Social discrimination is a common experience with measurable consequences for those affected. The effects include poorer mental health and poverty, issues which are commonly addressed by human service professionals. People who are transgender are particular targets of discrimination and, as such, find themselves in need of human service assistance at levels disproportionate to the larger population. Research from social psychology suggests that intergroup contact reduces prejudice. This quasi-experiment explored the effect a transgender speaker, followed by informal social interaction, had on measures of transgender prejudice in a sample of college students

Transgender individuals experience a number of barriers to access to care including lack of availability of competent healthcare providers and stigma in healthcare settings. This is especially true in rural South Central Appalachia, where access to care for the general population is already limited. However, to date, little research has been done assessing the extent to which and reasons for lack of physical and mental healthcare access for transgender and other gender minority populations in this region. In this mixed-methods study we surveyed 155 healthcare providers and conducted focus groups and interviews with 18 patients in order to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to care that local gender minority patients experience. Results indicate that providers have a lack of training and a general lack of knowledge about these populations and their health needs and that many patients have difficulty identifying friendly and competent providers, have experienced stigma in healthcare settings, and often find themselves educating their own providers about their basic health needs. There is a clear need for training of currently-practicing primary care providers in South Central Appalachia on basic gender minority health needs and a need to train providers-in-training about the needs of LGBT patients.

One-third of transgender individuals report having at least one negative health care experience related to being transgender and nearly a quarter report that they have delayed seeking health care due to fear of being mistreated. Objective: To assess medical providers’ experiences with, attitudes towards, and knowledge of transgender health care in the Northeast Tennessee region. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Academic and community health care clinics in Northeast Tennessee. Participants: Physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants practicing emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, or pediatrics (n=154). Main and Secondary Outcome Measures: Descriptive statistics and multiple regression models were used to determine relationships between provider characteristics and three sets of dependent variables (practices, attitudes, and knowledge). Results: The majority of providers (65%) had not received training in transgender healthcare. Over 90% perceived they had treated fewer than five trans-identified patients in the last year. The majority of respondents (69.3%) felt comfortable providing health care to transgender patients, yet only 38% felt competent treating this population. Providers indicated it was important to know their patients’ sexual practices, gender identity and sexual orientation; however, the majority of providers never or rarely asked patients their gender identity (75.4%), sexuality (57.2%), or desired pronouns (84.4%). Having formal training in transgender health was the only significant predictor of knowledge, sexual orientation and gender history taking, and competence/comfort with transgender patient care. Conclusions: Results demonstrate a contradiction between ideology and practice. Most participants responded they felt comfortable providing care to the transgender population, yet their responses indicated a lack of training and absence of inclusivity in their health care practices. As formal training was the only significant predictor of outcomes, this suggests that additional medical education and training is needed on transgender health care.

Legislation and litigation aimed at ending discrimination against transgender people has been both critiqued as eliding the structural roots of discrimination and celebrated as an important visibility project that helps to highlight the struggles trans people face. Approaching law as an ongoing interaction where meaning unfolds, I investigate what is being made visible through transgender anti-discrimination law and how it might variously impact trans and gender justice movements in the future. I analyze three different articulations of transgender anti-discrimination law, attending to the rhetorical configurations of sex, identity, and discrimination that emerge in them and the political and ethical implications of those configurations. Ultimately, I argue that this rhetorical mapping complicates how we understand identity to function within anti-discrimination law and, more importantly, that it highlights the ethical possibilities that lurk beneath simple understandings of anti-discrimination law. / Ph. D.

A thorough literature review resulted in limited research concerning facial feminization surgery for transgender women, specifically concerning postoperative satisfaction. However, sufficient research referencing the historical overview of gender recognition and evolution of facial feminization surgery into a multi-procedural process has been completed. Studies evaluating the Marquardt mask are also scarce and none existed regarding the application of the mask as a means of feminizing transgender women. The proposed study intends to expand upon this current paucity of research by photographing men ranging from the age of twenty-five to thirty-five and digitally superimposing the Marquardt mask. The before and after images will be rated based on masculinity and femininity in an effort to gage if the Marquardt mask is successful in feminizing the male face. If successful, this method could be helpful in preoperative planning in transgender women seeking facial feminization surgery.

