Transgender Experience Research Articles

‘Wittig and Davis, Woolf and Solanas (…) simmer within me’: Reading Feminist Archives in the Queer Writing of Paul B. Preciado

This article considers the relation between contemporary queer and transgender theory and the ‘second wave’ of feminism. Specifically, it explores the ways in which transgender theorist Paul B. Preciado's Testo Junkie: Sex, Drugs, and Biopolitics (2008) calls on feminist theorists, artists and activists of the second wave to explore transgender experience and embodiment, and to rethink gender in light of the new era of biocapitalism Preciado proposes. The article questions the way in which trajectories of feminism are conceived of (most famously through the ‘waves’ metaphor), and finally calls for a ‘scavenger methodology’ as a way to consider the formation of feminist and queer archives.

Book Review: Nonbinary Gender Identities: History, Culture, Resources

Mainstream Western culture has become familiar with the acronym “LGBT,” which stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.” While public and academic libraries have many resources for and about cisgender people who identify within the “LGB” population, they struggle to collect appropriate materials that address all aspects of the transgender experience, and many libraries still do not carry materials for and about those with nonbinary gender identities. An increasing number of students and parents are searching for information about nonbinary gender identities, which often is not visible or appropriately researched in LGBT resources. Charlie McNabb’s reference guide to nonbinary gender identities—the first of its kind—will fill this gap in our reference collections.

LGBTQ Inequality in Engineering Education.

Researchers over the last three decades have documented processes of gender and racial/ethnic inequality in engineering education, but little is known about other axes of difference, including the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons in engineering. Despite growing interest in LGBTQ inequality generally, prior research has yet to systematically document day-to-day experiences of inequality in engineering along LGBTQ status. In this paper, we utilize survey data of students from eight schools to sketch the landscape of LGBTQ inequality in engineering education. Specifically, we ask, do LGBTQ students experience greater marginalization than their classmates, is their engineering work more likely to be devalued, and do they experience more negative health and wellness outcomes? We hypothesize that LGBTQ students experience greater marginalization and devaluation and worse health and wellness outcomes compared to their non-LGBTQ peers. We analyze novel survey data from 1729 undergraduate students (141 of whom identify as LGBTQ) enrolled in eight U.S. engineering programs. We find that LGBTQ students face greater marginalization, devaluation, and health and wellness issues relative to their peers, and that these health and wellness inequalities are explained in part by LGBTQ students' experiences of marginalization and devaluation in their engineering programs. Further, there is little variation in the climate for LGBTQ students across the eight schools, suggesting that anti-LGBTQ bias may be widespread in engineering education. We call for reflexive research on LGBTQ inequality engineering education and the institutional and cultural shifts therein needed to mitigate these processes and better support LGBTQ students.

Illuminating the On‐Campus Experience of LGBTQ Students Through Photovoice

The authors used photovoice to illuminate the on‐campus experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer college students (n = 8) attending a public university in the Midwest. Participants attended 6 photovoice sessions, which the authors transcribed and analyzed, using photographs to contextualize themes. Overarching themes reflected negative experiences on campus, including feeling categorized and practicing self‐censorship. However, students also identified safe zones and advocacy as themes related to their on‐campus experiences. The authors present implications for counseling practitioners and scholars.

Trans Riot: Transmasculine of Colour Expressions and Embodiments in the Films of Christopher Lee

This article focuses on transmasculine mixed-race Asian American filmmaker Christopher Lee’s documentaries and pornography of the 1990s. At a moment before today’s reduction of transgender experiences to spectacles of transitional assimilation, bio-social disorder, and death by dominant—or even authoritarian—white cis-heteropatriarchal culture, Lee’s films gave expression to the gender subversions of trans people of colour and their co-conspirators. In solidarity with Lee’s work, I produce critical creative language about racial transgender social identities. At a current moment offering more abundant critical resources and intersectional transgender movement-building, I also seek to re-harness Lee’s transmasculine imagery towards the trans of colour feminist work of transforming the white Western cis-binary gender/sex system and its perceptual structures. I view the communities represented in Lee’s filmmaking as confronting the contradictions of a post-Civil Rights neoliberal multiculturalism that promises minimal access while institutionalizing white cis-binary formations of gender/sex fundamental to the US nation-state.

Supporting Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth experience disparities regarding access to physical and mental health resources; moreover, pediatric

Exploring the Experiences of Heterosexual and Asexual Transgender People

This article explores two cases at the intersection of emerging studies of transgender experience: heterosexualities and asexualities. Drawing on data from a mixed-methodological survey, we analyze the ways 57 asexual transgender people and 42 heterosexual transgender people occupying varied gender, race, class, age, and religious identities (1) make sense of gender and (2) experience coming out as transgender. Our analyses reveal some ways cisnormativity impacts transgender people across sexual identities, and the theoretical potential of incorporating transgender people into studies focused on asexualities and heterosexualities. In conclusion, we outline implications for understanding (1) transgender experiences with cisnormativity across sexual and other social locations and (2) possibilities for expanding studies of heterosexualities and asexualities beyond cisgender experiences.

