This qualitative study uses multiple autobiographical narratives of racialized transgender men to examine the intersecting axes of oppression at work in the borderlands of identity. The research contributes more complex understandings of transgender lives by raising questions about how gender, race, class, and sexuality intersect in the lives of racialized transgender men, and how such identities negotiate their place in the various communities constituted by those particular social locations. In particular I look at the ways that solidarity works in the borderlands, the liminal space composed of intersecting subject positions. I ask what constitutes solidarity, and I discover the contingencies operating in the borderlands that facilitate or pose barriers to full participation and solidarity of racialized transgender men. Findings reveal the complex negotiations racialized transgender men must engage in, both within and outside of queer and feminist communities, and challenge us to think through the meanings of solidarity.

This qualitative study uses multiple autobiographical narratives of racialized transgender men to examine the intersecting axes of oppression at work in the borderlands of identity. The research contributes more complex understandings of transgender lives by raising questions about how gender, race, class, and sexuality intersect in the lives of racialized transgender men, and how such identities negotiate their place in the various communities constituted by those particular social locations. In particular I look at the ways that solidarity works in the borderlands, the liminal space composed of intersecting subject positions. I ask what constitutes solidarity, and I discover the contingencies operating in the borderlands that facilitate or pose barriers to full participation and solidarity of racialized transgender men. Findings reveal the complex negotiations racialized transgender men must engage in, both within and outside of queer and feminist communities, and challenge us to think through the meanings of solidarity.

This research presents a new way to improve inclusiveness for the variety of transgender self-identities in clinical settings. The spectrum of transgender identities were clustered into two groups: the fixed -- representing transgender individuals who preferred identification with the gender binary male or female, and the fluid -- representing transgender individuals that favor openness and flexibility on the gender continuum. Furthermore, different scales, the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) (Kozma, & Stones, 1980) and Bradley's Well-Being Scale (BWB) (Bradley, 1994), Self-Confidence Scale (Oakley, 1996, 1998) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (Cohen, 1994) were investigated for their reliability with transgender clients. The fixed and fluid transgender groups were then used as the key criterion for investigating differences in quality of life (QOL), self-confidence, stress and counselling satisfaction. Using combined quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, data was analyzed for a sample of 145 transgender people. Mean age was 42.27. Quality of life for the fluid transgender group was <extremely low,> the group difference was not significant Stress was expectedly very high in both groups, but interestingly self-confidence was also high. The mean difference between the fixed (M=17.44) and fluid (M=20.82) transgender groups was statistically significant. One in four transgender individuals identified either as <neutral> or <dissatisfied to very dissatisfied> with their counselling experience. The dissatisfaction was higher in the fluid transgender group. One hundred eleven transgender participants (111) completed seven open-ended questions and 11 participated in a semi-structured, face-to-face interview process, guided by thirteen questions. The stories of the participants demonstrated how a gender specific upbringing affects transgender individuals through: themes of shame, guilt, and anger. While, transgender individuals developed survival techniques such as daydreaming and fantasizing, negative coping methods such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse and self-harm were also common. Family was identified as the dominant factor in reinforcing gender appropriate behaviour. To improve clinical care these findings should be taken into consideration.

“The only true voyage…would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to see the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to behold the hundred universes that each of them sees, that each of them is…” (Proust, 2003, p. 343). This wonderful quote from Proust seems like a fitting place to begin because I wish to take you on an autoethnographic journey of discovery so that you can see for yourself what it was like for the participants and me as we found ourselves in strange and sometimes frightening territory. We realized that we were, sometimes unexpectedly, in positions of support to our friends or lovers who were uncomfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth. Most of us would describe ourselves as lesbian and, when our partners began to explore the possibility of sex reassignment, struggled with our established identity. My friend Christopher was the inspiration for this exploration. We were domestic partners before and during his early transition from female to male. Both Christopher and I were public figures in the small town in which we lived and our lives were somewhat on display. Christopher founded an organization called Trans Connect to provide support to those who present their gender in alternate ways and to provide education to service providers as well as to schools with regard to transgender issues and is well known in that town as well as in the larger gender diverse community as a trans man. Because of this, he has agreed to waive anonymity. The body of this work includes the entire texts of three papers I have written during the course of my studies as I navigated the path to this research. All of these papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals. I have used these papers to illustrate my autoethnographic journey toward the discovery of diverse gender presentations, to describe the state of knowledge in the discipline of nursing regarding this issue, and to demonstrate how autoethnography works. The centre of the work is the novel I have written based upon the stories the participants and I have shared with one another. The novel is written in everyday language and aims to show, rather than tell, the stories of ten women who love and support trans men. In many parts of the dissertation I have used dialogue, both internal as well as conversation among created characters, as a way to bring to life concepts under discussion. This is in keeping with an autoethnographic style. The dissertation is organized into three parts. Part one is a description of the process and methods I undertook in order to arrive at the novel. It consists of eight chapters that are placed in a more or less linear way, although the process was not at all linear, from the beginning of my exploration, to a discussion of the overall voyage. Part two consists of the novel, which is the story of experiences of women living with trans men during their transition or consideration of transition, disguised as having been experienced by fictional characters. Part three contains four chapters that are the analysis, a description of how I managed the information gathered, a discussion of evaluation for such a work as this, and some consideration as to the distribution and future for the study. My research questions were: • What is it like to be in loving relationship with an FTM during and after some of his transition? • What are the effects on the relationship for the female partner during this time? • What happens to the supportive partner’s ideas of her own identity? • Does the balance of power shift during this transition, and if so, how? The novel poignantly addresses all these questions. To be in a loving relationship with a trans man in the early stages of transition can be very challenging, and for the participants and me, often ended in a breakdown of the relationship. It can be a difficult time for women supporters because their adjustments and struggles with identity and sense of self and community are frequently overshadowed by the enormity, and for some, curiosity of sex reassignment. Often the relationship shifts from egalitarian to one that resembles more of a male-female binary where the male exerts power over his partner. Half of the participants in this study said they would not enter into another relationship with a trans man. That leaves the other half who said they would. The novel might serve as a help to those considering such a relationship as well as to those already walking the sometimes slippery, sometimes exhilarating road of partnership with a trans man. There are no easy answers to these questions. My aim is to reveal a glimpse into the lives of people about whom not much is known. / Graduate / 2015-06-05 / 0569 / merryfeather@shaw.ca

