Den här studien fokuserar på framställningen av transpersoner i svensk television. Mer specifikt studeras klipp från de två största svenska kanalerna, SVT och TV4. Från varje kanal har två klipp valts ut, ett klipp med en intervju och ett klipp med någon form av rapportering. Klippen har valts ut strategiskt för att matcha studiens syfte, vilket innebär att de på ett eller annat sätt berör transpersoner. För att kunna undersöka och analysera framställningen av transpersoner har kritisk diskursanalys (CDA) tillämpats, både som teori och metod. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår även från queerteori och de teorier som grenar ut därifrån, exempelvis teorin om genussystemet. Studiens tillvägagångssätt utgår ifrån tre olika nivåer som klippen analyseras utifrån. Den första är textens nivå, där lingvistiska verktyg studeras. Den andra är diskursnivån, där diskurser i texten identifieras. Den tredje och sista är den sociala praktikens nivå där innehållet kontextualiseras och sätts i förhållande till en social omvärld. I analysen identifieras fyra teman. Det första temat, exponerandet av en minoritet i en minoritet, visar att i hälften av analysmaterialet har transpersoner som ångrat sin könsbekräftande behandling exponerats, vilket inte är representativt för majoriteten av gruppen. Det andra temat, heteronormativitet som rådande norm, visar att heteronormen kan utläsas i samtliga klipp genom diskussioner, berättelser och ordval. Det tredje temat, transpersoner som utsatt grupp, visar på en framställning av transpersoner som utsatta. Det fjärde och sista temat, HBTQ som folkbildning, visar en utbildande tendens i materialet. / This study focuses on the portraitation of transgender people in Swedish television. More specifically, clips from two of the biggest Swedish TV-channels, SVT and TV4, are being analysed. Two clips have been chosen from each channel, one interview and one reporting/news segment. The clips have been chosen strategically to serve the purpose of the study, which means that they in one way or another treats the topic of transgender people. To be able to examine and analyse the portraitation of transgender people, critical discourse analysis (CDA) have been implemented both as a theory and as a method. The study’s theoretical framework is based on queer theory and the theories that branch out from it, for example gender theory. The approach of the study is based on three different levels, from which the clips are analysed. The first one is analysis of language texts, where linguistic tools are being studied. The second one is analysis of discourse practice, where discourses in the text are being identified. The third and last one is analysis of discursive events as instances of sociocultural practice, where the content is contextualized and is put in relation to a social world. Four themes are identified in the analysis. The first one, the exposing of a minority in a minority, shows that half the analysis material shows transgender people who have regretted their gender confirmatory treatment, which is not representative for the majority of the group. The second one, heteronormativity as present norm, shows that the heteronorm can be identified in all clips, through discussions, stories and wording. The third theme, transgender people as a vulnerable group, shows a portraitation of transgender people as vulnerable and exposed. The fourth and last theme, HBTQ as education, shows an educational tendency in the material.

This work operates at the intersection of academics, art, and activism. Within queer studies there is a tension between assimilation and liberation, sometimes situated as between pragmatism and utopia. This work re-examines Frankfurt school Marxist views of utopia through a queer theoretical lens in order to employ the radical imagination and queer futurity to examine new ways of practicing liberation. Drawing from theorists like Judith Butler, Jose Esteban Munoz, and Gloria Anzaldua, this work uses art (film, writing, zine-making, and sound) as a way to envision and enact a better world situated in the present.

Minority groups have long faced a lack of representation in the entertainment industry. Too often when representation does exist it relied on stereotype and convention. This too is often the fate of transgender individuals when they are depicted on the screen and stage. The majority of film and television depictions of transgender individuals are inadequate. When they are depicted at all the portrayals rarely rise above trope, archetypes, and conventions. Most often the identity of the transgender individual is invalidated. Very rarely are transgender people’s identities supported. This thesis explores my own personal connection with the topic, builds a vocabulary with which to discuss the subject, examines existing film and television performances of transgender characters, and finally examines how new portrayals might challenge the existing stereotypes. I hope that this thesis, which explores a topic not often discussed, will open the door for a new theatre that supports and affirms the identities of the transgender population while managing not to sensationalize or exploit their stories for the simple entertainment of a cisgender dominated society.

