Experiences Of Trans People Research Articles

Participation, barriers, facilitators and bullying experiences of trans people in sport and fitness: findings from a national community survey of trans people in Australia.

This study aimed to assess participation rates of transgender and gender diverse (trans) people in sport/fitness activities, compare mental health outcomes for trans people participating in sport/fitness with those who do not and explore internal/external barriers and bullying experiences faced by trans people in sport/fitness contexts. A cross-sectional online survey open to trans people aged ≥16 years living in Australia was conducted between February and April 2023 and it assessed rates of sport/fitness participation, barriers to participation and bullying experiences through multiple-choice questions. Mental health measures comprised the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and self-reported history of self-harm and suicidality. Covariate-adjusted binary logistic regression models tested associations between interpersonal factors, sport/fitness variables and mental health outcomes. Of 664 respondents (median age 32 years), around one-third (32.8%) regularly participated in sport/fitness. Common internal barriers to participation included anxiety about others' reactions (63.9%), body dissatisfaction/dysphoria (56.5%) and fears about feeling accepted/affirmed by others (54.7%). Respondents commonly reported experiencing inadequate bathroom/changing facilities (44.4%), exclusionary rules and regulations surrounding gender (36.7%), and invasive or uncomfortable policies or procedures (23.3%). Over one-third (34.4%) of trans people had experienced gender-based bullying or exclusion. Regular sport/fitness participation was associated with significantly lower K10 scores (mean difference=-4.4, 95% CI-5.8, -2.9, p<0.001) and a 40% reduction in odds of recent thoughts of self-harm and suicide (aOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.9, p=0.01; aOR 0.6, 95%CI 0.4, 0.9, p=0.02). Trans people face significant barriers to sport/fitness despite experiencing significant mental health and personal benefits from participation. Affirming and including trans people in sport and fitness should be a key priority for sport and fitness federations, organisations and policy-makers.

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.

Navigating Survival: The Role of Information in the Lives of Trans adults in South Carolina

This community-based action research dissertation interrogates how trans people in South Carolina use information to survive. I am conducting 25 semi-structured interviews with trans people across the state to ask what information they need to survive, what barriers to information access they encounter, and how they overcome those barriers. I am working with an advisory board of five trans people to bring community input into my research. The board has pilot tested the interview protocol and given their feedback. In a practical part of the research, we are identifying a challenge trans people experience in their daily lives. The board collectively chose the lack of resources for trans people as the problem we will address. Together we are building an informational resource to fill those gaps and ease information seeking. Early themes from the interviews indicate that trans people rely on their peers for information over experts. However, trans people do not always have access to trans community, and it can be dangerous to ask friends and family, leaving their information needs unfilled. Overall, participants found a lack of resources related to transness. In response to this lack, participants created their own information resources for themselves and their communities.

Autistic trans camouflaging: an early phenomenological exploration

ABSTRACT Autistic people often camouflage, i.e. they adopt certain behaviors in order to fit in in neurotypical environments. Autobiographical accounts suggest that autistic trans people experience camouflaging in a unique, more complex and often heightened way than cis autistic people, and this has not been studied. They have autistic traits to mask, as well as gendered traits, in a hostile neuronormative and cisnormative world. This intersection of experience is worthy of exploration, not least because this group of people are typically misunderstood and silenced, as well as being particularly at risk of the mental distress that can come from camouflaging. In this paper I discuss autistic trans people’s accounts of camouflaging and begin a preliminary phenomenological analysis. I draw primarily from Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of “doubling”, whereby (cis) women experience being both oneself and the image of oneself, under patriarchal objectification. One can argue that autistic people are similarly “doubled” when camouflaging, experiencing their neurodivergent selves as well as their more neurotypical presentation. Going beyond de Beauvoir, it can be further argued that many trans people experience “tripling” and therefore that trans autistic people experience being at least “quadrupled” if not “quintupled”.

"It's like having a superpower": Reclaiming creativity and the intersectional experiences of trans young adults of color.

