Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Travails Of The Travestis, Kiratiana Freelon

Capstones

The Brazilian public has long accepted transgender people in the streets and in the media. In the 80s Roberta Close’s high cheekbones, and full cheeks became a standard of beauty for all Brazilian women. But this cultural acceptance of transgender people belies one fact—Brazil is one of the most dangerous places in the world for transgender people. Brazil has the highest number of murders in the world of transgender people every year. This capstone examines the issue in the country.

"I Wasn't Born A Boy – I Was Born A Baby": Best Practices Versus Accepted Practices In News Coverage Of The Transgender Community, Anna Hornell

Journalism

As transgender people and issues have gained prominence in American media over the past few years, more and more journalists find themselves covering a small and marginalized community that they may not have any previous experience with. Using standards set by LGBT media watchdog GLAAD, this study aimed to examine how the prevalence of problematic journalistic practices in covering the transgender community has (or has not) changed in recent years. A content analysis of 1,019 U.S. newspaper articles from 2009 and 2014 revealed some significant changes: almost all GLAAD-identified problematic practices that were studied appeared less commonly in 2014, although …

The (Not So) New Normal: A Queer Critique Of Lgbt Characters And Themes In Primetime Network Television Situational Comedies, Robert Dallas Byrd Jr.

Dissertations

This analysis of primetime situational comedies feature LGBTQ characters argues that through heteronormative and homonormative constructions of sexuality, race, gender, and class, many LGBTQ people are rendered invisible in the mainstream. Through discourse analysis, the study describes how these programs work to normalize gay and lesbian identity, which then resembles the dominant heterosexuality, aiding in the advancement of white, middle class gays, who privatize sexuality and mimic dominant conventions of gender, race, sexuality, and class in the public sphere. This research is important in understanding the American public’s most recent shifts in public opinion on issues of marriage equality and …

Normaal Is Gek Genoeg: Homonormativity & Inclusivity In Amsterdam’S Lgbtq Community, Devin Hanley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the mechanics of inclusivity and exclusion within a homonormative framework in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) spaces in modern-day Amsterdam. Using interviews from five participants involved in various capacities with LGBT/Q spaces in the city, the following paper asserts that the divide between the LGB and TQ communities in the city is predicated, in large part, on the openness in each community towards nonnormative sexual and (especially) gender expressions. In conclusion, it offers suggestions for further inquiry into intersectional inclusion and exclusion factors in these spaces, as well as an examination of the pronounced political …

The Health Equity Promotion Model: Reconceptualization Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender (Lgbt) Health Disparities, Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Jane M. Simoni, Hyun-Jun Kim, Keren Lehavot, Karina L. Walters, Joyce Yang, Charles P. Hoy-Ellis, Anna M. Muraco

Sociology Faculty Works

National health initiatives emphasize the importance of eliminating health disparities among historically disadvantaged populations. Yet, few studies have examined the range of health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. To stimulate more inclusive research in the area, we present the Health Equity Promotion Model—a framework oriented toward LGBT people reaching their full mental and physical health potential that considers both positive and adverse health-related circumstances. The model highlights (a) heterogeneity and intersectionality within LGBT communities; (b) the influence of structural and environmental context; and (c) both health-promoting and adverse pathways that encompass behavioral, social, psychological, and biological …

Educational Determinants Of Readiness To Practise With Lgbtq Clients: Social Work Students Speak Out, Shelley L. Craig Phd, Michael P. Dentato Phd, Msw, Lori Messinger, Lauren B. Mcinroy

Michael P. Dentato

Safe Zone: 101 Training Manual, Todd K. Herriott, Casey M. Halcro

Office of Diversity and Equity

Goals of the DUOC Safe Zone Program:

• To increase the overall campus community’s understanding and awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues

• To provide a greater sense of safety for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender student community

• To offer information to straight allies in positions where they may be in contact with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (as classmates, roommates, friends, residents, students, staff, faculty, etc.)

• To act as a resource of information regarding homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia and LGBTQ issues on the DUOC campus.

What Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer (Lgbtq) Parents' Perceived Experience Of Inclusiveness In Their Child's Preschool Classroom?, Carla Haggard

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents are more visible now than ever before due to reduced stigma. Preschool is often children and family's first introduction to the school system and families outside of their social network. This mixed method research study examines the perceived experiences of inclusiveness or non-inclusiveness for LGBTQ families in their child's preschool classroom. This study presents data from 70 self-identified LGBTQ parents with a child who has been in preschool within the past year in the United States. Parents in this study often felt that their child's preschool was inclusive of their family structure …

Interpersonal Relationships And Social Support In Transitioning Narratives Of Black Transgender Women In Detroit, Louis F. Graham, Halley P. Crissman, Jack Tocco, Laura Hughes, Rachel C. Snow, Mark B. Padilla

Louis F Graham

Social support has been shown to play a key role in overcoming adversities associated with marginalized identities, yet there is a dearth of information regarding the role of social networks in the gender transition process, particularly in ethnic minority transgender communities. This study uses life history narratives, and a modified grounded theory analysis, to explore the impact of interpersonal relationships on the gender transition process of Black transgender women in Detroit, Michigan. The following interpersonal interactions were significant: family reactions to self-recognition of femininity, coming out as gay prior to transgender identity disclosure, contact with an out transwoman, emotional and …

Khwaja Sira: Culture, Identity Politics, And "Transgender" Activism In Pakistan, Faris Ahmed Khan

Dissertations - ALL

In 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court began granting rights to gender ambiguous people who are locally known as khwaja siras. The Court organized this population into taxonomic groups and ordered the government to `mainstream' them. These actions were based on certain cultural assumptions and occurred amid uncertainties about who khwaja siras really were. Meanwhile, khwaja siras began to mobilize in an effort to control their public image. Based on fourteen months of ethnographic fieldwork on the identity politics of khwaja siras in Karachi, this dissertation seeks to understand the ways in which gender ambiguous people constructed, negotiated and represented themselves …

Transgender Individuals’ Access To College Housing And Bathrooms: Findings From The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, Kristie L. Seelman

SW Publications

Within higher education settings, transgender people are at risk for discrimination and harassment within housing and bathrooms. Yet, few have examined this topic using quantitative data or compared the experiences of subgroups of transgender individuals to predict denial of access to these spaces. The current study utilizes the National Transgender Discrimination Survey to research this issue. Findings indicate that being transgender and having another marginalized identity matters for students’ access to housing and bathrooms. Trans women are at greater risk than gender-nonconforming people for being denied access to school housing and bathrooms. Implications for practice and research are detailed.

Narrating Gender: A Feminist Approach To The Narratives Of The Transgender Experience, Jamie K. Lange

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Gender and identity are complex and often ubiquitous in nature. This is a study about gender and identity and the ways in which they manifest through the narratives of five transgender individuals, who all transitioned after the age of 45, who now live as women. This study about the transgender experience adds a significant and important perspective on gender, identity, identification, and the relationship between gender and identity. The most important conclusions are the lengths to which these people go to support gender social constructs, reinforcing the immense strength of the social construction of gender. The idea that social constructs …

Transgender Individuals' Access To College Housing And Bathrooms: Findings From The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, Kristie Seelman

Kristie L Seelman

Within higher education settings, transgender people are at risk for discrimination and harassment within housing and bathrooms. Yet, few have examined this topic using quantitative data or compared the experiences of subgroups of transgender individuals to predict denial of access to these spaces. The current study utilizes the National Transgender Discrimination Survey to research this issue. Findings indicate that being transgender and having another marginalized identity matters for students’ access to housing and bathrooms. Trans women are at greater risk than gender non-conforming people for being denied access to school housing and bathrooms. Implications for practice and research are detailed.

A Transpositive Approach To Therapy With Transgender Clients: An Exploration Of Therapists' Subjective Experiences, Ronnie M. Ali

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The longstanding tradition of pathologizing and erasing transgender individuals in psychology has the potential to enter into therapy with transgender clients in insidious and destructive ways. To address this polemic, clinicians have articulated a transpositive approach to working with transgender clients that fosters the client’s right to self-determination. The present study explores the subjective experiences of three therapists working with transgender clients in order to learn how transpositivity materializes in their practices. Utilizing a case study methodology, and cross-case analysis, the study demonstrates that these therapists engaged in self-directed learning and advocacy, demonstrated flexibility in their approach, and were open …

Navigating Community Institutions: Black Transgender Women's Experiences In Schools, The Criminal Justice System, And Churches, Louis Graham, Halley Crissman, Jack Tocco, William Lopez, Rachel Snow, Mark Padilla