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Also available in print.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of transgender youth with disabilties in high school. Utilizing in-depth phenomenological interviews and photography, this study sought to gain insights into how the lived experiences and intersections of transgender and disability identity impact high school experiences. The collection of interview data and photography allowed for a deeper understanding of the essence of the phenomenon under study. The aim was to understand the ways in which the complexities of ‘transgender’ and ‘disability’ identities impact high school experiences. The analysis of the data lead to six key themes including: gender as fluid, society and identity, conflation of identities, mental health, changes in school and difference as strength. This dissertation offers a more complete picture of the needs and barriers transgender youth with disabilities face to inform future research and practice. Results from this study extend the current research and provide a deeper understanding of the needs and challenges of transgendered youth with disabilities. Findings from this study also support implications for how educators work with transgender youth with disabilities and how schools can be more inclusive in meeting their needs.

The transgender (TG) community has become more visible, both individually and collectively. The counseling professions, not unlike other professions, have lagged behind in their understanding of this population and their culture, an act that perpetuates stereotypes and supports unequal treatment. Among the many barriers faced by transgender individuals, barriers that block access to mental health and medical care are the most critical, as they can be life threatening (Shipherd, Green, & Abramovitz, 2010; Stotzer, Silverschanz & Wilson, 2013). Ignorance, bias, and discrimination are a common experience for those who are TG when trying to gain access to social services (Grant et al., 2010a). Accredited training programs that are responsible for training counseling professionals to work with all people, regardless of gender, vary in their extent and method of providing multicultural instruction, including information regarding TG individuals (Lewis, Bethea, & Hurley, 2009). A lack of uniform preparation for counselors may leave them unprepared to work with a population that is growing and becoming more likely to present for treatment. Supervisors are often counselors themselves with only two or more years of experience of training to establish their clinical licensure. Like counselors, they may have received minimal education with regard to transgender clients and culture during their masters training program. This study was an exploration of nine counselor supervisors’ experiences of providing supervision for counselors who worked with TG clients. Additionally, there was exploration into whether when supervising for counselors who are working with TG clients, what, if any changes occurred in the supervision relationship. Prominent themes emerged among the supervisors’ training experiences, their models of supervision and training, and their supervision alliances. An additional prominent theme among the supervisors interviewed was their trajectory of knowledge acquisition about transgender culture and needs. Most supervisors gained their knowledge through self-motivation, investigation, and self-direction. Likewise, the motivation that led the supervisors to seek more knowledge also compelled them to pass this on to others. Experiences from supervision preparation to supervision provision were explored, examined, and analyzed to identify common themes. Following the Grounded Theory (GT) methodology of Corbin and Strauss (2008), nine counseling supervisors, located throughout the United States, were interviewed. The population of interest for this study was unique and specific: counselor supervisors who supervised a counselor from a CORE or CACREP accredited program that was working with a TG client. The information from these interviews revealed a lack in formal training at both the Masters level for counselors and at the Doctoral level for supervisors. Through dialogue with these supervisors, a description of their experiences in their work and the relationships between themselves and their supervisees was exposed. Subsequent analysis revealed five themes: personal choice, multicultural skills to work with TG clients, lack of training, self-motivation to work with TG clients, and barriers to working with TG clients. Supervisors discussed their experiences of working with supervisees and their perception of necessary training to work with TG clients. Supervisees who lacked training struggled with such issues as language use and internalized hate. According to these participants’ training and education on the TG population was obtained in other venues such as conferences, on the job trainings, and from other certification organizations.

Students come to college for a change and for most this is their first time away from home. Some students come looking for acceptance and a chance to freely be themselves. Individuals that identify as transgender or gender-variant have a difficult time finding a way to be themselves in this setting when they do not have a safe place to live. This research examines students who live in campus housing at a large, Midwestern institution. Past research on transgender issues is presented in its limited availability along with the results of an electronic survey of student opinions of gender-neutral housing and restrooms. The possibility of instituting such changes at this specific institution is examined.

With the proliferation of gender identity labels in the last twenty years, more individuals are identifying outside of a binary understanding of gender. Agender individuals are among this group, but we know very little about their experiences. Gender theorists have examined the ways that gender is performative and structural, but present theory does not provide the tools to understand the experiences of those outside of the binary, and even more so those who identify outside of gender altogether. To address this gap, I ask how agender individuals define their experience and how they navigate a binary gendered world. To answer these questions, I draw on 14 in-depth interviews with agender individuals as well as data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. First, I show the ways that agender individuals can understand this identity and how it shapes their experiences. Second, I develop a framework of four strategies (avoidance, advocacy, performance, and acquiescence) to analyze how agender individuals navigate gendered space. I concluded with a discussion of theoretical and empirical contributions as well as implications for future research.