Countering the Norm, (Re)authoring Our Lives

Counterstorytelling, a methodology that is rooted in critical race theory, is undergirded by principles that are beneficial to understanding the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified (LGBTQ) young people from an intersectional perspective. Counterstorytelling holds promise as a method that creates opportunities for individual transformation and resistance to dominant narratives among young people facing systemic oppression. This article outlines the design and implementation of a counterstorytelling study with LGBTQ youth and reflects on the value and associated challenges of counterstorytelling as a participatory research method.

Family planning needs and experiences of transgender and gender-expansive individuals in the United States: a qualitative study

Family planning needs and experiences of transgender and gender-expansive individuals in the United States: a qualitative study

“Pre-topsurgery, the body scanning machine would most likely error:” Transgender and gender nonconforming travel and tourism experiences

Utilizing a qualitative, grounded theory approach, we examined the travel experiences of transgender and gender non-confirming tourists, an under-researched segment of the tourist population. We report findings based on 15 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed for emergent themes. We found that traveling as a transgender and gender non-confirming individual can be complex with at least some or many additional considerations, behavioral changes, and emotional labor related to their gender identity and gender expression when moving into different spaces or situations. Transgender and gender non-confirming tourists often have feelings of fear and anxiety related to sharing and avoiding sharing their gender identity when going through tourist processes related to identification documents, security thresholds, and check-in procedures. However, participants also reported having positive experiences while traveling. Based on these findings, a substantive theory of transgender and gender non-confirming tourist experiences was developed.

Coming out and staying in: how sexual orientation and gender identity matters in construction employment

Over the last three years, the New Civil Engineer, Architects' Journal and Construction News have conducted a survey investigating the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers in the sector. The surveys reveal that homophobia is commonplace in the construction industry and few feeling that they could be open about their sexuality in the workplace. In this review paper, the authors explore the theoretical and empirical explanations for the apparent institutionally homophobic situation of the sector. A key concern is what are the experiences of LGBT people and in what ways do gender/sexual identity present challenges in working lives? The results reveal the importance of sexuality in the reproduction of social relations in construction, the nature of sexualised banter and physical harassment of LGBT workers. The cultural landscape represents a toxic environment for those who do not conform to the white, male, heterosexual stereotype of the construction worker and the homosocial relations that surround it. Furthermore, the review demonstrates how research has evolved to now present a critical perspective on how gender and sexualities are performed in organisational contexts. The results presented set the agenda for empirical explorations of the experiences of workers in the sector.

Redefining perinatal experience: A philosophical exploration of a hypothetical case of gender diversity in labour and birth.

Using a queer phenomenological approach, the objective of this philosophical analysis was to explore the transgender experience in highly gendered clinical areas, such as the birth unit, and make recommendations on how to provide perinatal care that is inclusive of gender diversity within these areas. This study aims to describe a hypothetical clinical experience to provide insight on the institutional barriers that currently exist and to provide nurses and midwives with pragmatic strategies to enhance gender-diverse care in general and gendered clinical areas. Currently, general healthcare providers are not sufficiently educated on how to care for and meet the needs of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning and other communities (LGBTQ+). This vulnerable population continually faces stigma, discrimination and marginalisation, which act as barriers to accessing healthcare services. Although transgender people often have difficulty accessing health care in general settings, they experience an even greater challenge within traditionally gendered clinical care areas. Queer phenomenology was used to guide a critical philosophical analysis of hypothetical case reflecting a clinical scenario regarding a transgender man's experience in labour and birth. Healthcare professionals often provide insufficient care to transgender persons, inadvertently leading to further marginalisation of this vulnerable population. Special consideration to provide gender-diverse care throughout the perinatal period is needed. Structures and supports are essential to enhance the care from providers in attending to the unique needs of transgender individuals and reduce oppressive effects from heteronormative environments. Nurses and midwives are leading exemplars of providing person-centred care and are capable of advocating for equitable care amongst all populations to influence systemic change. Strategies for implementing changes that address LGBTQ+ health needs and specific recommendations for providing gender-diverse care in the perinatal settings are discussed.

Access to Care Remains Problematic for Transgender Patients

Access to Care Remains Problematic for Transgender Patients

Integrating the Neurobiology of Minority Stress with an Intersectionality Framework for LGBTQ-Latinx Populations.

The comprehensive lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals of color remain invisible in neurobiological studies of LGBTQ populations. Models of minority stress posit that LGBTQ and Latinx individuals experience and internalize sexual, ethnic, racial, and gender discrimination, which may adversely impact mental and physical health. However, the current minority stress models predominantly focus on single categorical social identities and do not account for interlocking systems and processes of oppression based on features of sexuality, race, ethnicity, sex, and gender, as explained by an intersectionality framework in feminist theory. Thus, it remains unclear how LGBTQ people of color internalize and navigate multiple cultural, institutional, and societal stressors, and, furthermore, how these sources of stress may affect health and well-being. A potential mechanism for this adverse internalization process is through the effects of stress on neurobiological regulation. This review will apply an intersectionality framework to the examination of how heterosexism, racism, and cissexism, as systems of oppression, create LGBTQ and Latinx lived experiences, and the differential impacts of these inequalities on neurobiological stress regulation. The overarching goal of this manuscript is to advocate for the application of intersectionality theory to advance the ecological validity of biopsychosocial models of multiple-minority stress.