Louis F Graham

Characteristics Of Transgender Individuals Entering Substance Abuse Treatment, Annesa Flentje, Nicholas C. Heck, James L. Sorensen

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Little is known about the needs or characteristics of transgender individuals in substance abuse treatment settings. Transgender (n = 199) and non-transgender (cisgender, n = 13,440) individuals were compared on psychosocial factors related to treatment, health risk behaviors, medical and mental health status and utilization, and substance use behaviors within a database that documented individuals entering substance abuse treatment in San Francisco, CA from 2007 to 2009 using logistic and linear regression analyses (run separately by identified gender). Transgender men (assigned birth sex of female) differed from cisgender men across many psychosocial factors, including having more recent employment, less …

Negotiating Invisibility: Addressing Lgbt Prejudice In China, Hong Kong, And Thailand, Hunter Gray

Master's Capstone Projects

This research serves as a consolidation of information regarding the global response to LGBT prejudice, and in particular, the response of organizations situated in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Interviews with activists and researchers from organizations that address LGBT prejudice served as the main form of data. Findings and subsequent analysis point to the ways in which organizations respond to the lack of visibility of the LGBT community, and how this invisibility is related to various manifestations of LGBT prejudice. Strategies that organizations have developed to respond to LGBT prejudice reveal how organizations negotiate contextual variables in their attempts to …

Recommendations Of Transgender Students, Staff, And Faculty In The Usa For Improving College Campuses, Kristie L. Seelman

SW Publications

Research indicates that transgender individuals frequently experience marginalization and interpersonal victimization within college and university settings. Missing from the literature is a discussion of what can be done to address such patterns in higher education, based upon empirical data gathered from transgender and gender non-conforming students, staff, and faculty. The present study aims to fill this gap by reporting on solutions offered by a sample of 30 individuals in one U.S. state while integrating a lens of intersectionality. Five resulting themes include: (a) offer education, campus programming, and support for trans individuals; (b) improve university systems and procedures for recording …

Transwomen, The Prison-Industrial Complex, And Human Rights: Neoliberalism And Trans-Resistance, Emmi Bevensee

Societies Without Borders

This article introduces complexity into understandings around the relationships between human rights, being transgender, and interacting with the prison-industrial complex. It looks at struggles and interventions against neoliberal mainstream agendas that do not address the underlying causes of state violence against transpeople, especially trans women of color. This essay employs in-depth research and analysis primarily employing the lens and tools of intersectional subalternity, personal experience, and extensive community activism around these complex issues to show that human rights struggles that do not challenge neoliberal politics generally fail to meet the needs of trans people facing massive structural violence with the …

Assessing Transgender Attitudes Toward Health Care: Can These Attitudes Help Predict Health Outcomes?, Sara M. Shane

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Research has identified the fact that race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, education level, geographic location, help seeking behaviors, and experiences of discrimination are associated with health outcomes. In addition, attitudes towards providers can also help determine health outcomes. The transgender community experiences barriers to health care services and therefore their overall health is affected. There is not a sufficient amount of literature that assesses, using standardized measure, the attitudes of the transgender community and their health. The present study will assess the attitudes of the transgender community toward health care (mental and medical health) and, using standardized measures, …

Trans Enough : Trans/Gender Identities And (Mis)Representation In Social Work, Christopher C. Hamann

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study critically examines the current discourse in social work on transgender individuals in an attempt to be a starting point for those seeking to gain a better understanding of the ways in which the profession has conceptualized and served this population over the last 25 years. Queer theory and critical discourse analysis were used to analyze a final sample of 30 social work articles that focus on the transgender subject. Analytical focus was aimed at the production and reproduction of social norms, particularly those that function through heteronormativity, as well as forces of power operating within the discourse. Through …

Sex Abuse? : Just As Long As You're Not Gay : An Exploratory Study With Queer Adults On Childhood Sexual Traumatization, Kathleen A. Salmon

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory study engages with the experiences of queer adults following childhood sexual victimization (CSV), with particular attention to issues and situations that may implicate both their queer identity and history of CSV. These issues include possible messages that participants received about CSV and queer identities; the impact of CSV on coming out; resiliency and support systems; and, whether participants engaged with queer-affirmative resources or persons in the process of healing from CSV. Intersectional theory was applied in conceptualizing this study and analyzing data, as this theory puts particular attention on the ways that multiple social identities interact influencing one's …