Trans young adults of color experience systemic harm that contributes to negative health outcomes and hinders their ability to live freely. The present study used a grounded theory qualitative methodology rooted in a critical-ideological paradigm to understand the intersections of racial and gender oppression. Trans young adults of color from across the United States (N = 15; ages 20-29; majority racial identities: Asian, Black, and multiracial; majority gender identities: nonbinary and transmasculine) participated in a semistructured interview. Analyses identified a six-category empirical framework explaining major dimensions and processes of intersectional experiences of trans people of color. The core category, Reclaiming Creativity, reflected how trans communities of color use creativity to build their identities and communities beyond intersectional oppressive societal norms and imagine a better, more liberated world. The remaining five categories were Creating and Recreating Identity, Experiencing Discrimination and Its Impacts on Wellness, Surviving Oppression and Compromising Authentic Self, Embracing Identity Strengths, and Finding Liberation. They provided insights into the role of creativity within the intersectional experiences of trans young adults of color. In doing so, they provided directions to address structural injustice, pursue liberation, and allow creativity to flourish. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“That’s not at all what I needed” trans adults' perspectives on trans-affirming primary care and eating disorders

Transgender and gender diverse adults, referred to collectively as trans, experience eating disorders (EDs) at high rates and struggle to find primary care providers (PCPs) knowledgeable in both gender-affirming care and EDs. Most research regarding healthcare experiences of trans people with EDs focuses on specialized treatment. This qualitative study explored the experiences of trans patients with ED symptoms in trans-affirming primary care, which offers clinical support for gender affirmation in the context of interpersonally gender-affirming primary care services. Twenty-two participants were recruited via social media to participate in focus groups (n = 5). Researchers utilized thematic analysis. Participants reported gender-affirming and non-affirming experiences, experienced unwelcome comments from providers regarding bodies and gender, encountered barriers to disclosing their ED symptoms, felt transition-related medical care supported recovery but did not always resolve their ED symptoms, felt they had to self-advocate, and wanted their providers to recognize them as whole people (beyond their ED and transness) who experience joy. Importantly, despite being trans-affirming, participants critiqued trans-affirming primary care as perpetuating weight stigma and binary gender norms. Participants recommended providers receive ED training, implement universal ED screening, and explore how sociocultural norms regarding weight and gender negatively impact trans health outcomes.

Virtual Reality and Simulation Videos as Effective Training Tools for Creating Safe and Inclusive Environments for Transgender People.

University education is undergoing a paradigm shift towards active methodologies, such as virtual reality and training videos, which have proven to be valuable resources, especially in the health sciences. The scarcity of existing research on the topic prompted us to conduct this study, which seeks to measure the knowledge gained from the aforementioned tools by users, their level of satisfaction with them, and their perceived utility. This is a quasi-experimental intervention study analysing the impact of virtual objects as learning resources for undergraduate nursing students. Fifty-four participants completed the training, yielding highly significant differences between their mean scores, with a high statistical power and a large effect size. A total of 85.46% of participants confirmed that the virtual resources helped them considerably to empathise with the experiences of trans people in healthcare settings. Students were comfortable using the virtual resources, very satisfied with the methodology employed, and would recommend the training received. University teaching must adapt to meet the current legislations and changing health needs of society, and teaching staff must be prepared to implement new active teaching methodologies that make learning a more dynamic process. Considering these results, our study serves as a guide for other nursing educators who seek to promote inclusive healthcare regarding gender diversity. This study is not registered.

Feminizm jako źródło cierpień. Doświadczenie niemożliwości trans/feministycznej solidarności w literaturze trans

If one is to trust the declarations made by numerous leading thinkers in intersectional feminism, such as Sara Ahmed, solidarity between feminism and trans people should be a given. Transfeminism, as a slogan assuming that a new form of feminist thought can be built on the basis of this solidarity, is a slogan that enjoys enduring popularity, even in the face of the apparent rise of transphobic forms of feminism. At the same time, despite the activist success of such perspectives, a careful reading of contemporary trans literature – literature that seeks to serve as a form of recording and expressing the lived experiences of trans people – indicates that the relationship of “trans” to “feminism” is much more complicated. In the work of authors such as Torrey Peters and Alison Rumfitt, feminism, rather than a movement that can support trans people, appears just as often as a source of their suffering. This article attempts to consider these literary representations of the relationship between feminism and transgender (and especially trans femininity). It leads to the question of what barriers stand in the way of the – so seemingly obvious – trans/feminist solidarity, and whether such solidarity is even possible in a situation that recognizes the irreducibility of the differences and tensions that divide the spaces of transgender and feminism. Keywords: trans femininity, transgender, transphobia, feminism, &lt;i&gt;Detransition, Baby. A Novel&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;Tell Me I’m Worthless&lt;/i&gt;

