand-in” for the self, that is queer and embodied through role-play (McMillan, 2015 13). This is achieved through tracking the author’s experience of discovering and forming their queer and trans identity through role-playing various characters and disciplining their function through related interdisciplinary theory across queer, feminist, and role-playing studies. Additionally, through utilizing additional ethnographic accounts and analyzing TTRPG-based media in theatre and actual play spaces, this project further establishes how the emancipatory potential in escapist TTRPG fantasy spaces can ultimately alter queer role-players’ engagement with material reality in a world adversarial to their existence and visibility, especially in light of the past few years.

Trans depathologisation and gender identity disorder in Japan: A critical discourse analysis of medical literature, 2010–2022

Since the depathologisation movement in 2007 to challenge the pathologisation of trans identities in Western psychiatry, significant developments have occurred, including revisions to Standards of Care and diagnostic criteria such as ICD-11's gender incongruence and DSM-5's gender dysphoria, acknowledging gender diversity as an expected part of human development. This paper argues that Japanese medical models reflect global issues but also have unique aspects shaped by cultural and linguistic nuances. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper examines how depathologisation discourses are perceived in the Japanese medical community, focusing on the term seidouitsusei-syōgai (gender identity disorder), presenting three ways in which seidouitsusei-syōgai is used: psychiatric disorder, syōgai/sikkan (impairment/disability/disorder), and diagnostic category. These uses are influenced by legal and social reforms, healthcare access and alignment with international classifications, while the medical profession's authority remains unexamined. Reflecting the structural challenges of diagnostic models in trans medicine, the interpretation of seidouitsusei-syōgai differs from the English phrase ‘gender identity disorder’ due to the specific connotations of syōgai in the Japanese context. By examining Japan's approach to depathologisation and medicalisation, this paper enriches the understanding of trans medicine and the impact of depathologisation discourse in Japan.

Who’s in and who’s out of (queer) fashion (studies)?

Despite vast scholarship on LGBTQ+ fashion, within fashion studies there is still a relative lack of engagement with transgender identities and epistemologies. ‘Transgender Embodiment in Fashion and Beauty’ interrogates how trans people and their experiences have been minimized within fashion studies and argues for an expansive and interdisciplinary understanding of what trans fashion studies might be. To do so, this Special Issue brings together scholars from a variety of fields, including trans studies, Black studies, design history, performance studies and postcolonial studies, to reflect on the trans/fashion nexus. It ultimately aims to pave the way for researchers to excavate unknown or obliterated fashion histories and to centre trans identity as the field of fashion studies continues to evolve.

The violence of contesting non-binary, trans and diverse gender identities: Emergent cultural formations, adversities and ethics

The violence of contesting non-binary, trans and diverse gender identities: Emergent cultural formations, adversities and ethics

Political transexclusion and transhate in social networks

Studies on social exclusion towards transgender individuals have used the term transphobia to refer to violent behaviors against trans people. The objective of this qualitative study is to critically analyze the use of the term transphobia, its suitability, and the possibility of replacing it with the term transhate, given its functionality in accurately identifying hate crimes and other practices of social exclusion towards trans individuals. From a methodological standpoint, the research was based on the grounded theory approach, considering its relevance in generating theories from the data obtained from social networks in the analyzed context. Among the most noteworthy results of the study, using this methodology, is the identification of codes related to political trans-exclusion and trans-hate, a situation that ultimately contributes to the preservation of a social system of trans vulnerabilization. It is thus established that trans-hate is a cause of political trans-exclusions and other vulnerabilizations towards trans identities in all social spheres, namely: family, education, and health, among others. In summary, this study highlights the urgent need to address transhate and political transexclusion as systemic forms of vulnerabilization against transgender individuals. In fact, the adoption of the term "transhate" in the legal and academic fields could mark a turning point in the fight against hate crimes and discrimination.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Trans and Nonbinary Youth Identity: Individual Processes and Family Agreement in the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project

