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No description available.

While research on intimate partner violence (IPV) has begun to include gay and lesbian relationships, these studies have almost entirely focused on cisgender relationships or victims. To date, little to no research exists on IPV in the transgender community. The current study explored accounts and meanings of IPV victimization as told by 18 transgender-identified survivors. Thirteen in-depth interviews and five open-ended questionnaires were analyzed from a modified grounded theory method through open and focused coding that revealed three broad and salient themes. First, the accounts of violence illustrated the role of transphobic and genderist attacks in the dynamics of abuse. Central to the power dynamics in these abusive relationships was the use of these attacks against trans identities. Second, participants constructed meanings behind their IPV victimization; specifically, they addressed why they felt this happened to them and what motivated abusers. Participants emphasized the meaning behind much of what they experienced as the abuser controlling transition. The survivors described their abusers as wanting to regulate their transition processes and maintain control over their lives. In their discussions, participants attempted to make sense of their experiences and explain why this could’ve happened. Participants felt that they were susceptible to abuse and in a period in their life in which they felt unwanted due to their trans status. This trans vulnerability is how most of the participants explained why they felt they were victimized by their partners. Finally, as all of the participants in the study had left their abusive relationships, their narratives revealed their processing of a victim identity. In these discussions, participants utilized a gendered discourse or a “walking of the gender tightrope” as they distanced themselves from a “typical” feminine and passive victim. Further, participants described navigating genderist resources as they sought help iv for their experiences. This study offers ground-breaking insight into how IPV affects transgender communities and illuminates the distinct realities faced by these survivors.

Whereas sex is a classification that is expected to remain consistent and stable over time, gender is more fluid and changes depending on one's culture, within culture, and in relation to the other gender. Our society suggests that all individuals fall neatly into one of two sex and gender categories; however there exists an entire community of individuals who, in fact, do not. Transgender individuals "express their gender in non-traditional ways and find their sense of self as female, male, or other to be in conflict with their assigned gender role" (Burdge, 2007, p.244). Disclosing as transgendered is a process of emergence that is not only an internal psychological process but is also a "relational and systemic dynamic that intimately involves family, friends, loved ones, and all social relationships" (Lev, 2005, p. 11). In this study, the disclosure experiences of male to female transgender individuals as well as the changes and adjustments that occurred in their relationships were explored through individual interviews. Thematic coding was used to analyze the data and identify themes in the disclosure experiences. Considering the experience from a systemic perspective, participants discussed the mutual impact of their disclosure on family, friends, acquaintances as well as greater systems including the medical field, mental health field, and other community agencies. / Master of Science

The purpose of the study was twofold: to explore how school counselors and athletic educators experienced implementing the 2010 Massachusetts Anti-bullying law and to explore how participants experienced using the Sharevision structured group reflection process as the format for group discussions. The Sharevision structured group reflection process provided the safety and support school counselors and athletic educators said they needed. Participants eagerly shared their experiences with one another. They used the Sharevision process to discuss the list of participant generated questions they posed during the individual interviews. They exchanged ideas and were able to generate new ways to respond to anti-LGBTQ bullying and gender-based harassment as a result of their reflective group discussions. The participants said that the Sharevision meetings relieved stress, were productive and inspired them to continue working together to take action on their ideas. After the study was over, members of the group met over the summer with the GSA Advisor to continue to work together. They designed and then co-facilitated their fall orientations for incoming students, athletes and parents proactively promoting diversity, their GSA and a positive LGBTQ school climate.

Choosing a surrogate to make medical decisions for a patient is an emotionally challenging task. In hospital settings, it is estimated over 86% of life saving medical decisions have been made by a surrogate (Swigart, Lidz, Butterworth, & Arnold, 1996). For the marginalized populations of lesbian, gay men, bisexual, and transgender persons (LGBT), decisions are especially difficult, compounded by issues of discrimination, lack of legal support, level of relationship commitment,, and complicated disclosure to family and medical professionals (Riggle, Rostosky, Prather, & Hamrin, 2005). Limited research has been presented regarding environmental and social factors that impact the choice of a surrogate decision-maker for a LGBT individual. This in-depth literature review will examine factors influencing individual surrogate choice, identify obstacles and gaps in the literature findings, and explore services required by the LBGT population.

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No description available.

Religion, and in particular Christianity, is a salient part of American culture and informs policy decisions and family life. However, within the past two decades, emerging adults have become less likely to maintain a religious affiliation and attend religious services, suggesting a decline in the country's involvement with organized religious institutions. Non-heterosexual individuals are half as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to report a religious identity. The following study contextualizes these demographic findings and considers their potential impact on family life, and more specifically the interplay of religiosity with sexual identity development. Using a Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, the current study presents data from eleven in- depth qualitative interviews with self-identified Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer (LGBQ) individuals between the ages of 20 and 25. Results are presented through three models. The first model illustrates the overlap of family and religious life, and their influence on sexual identity development. The second model depicts a three stage process through which participants made sense and meaning of the religious and familial discourses of their childhood: conflict, catalyst, and resolution. Particular attention is given to the final stage, resolution, and to the extraneous environmental factors that influenced how participants explained and made meaning of resolution. Finally, the third model described how participants constructed a LGBQ Christian identity, and how they perceive the acceptance of their identities by families and religious communities. This research contributes to existing literature by (a) examining the influence of a Christian upbringing on sexual identity development, (b) considering how individuals overcome conflict to integrate two seemingly exclusive identities, and (c) presenting how the adoption of a LGBQ Christian identity decenters heteronormativity and queers family relationships. / Master of Science

Previous research has discussed the extension of social, economic, and political rights, including same-sex marriage, to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities. Yet, as Duggan (2002, 2003) and other argue, these sexual rights are extended only to individuals on the condition that they conform to the pre-existing heteronormative framework. Puar (2007) argues that this new normativity, called homonormativity, is part of a larger nationalist project that constructs and defines the terms of national belonging by extending sexual citizenship to the "good gay citizen." One way that individuals can work towards their inclusion is through consuming homonationalist "prepackaged experiences" that spread American ideals through travel. One example of this includes study abroad programs, where students serve as representatives of the home nation by spreading skills, culture, and ideologies to the international real through subtle actions. Preparatory orientation programs serve as a sight where students are instructed on how to be responsible representative citizens of the their nation (Virginia Tech Global Education Office 2014). Utilizing analysis of a study abroad website, participant observation of an orientation program, and eight interviews with study abroad staff and lesbian, bay, and bisexual identified students, this study examines how study abroad perpetuates homonationalist motives and ideals through the construction and inclusion of the "good representative student." I find that by privatizing and excluding sexuality from the study abroad experience as a "non-factor"--claiming that is it a matter of what students do, not who they are--homonationalism can be considered a consequence of current orientation practices. / Master of Science