You can’t be too many things: the experiences of gender-affirming care for trans people of color – a thematic analysis

Background: Barriers to healthcare and negative healthcare experiences are frequently reported by transgender people, which is known to be compounded by intersectional issues including racism. Aims: The present study aimed to explore the experiences of trans people of color accessing a national Gender Service in the United Kingdom, to better understand the facilitators and barriers to positive healthcare experiences. Methods: Six transgender people of color attended two separate focus groups. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data. Results: Three themes were identified: The Western-biased model of gender-affirming care; the lack of diversity in support provided throughout medical transition; and lack of visibility and community. Participants talked of various ways in which their ethnicity and cultural backgrounds raised apprehensions and negative experiences within their gender-related care, such as assumptions being made about their transition process, and a general lack of visibility such as not seeing examples of the outcomes of surgeries and in community spaces. Conclusions: The findings are discussed in relation to previous research, noting that culturally-inclusive models of transition, increased access to diverse, inclusive community spaces and further research in this field is needed to improve healthcare experiences.

Highs, Lows, and Hormones: A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Transgender Individuals’ Experiences Undergoing Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy

ABSTRACT Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT) is a key therapeutic approach which aims to help trans and gender diverse (or simply “trans”) individuals’ transition from their sex-presumed-at-birth to their experienced gender identity. Previous reviews have focused on synthesizing quantitative experiences; however, a qualitative lens is important to understand the personal journey of GAHT. This review provides a qualitative meta-synthesis of the experiences of trans people around the world who have undergone GAHT to elicit contextualized understanding of the changes experienced. Systematic searches of eight databases identified an initial 2670 papers, refined to a final 28 papers. Overall, findings suggested that the GAHT journey is unique and elicited a myriad of changes which, whilst challenging at times, were life-changing and brought about positive psychological, physical, and social changes. Other themes explored GAHT not being treated as a fix-all for associated mental health issues, the rules that govern appraisal of physical changes, how privilege and social identity evolve, and the power of affirmation. This work offers important recommendations to improve the care offered to trans people undergoing GAHT. Namely, person-centered support is essential, and peer-navigation may be a useful future direction to explore.

Analyzing Trans (Mis)Representation in Video Games to Remediate Gender Dysphoria Triggers

Many trans people experience gender dysphoria -- distress caused by mismatches in internal and external experiences of gender. Video games engage intimately with the self, creating intense experiences involving identities, bodies, and social interaction. This combination of factors renders trans players vulnerable to gender dysphoria triggers: failures of interaction design that result in gender dysphoria. The present research undertakes a thematic analysis of four popular games, drawn from an initial corpus of 31. It contributes a definition of gender dysphoria triggers, case studies of triggering games, an initial gender dysphoria categorization to provide a useful design language, and examples of alternative designs for extant triggers. The analysis combines the authors' positionality as trans gamers; critical cultural studies methodologies, including textual analysis; a critical discourse analysis of production-side statements and interviews and player-side comments about diversity in those games; and close readings of the games themselves. The paper concludes with a call for trans inclusivity in game design, which we structure around the necropolitical concept of the relation of care.

Administering harm: the treatment of trans people in Australian criminal courts

ABSTRACT In this paper, I argue that the administration of the criminal law by Australian courts causes harm to trans people that compounds with that already experienced. Specifically, court staff and judicial officers can maintain harm when they engage with court forms and provide judicial judgments: court forms that limit descriptions of sex/gender prevent self-identification and increase the potential for misgendering; further, judicial judgments often disregard, dismiss or deny the experiences of trans people through including inappropriate gendered terminology, deadnames and other problematic expressions. I conclude by highlighting three transformations that may disrupt these harms through allowing court staff and judicial officers to become aware of how they perpetuate harm against trans people. These transformations include reviewing and amending forms, educating and training staff and implementing additional supports. Importantly, to effectively disrupt harm, any transformation must be informed, and led, by trans people with lived, intersectional, experiences.