Few studies have focused on transgender and nonbinary youths’ (TNBY) gender development and even less well understood is how family members understand TNBY identity. The current study investigated: (a) how TNBY describe their gender identity over time, and (b) how family members understand TNBY gender identity over time. The baseline sample included 96 members of 33 families (33 TNBY, 48 cisgender caregivers, 15 siblings) from the United States; 30 families continued after Wave 1. Results indicated that 23 (77.7%) youth’s gender identity labels remained the same throughout all five waves, with seven (23.3%) youth shifting their description more than once—all youth continuing after Wave 1 who reported shifts, shifted from one TNB identity to another TNB identity. Family agreement varied across waves amongst family members regarding gender identity, gender expression, and pronoun use. Agreement and partial agreement were primarily in the High and Moderate categories across domains, with the pronouns domain demonstrating the highest level of agreement across pairings. Disagreement amongst pairings was usually not present or coded as Low, indicating greater shared understanding for families across waves and domains. Results suggest a nuanced developmental process for TNBY and their families regarding understanding of gender identity, gender expression, and pronoun use.

Killing off the good little boy: transition as a solution to the problems of separation from the primary object

ABSTRACT This paper explores clinical work concerning a group of gender-questioning natal males who experienced physical difficulties in childhood. The author argues that these individuals develop a transgender (trans) identity as a defence mechanism against the psychological challenges associated with development, particularly the struggles of forming a distinct mind and identity. Anxieties related to physical health may have contributed to the formation of an anxious attachment to their primary caregiver, perceived as intrusive and demanding. Moreover, these individuals struggle to identify with their fathers, often experiencing them as distant, absent, or unsupportive of their relationship with the mother or other primary caregiver, thereby hindering separation from the primary attachment figure. These early experiences may lead to difficulties in acknowledging and owning their evolving sexuality and aggression, as well as in bearing the necessary guilt associated with separating from the primary caregiver. Consequently, the individual may fantasise about relinquishing identification with an idealised version of themselves and replacing it with a liberated version capable of living autonomously. Through a composite case, the paper illustrates how these conflicts manifest in the therapeutic setting through transference dynamics. Themes explored include gender dysphoria, confusion, adolescence, and transition.

Retrospective Examination of Peripubertal Return for Patients of Western Australia's Gender Diversity Service.

Purpose: Children far in advance of pubertal development may be deferred from further assessment for gender-affirming medical treatment until nearer puberty. It is vital that returning peripubertal patients are seen promptly to ensure time-sensitive assessment and provision of puberty suppression treatment where appropriate. This study investigates (1) how many referrals to the Child and Adolescent Health Service Gender Diversity Service at Perth Children's Hospital are deferred due to prepubertal status; and (2) how many deferred patients return peripubertally. Methods: A retrospective review of all closed referrals to the service was conducted to determine the frequency of prepubertal deferral and peripubertal re-referral. Results: Of 995 referrals received (2014 to 2020), 552 were closed. The reason for closure was determined for 548 referrals (99.3%). Prepubertal status was the second-most frequent reason for closure, and the most frequent for birth-registered males. Twenty-five percent of all deferred prepubertal patients returned peripubertally, before audit closure. A greater return frequency (55.6%) was estimated for those older than 13 years at audit closure. Conclusion: High rates of prepubertal referral indicate the importance of pediatric gender services in providing information, advice, and reassurance to concerned families. With increasing service demand, high rates of return peripubertally have implications for service planning to ensure that returning peripubertal patients are seen promptly for time-sensitive care. Frequency of peripubertal re-referral cannot, however, speak to the stability of trans identity or gender incongruence from childhood to adolescence. Clinics advising prepubertal deferral must proactively plan to ensure that sufficient clinical resources are reserved for this purpose.

Archiving Religious Piety and Trans Identity

Abstract This article proposes a nonsecular transfeminist critique to interrogate how labels such as political, strategic, and activist are deployed in ways that reproduce exclusionary transgender archives in Turkey. It analyzes the section on religion and spirituality from the South African Gabrielle Le Roux’s activist documentary Proudly Trans in Turkey (2012) as well as Rüstem Ertuğ Altınay’s article “Reconstructing the Transgendered Self as a Muslim, Nationalist, Upper-Class Woman” (2008), which focuses on the statements and performances of Bülent Ersoy, who has been a very popular trans public figure in Turkey since the eighties and who has, to the surprise of many, publicly embraced Islam in the last three decades. Through this analysis, this article demonstrates how a Western secular framework persistently disciplines and limits trans studies in a Turkish context by foregrounding trans people whose agency can be described in terms of resistance or subversion, thus excluding those pious Muslim trans people whose approaches differ.