As the population of transgender individuals continues to grow and the utilization of hormone therapy becomes more common, it is becoming more important to completely understand the effects it has on the body. The current recommendations regarding administration of testosterone therapy stem from small studies with young cohorts that found little evidence of increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the transgender male population. This is expected as CVD in populations younger than 50 are a relatively rare occurrence. Recent cross-sectional studies that include the whole transgender population have shown an association between being a transgender male and having a myocardial infarction (MI). Numerous studies have shown that testosterone therapy increases a multitude of risk factors for CVD, including increased hematocrit, cholesterol, blood pressure, and diminished endothelial function. Other risk factors are usually clustered in transgender populations including increased social stressors, substance abuse, poor socioeconomic status, and increased health disparities. This study will find the rate of CVD in an older population of transgender males, using transgender males who do not take testosterone therapy as a control, in order to find the true effect that testosterone therapy has on cardiovascular disease.

At the heart of this dissertation project is my interest in the internal conflict that emerges in the mundane navigation and maintenance of relational and contextual penalty and privilege. That is to say, I am interested in how individuals maneuver their/our concurrent identity/ies as oppressor and oppressed. I argue that this simultaneous identity is a holistic embodiment that demands complex maneuvering and that requires our vigilant attention. In addition, I am interested in the critical potential of such maneuvering for activism. In this vein, I introduce my intent to queer the limits of identity research in critical intercultural communication research while contributing to, and drawing on, what others have referred to as queer intersectionality (Bilge, 2012; Rosenblum, 1994). I envision queer intersectionality as an ontological modality that yields heuristic potentiality that can aid critical intercultural communication researchers explore the ways in which we embody a simultaneous oppressor-oppressed identity. In order to understand queer intersectionality as an ontological modality, I offer embodied contexts that give rise to oppression and power in given and fleeting moments. Halualani and Nakayama (2010) remind us that “critical work recognizes that there is no theory in advance and no social process of culture without some theoretical sense-making; it travels through a trajectory of theory from and towards context” (p. 9). Centralizing the directed attention upon the significance of context, I intend queer intersectionality to be an embodied modality that critical intercultural communication researchers can use to explore and theorize simultaneous oppressor-oppressed identity performances and critically envision the co-constitutive relationship between privilege and disadvantage.

Queerness as a quality has a permanent fluidity. Videogames as a medium are continually evolving and advancing. Thus, queer games have a vast potential as an art form and research subject. While there is already a wealth of knowledge surrounding queer games my contribution takes the form of both research paper and creative endeavor. I created a game by interpreting the queer elements present in games research. My game reflects the trends and qualities present in contemporary queer games, such as critiques on empathy and alternative game-making programs. This paper details what research inspired elements of my game as well as how those elements compare to other queer games.

Transgender individuals are defined as those whose gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Healthcare providers receive inadequate training in transgender medicine, which could lead to provider stigma and lower health outcomes and higher health disparities. The purpose of our study was to assess the effect of an educational intervention on first and second year ETSU medical students’ knowledge and attitudes regarding transgender healthcare. A transgender healthcare-centered Integrated Grand Rounds (IGR) was used as a setting to conduct a 9-item survey regarding definitions, medical management, and attitudes/comfort levels with transgender care. First and second year medical students (n=140) who participated in the intervention had the option to complete pre and post surveys on paper before and after IGR. Of the 140 participants, 138 (98.6%) completed the pretest and posttest measures. The participants’ attitudes about transgender patients and their comfort in treating transgender patients significantly improved between pre and posttest surveys (p

Universities are perceived as non-judgmental because of their tolerant environments and emphasis on producing well-rounded students. Despite transformative initiatives to create an inclusive culture, transgender and gender diverse students may still feel that they are treated unfairly due to stigmatisation or poorly implemented diversity policies. Studies have focused mainly on the gender binary practice of transgender individuals assimilating to cisnormativity. Yet, relatively little work has considered the implications of campus life where transgender students may experience discrimination because of gender-exclusive policies and practices (residence halls, bathrooms, public inclusion, training, and support). This study sought to address this gap. Data from a thematic analysis of qualitative semi-structured interviews were utilised to understand trans* students' perceptions and lived experiences at a South African university. Most of the participants revealed that a hostile climate for transgender students prevailed on campus and that the institution lacks resources and education on transgender issues. Findings reported three major themes: (1) Navigating the power of privilege and institutional systemic oppression; (2) Misalignment and invalidation of one's gender identity on campus; (3) The importance of understanding transgender health from a gender minority experience. Recommendations for creating greater inclusion for transgender students on university campuses are presented.