Barriers in Dental Care Utilization-An Explorative Study among Transgender Community of Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Transgenders (TGs) are one of the vulnerable groups in our society. Trans people experience substantial health disparities and barriers to appropriate health care services that keep them from achieving the highest possible health status. The study was conducted over the course of 12 months at the Transgender Shelter Home. Focus group discussion (FGD) took place with 6-12 participants and the researcher acted as moderator. The questions were asked under four domains; sociodemographic variables, behavioral variables, medical and health status variables, and access and utilization of dental services barrier variables. Transcripts were coded and data analysis was concurrent with data collection to allow to know new insights. The data analysis was done by MAXQDA software 2022.0.0. It is being developed and distributed by VERBI Software based in Berlin, Germany. The barriers and facilitators explored were categorized at three levels: (1) the personal level, relating to those barriers and facilitators that the individual faced for their oral health care, and the perspectives regarding the delivery of care; (2) the inter-personal level; and (3) the system level, for identifying the wider elements and their influence. Social stigma and marginalization have been linked to adverse health effects, including personal attributes, structural and environmental factors, and personal perceptions of stigmatization. It is evident that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities have specific but varied health care needs, and the greatest way to treat these necessities is via exposure to professional, health care coverage.

Introduction: Trans identities and the law

Abstract This Symposium offers a critical exploration of how the identities of trans people are translated, recognized, and considered in the law. In so doing, it sheds light on the often-difficult coexistence between the lived experiences of trans people and their legal regulation. The main argument that the Symposium advances is that multiple structural—legal, social, and cultural—factors influence the evolution of rights pertaining to gender identity. Identity recognition—the articles show—is also key to accessing multiple other rights and benefits in society. The Symposium includes five articles, all addressing the recognition of diversity and the construction of gender in law, focusing on a variety of jurisdictions and drawing on different disciplinary perspectives. Showing a multifaceted approach to one of the most topical public law challenges, this Symposium discusses the limits and the possibilities of law in advancing the rights of trans people.

Human Rights in Childbearing 8. The Human Rights of Trans Birthing People

Midwives have a long history of advocating for women and could considerably influence the ability of trans birthing people to access the respectful, dignified care they need. The NHS, under the Equality Act,1 has a legal duty to treat all people fairly. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic under this act, and it is unlawful to discriminate against someone due to their identity – the service must consider how policies and guidelines affect trans people. Under The NMC Code,2 midwives have a professional responsibility to respect and uphold human rights, avoid making assumptions and recognise diversity and individual choice. Yet, evidence suggests that many trans people experience discrimination in healthcare, leading to isolation and exclusion.3

“We just want to be treated with professionalism”: Experiences of trans people about health care in Curitiba-PR, Brazil

Resumo Introdução: Pessoas trans pertencem a um grupo marginalizado e vulnerável na sociedade e sofrem com dificuldades no atendimento no sistema de saúde. Este estudo objetivou compreender o processo saúde-doença-cuidado dessas pessoas e seu acesso aos serviços de saúde na cidade de Curitiba-PR, Brasil. Metodologia: Pesquisa qualitativa hermenêutica, por meio de dez entrevistas semiestruturadas com pessoas trans de Curitiba, que foram gravadas, transcritas e codificadas. Apreenderam-se as experiências e percepções sobre a saúde desses sujeitos e suas trajetórias de atendimento no sistema de saúde, analisando-se pela perspectiva hermenêutica. Resultados: As narrativas mostram que ainda há muito despreparo dos profissionais da saúde, e isso gera situações de desconforto à população trans. Essas experiências moldam a conduta dessa população frente aos serviços de saúde, muitas vezes evitando-os. Toda essa dificuldade no acesso à saúde gera questões de saúde mental e sentimentos de ideação suicida. Conclusão: O estudo evidenciou a falta de reconhecimento e de aceitação da forma que pessoas trans se expressam e a existência de uma série de ações discriminatórias por parte dos trabalhadores da saúde. A compreensão dessas dificuldades aponta para o que pode ser modificado para garantir um acesso à saúde de maior qualidade para essa população.

Understanding the health care needs of transgender and gender diverse people engaging with rural Australian sexual health centres: a qualitative interview study.