‘You can see their minds grow’: identity development of LGBTQ youth at a residential wilderness camp

ABSTRACT There is a substantial literature on the meaning of residential wilderness camps for youth and the benefits that they experience as a result of these camps. However, there is little work that details the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth at camps that are specifically designed for them and run by LGBTQ staff. Two focus groups were held at an LGBTQ camp and qualitative data analysis was undertaken. Results indicate support for the extant camp literature through positive identity development, experiences of social inclusion as well as support for cultivating positive attitudes toward physical activity. There was a lack of evidence to support increased spiritual connections and environmental awareness, possibly due to emphasizing programming around queer issues rather than intentionally programming nature-based activities and facilitating spiritual connections.

Burning it in? Nietzsche, Gender, and Externalized Memory

In this article, I extend the feminist use of Friedrich Nietzsche’s account of memory and forgetting to consider the contemporary externalization of memory foregrounded by transgender experience. Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals argues that memory is “burnt in” to the forgetful body as a necessary part of subject-formation and the requirements of a social order. Feminist philosophers have employed Nietzsche’s account to illuminate how gender, as memory, becomes embodied. While the account of the “burnt in” repetitions of gender allows us to theorize processes of embodied identity on an individual level, analyzing gender today requires also accounting for how gender is externalized. I take up this question through the specific examples of identity documents and sex-segregated bathrooms. Returning to Nietzsche’s call to practice a resistant forgetting, I conclude by exploring the distinct strategies required to disrupt externalized memory. These strategies include contesting the use of past gender assignments in data collection and rewriting architectural reminders of gender.

Self-Narratives in Organizations: Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Experiences

Self-Narratives in Organizations: Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Experiences

(Trans)gender citizenship in Italy: a contradiction in terms? From the parliamentary debate about Law 164/1982 to the present

This article concerns the processes of normalisation and medicalisation of transgender people’s experiences in Italy. Drawing on the analysis of the parliamentary debate which led to the endorsement of Law no. 164/1982, ‘Rules Concerning the Rectification of Sex-Attribution’, the article will foreground the (still) existing contradictions between trans people’s (ostensible) individual rights over their own gendered bodies, as enshrined in law, and their subjection to medico-legal supervision and control. Next, it will look at the relationship between transgender experience and the notion of citizenship: in particular, it will explore the opportunities and contradictions in the possibility of trans citizenship in the current Italian context.

The Effect of Survival Economy Participation on Transgender Experiences of Service Provider Discrimination

This study determines how transgender involvement in survival economies, namely sex work and drug sales, affects transgender experiences of service provider discrimination, in comparison to discrimination experienced by transgender people not involved in survival economies. It utilizes cross-sectional data from the 2008–2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS). Multivariate logistic regression is conducted on the sample (n = 4927) to determine the strength of association. Logistic regression sub-analysis is used to compare discrimination across different service provider contexts. Compared to those not participating in survival economies, participating in sex work has almost three times greater odds (OR 2.83, CI 2.20–3.63), and those participating in drug sales have approximately 1.5 greater odds (OR 1.52, CI 1.16–1.99), of experiencing discrimination from service providers. Participation in survival economies is a significant predictor of a transgender person’s increased likelihood of experiencing service provider discrimination. Findings suggest that service providers must attend to the specificity of transgender experiences in survival economies. Harm reduction is offered as a suitable intervention approach.

Comparing the Healthcare Utilization and Engagement in a Sample of Transgender and Cisgender Bisexual+ Persons.

People who identify as non-monosexual and transgender experience disparities in engagement with healthcare services relative to monosexual and cisgender persons, respectively. However, little is known about the healthcare utilization of those with intersecting sexual and gender minority identities. We explored the knowledge, attitudes, and health motivation of non-monosexually identified transgender participants regarding preventive care and access to sexual healthcare services. We surveyed 87 ciswomen, 34 transwomen, and 27 transmen, all of whom identified as bisexual, pansexual, or queer (bi+). We assessed their access to health care, health outcome experiences, confidence with talking about anogenital topics, proactivity toward their health, comfort with healthcare providers, and knowledge about HPV and examined differences across groups. The data indicated that bi+ transmen and transwomen were more likely to be uninsured or on a government-sponsored insurance plan relative to bi+ ciswomen. Only a minority of transmen and transwomen had seen an obstetrician/gynecologist compared with ciswomen. Transmen were less likely to have received a pelvic examination or cervical Pap smear in their lifetime. Transgender participants had significantly less correct knowledge about HPV relative to ciswomen. Finally, relative to ciswomen, transgender participants reported lower comfort talking with health providers. Our findings suggest that bi+ transmen and transwomen access care less than bi+ ciswomen and have less health knowledge and comfort with their providers. Implications for intervention include encouraging transgender individuals to seek routine screenings, reducing structural barriers to care based on medical coverage, and improving patient-provider competencies around bi+ and transgender health needs.