Exploring The Impacts Of Disclosure For The Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Therapists, Samuel B. Lurie

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people face numerous challenges and disparities as members of a marginalized and stigmatized group (Grant, et al., 2011). With the increased visibility of the transgender and gender non-conforming community, there are also more TGNC people becoming professionally trained therapists, and there is a lack of guidance on navigating this particular experience. Four focus groups were conducted in the northeastern part of the United States with 19 total participants who are all Master's level or above mental health clinicians who identify as TGNC. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to examine the experiences of …

What Does The 'Q' Stand For Anyway? : Queerness And Agency Competence, Eleanor C. Taylor

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This exploratory study’s purpose was to explore queer identity in mental health practice through the question, "Does queerness emerge as a distinct cultural category through the language of conversation, clinical practice, and administrative policy in mental health agencies that serve queer people, and in what practices is this reflected?” This project was undertaken in order to begin to fill gaps in existing cultural competence literature, particularly regarding queer identity.

This project entailed semi-structured interviews with ten participants, who worked in direct service at mental health agencies that serve LGBTQIA+ populations. This study examines the meanings and effects of queerness in …

Heteronormativity, Homonormativity, And Gender Variance In The Classroom : Perceptions And Reflections From School Social Workers, Dirk De Jong

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Public school personnel encounter increasing numbers of gender-variant and transgender students, according to anecdotal reports. Very little is known about the response of social workers to this rather new phenomenon. This qualitative study, framed conceptually by notions from Queer theory, attempted to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and self-reported practices of a sample of school social workers in the Northeastern United States with respect to gender socialization and gender variance in the classroom. The data were collected by way of individual interviews.

Gender As Compromise Formation : Towards A Radical Psychoanalytic Theory Of Trans*, Laura K. Werner-Larsen

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This theoretical study explores the utility of psychoanalytic theory as a tool for working with trans* identified clients. Acknowledging the deeply problematic history of psychoanalytic theory and practice with trans*clients, the study nevertheless contends that a radical rereading of the psychoanalytic canon can provide a theory of gender as compromise formation and a conceptual toolkit that can allow for anti-oppressive clinical work around gender identity from a psychodynamic perspective. Using conceptual history and conceptual analysis as a methodological frame, the study delineates five concepts in contemporary psychoanalytic theorizing that support the depathologizing of trans* identity and the denormalization of cisgender …

Trans* And Gender Non-Conforming (Tgnc) Young Adults : Self-Report Of Access And Comfort In Health Care Systems, Victoria L. Reiszner

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study examined diverse trans* and gender non-conforming (TGNC) young adults' perceptions of medical and mental health providers and health care settings; and how TGNC perceptions influence or inhibit their level of comfort and willingness to access preventative and emergency services. The study aimed to extend knowledge and understanding of challenges faced by TGNC individuals and to inform health care providers on how they can become more effective in both their outreach and service provision to TGNC communities. Much of the current literature examining individuals with gender nonconforming identities focus on discrimination, limited access to health care, major health challenges, …

Gender Spectrum : Exploring Gender Diversity In Schools : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Schools That Received Gender Spectrum Training On The Topics Of Gender And Gender Diversity, Meredith S. Abrams

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The world is witnessing a major shift in the way individuals in the helping professions and Western society understand gender outside the historical binary of male/female. In response to the limited literature that examines how gender and gender diversity is understood, taught, and integrated into educational institutions, the researcher provides an overview of a selected literature which informs the specific topics of gender and gender diversity in schools. This study explored how the information presented in Gender Spectrum trainings was utilized and integrated into four identified natural entry points (personal, structural, interpersonal, and instructional) for creating gender inclusive schools and …

Recommendations Of Transgender Students, Staff, And Faculty In The Usa For Improving College Campuses, Kristie Seelman

Kristie L Seelman

Research indicates that transgender individuals frequently experience marginalization and interpersonal victimization within college and university settings. Missing from the literature is a discussion of what can be done to address such patterns in higher education, based upon empirical data gathered from transgender and gender non-conforming students, staff, and faculty. The present study aims to fill this gap by reporting on solutions offered by a sample of 30 individuals in one U.S. state while integrating a lens of intersectionality. Five resulting themes include: (a) offer education, campus programming, and support for trans individuals; (b) improve university systems and procedures for recording …