Although there is a presumption that LGBTQ+ people living in rural Australia will have poorer health outcomes than those living in metropolitan areas, minimal research has focused specifically on the perspectives of transgender and gender diverse (henceforth referred to as 'trans') people living in these regions. The purpose of this study was to understand what health and wellbeing means to trans people in a regional or rural community and identify their health needs and experiences. A total of 21 trans people were recruited through two regional sexual health centres (SHC) and interviewed between April and August 2021. Data were analysed via reflexive thematic analysis. This paper focuses on participants' accounts of health and wellbeing regarding gender affirmation, the experience of rural living, respectful holistic care, safety in rural communities, isolation, loneliness, and employment. The experience of living rurally can have both positive and negative impacts on the experiences of trans people. Participants reported experiences of stigma and discrimination, reduced employment opportunities and limited social interactions, which led to feelings of isolation and loneliness; however, they also reported high quality of care, particularly with the specific SHCs which supported this research. Living rurally can impact both positively and negatively on the health and wellbeing of trans peoples, and the experiences of living in this environment are diverse. Our findings challenge the perception that rural trans people experience only poor health outcomes and shows the difference that key health services such as SHCs can make in supporting trans health.

Young trans people's experiences of leisure and mental health: Belonging, creativity, and navigation

There is a lack of research on young trans people's everyday leisure. This article analyses how leisure, defined within a broad spatial context beyond sport and physical activity, is perceived and experienced by trans youth in relation to their mental health and wellbeing. We draw upon theoretical concepts of cisnormativity and spatiality to our analysis of sixteen interviews with young trans people (16-25 years old) in Sweden. Three themes emerged. The first refers to how both queer- and non-queer-specific leisure spaces connect people with similar (and different) experiences regarding queer and trans identities and shows how these identities can shift in importance. The second highlights how creative spaces (e.g., theatre, cosplay) can offer opportunities to carve out a leisured space to explore different gender identity/ies and expressions that are often crucial and life changing. The final theme illustrates how leisure is avoided, postponed, waited for, and reclaimed by trans youth. Excluding mechanisms such as transphobia, cisnormativity, and the lack of access to gender-confirming care can hinder young people's leisure participation. Our analysis illustrates the complex connections between leisure and mental health among young people with trans experiences. Leisure can be a source of discomfort and distress but also of belongingness and affirmation of one's identity. Finding and accessing strengthening leisure spaces demands emotional investment, engagement, and navigation.

"Do You Ladies Relate?": Experiences of Gender Diverse People in Online Eating Disorder Communities

The study of eating disorders online has a long tradition within CSCW and HCI scholarship. Research within this body of work highlights the types of content people with eating disorders post as well as the ways in which individuals use online spaces for acceptance, connection, and support. However, despite nearly a decade of research, online eating disorder scholarship in CSCW and HCI rarely accounts for the ways gender shapes online engagement. In this paper, we present empirical results from interviews with 14 trans people with eating disorders. Our findings illustrate how working with gender as an analytic lens allowed us to produce new knowledge about the embodiment of participation in online eating disorder spaces. We show how trans people with eating disorders use online eating disorder content to inform and set goals for their bodies and how, as gender minorities within online eating disorder spaces, trans people occupy marginal positions that make them more susceptible to harms, such as threats to eating disorder validity and gender authenticity. In our discussion, we consider life transitions in the context of gender and eating disorders and address how online eating disorder spaces operate as social transition machinery. We also call attention to the labor associated with online participation as a gender minority within online eating disorder spaces, outlining several design recommendations for supporting the ways trans people with eating disorders use online spaces. CONTENT WARNING: This paper is about the online experiences of trans people with eating disorders. We discuss eating disorders, related content (e.g., thinspiration) and practices (e.g., binge eating, restriction), and gender dysphoria. Please read with caution.

Trans voices in social work research: what are the recommendations for anti-oppressive practice that includes trans people?

This rapid review explores research that relates to trans people and social work, with the aim of investigating the experiences of trans people in social work. The article is concerned exclusively with research that platforms the voices of trans people, specifically, those whose input is in direct reference to their experiences in relation to social work. However, the exploration revealed no studies that reference the perspectives of trans social workers. Key recommendations include: the responsible inclusion of trans identities within educational and professional development materials; a visible commitment within social work to confronting transphobia; engaging with practice beyond a binary comprehension of gender; and renewed commitment to person-centred practice that promotes and understands the necessity for self-identification. Additionally, this review restates the need for further ethical research in this area that is more accurately representative and enables the voice and influence of trans people in social work knowledge production.