Without a doubt, violence continues to be a brutal reality in our society. It reaches and affects millions across our nation and around the world. For centuries, scholars, researchers and academics have studied and analyzed the existence of violence in many capacities. While violence affects every individual, group, and community the dynamics and the realties that are carried out vary tremendously across race, income levels, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and national origin to name a few. The existence, impact and repercussions of violence in different communities carry varying meanings, perceptions and significance. This paper explores the influences of race, class, and gender identity on the help-seeking behavior of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) survivors of hate motivated and intimate partner violence utilizing data collected by the Virginia Anti-Violence Project (VAVP) Community Violence Survey. Utilizing a target sampling method, nearly 1,000 LGBTQ identified individuals from across the Commonwealth responded to the community survey. Only a descriptive analysis had ever been done on this data set; this more complex analysis was the first to be done. Patricia Hill Collins’ theoretical framework of intersectionality was applied in the analysis of the influences of race, class and gender identity. Concepts and propositions from Collins’ general theoretical framework have been utilized to examine how the three social locations intersect and shape distinct realities that influence how LGBTQ survivors of violence seek assistance if at all. The exploratory nature of this examination provides a glimpse into the many factors that influence the help-seeking behaviors of LGBTQ survivors of violence.

Experiencing a turbulence of source and subject in the variable inversions and supports of one source to another--the wreck of the U-352, Carpeaux’s Ugolino and his Sons, a movie poster for J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible, and Cassiopeia mythology--these four sources as sons, in sacrifice to and surviving by way of “daddy” documentation, are here refigured to reenact and critique the patriarchally recreational, monumental, cinematic, and mythological infrastructures supporting the sources of this work and thereby serving to critique the newer patriarchies to which these sources and their subjectifications here seek to cross consumptively dead end. Following three public installations, and in service to a final publication, this text hereby functions as the myth of this work.

This study explores the experiences of gender nonconforming (GNC), transgender, and transsexual (trans) people in the search for a primary care provider in the United States. The current body of literature on transgender health often discusses HIV rates, substance use, mental health/suicide, and few studies have studies primary care seeking behaviors; this study seeks to provide new insight into the primary care (pcp) seeking behaviors of GNC and trans people. The primary theoretical perspectives utilized in this study were West and Zimmerman’s (1987) “Doing Gender” and the Health Beliefs Mode (Ayers et al., 2007; Connor and Norman, 2005; Green and Murphy, 2014). In order to explore the pcp seeking behaviors among GNC and trans individuals, I designed a 45 item survey. The survey was posted on-line on three separate “sub-reddits” between March and April of 2016 and was open to all individuals who self-identified as gender nonconforming, transgender, and/or transsexual. Of 96 responses, 68 were included. Although the sample is small, the results showed that structural barriers were significantly associated with having a PCP. Those with health insurance (p=.031) and those with at least one chronic illness (p=.037) were more likely to have a regular primary care provider. Descriptive findings support the role of socio-economic factors, geographic location, and past experiences of discrimination as predictors of primary care status.

The main purpose of the present diploma thesis is to introduce the transgender identity as a newly emerging lifestyle and political activism of transpeople. Because the transgenderism has been formed in opposition to the dominant medical discourse of transsexuality, it is necessary to include the transsexual stand of view which transgender people are defining against. I regard the transsexuality and transgenderism as two different discourses forming new different identity categories, having specific impact on lives of people they are naming. I focus mainly on the impact of different concepts of sex, gender and sexuality on formation of specific shapes of these ideologies. In the empirical part, I am applying my mind on the narrative construction of transgender identity. Through some parts of interview with a person diagnosed with transsexuality, that has accepted the identity of a transgender in the course of his life, I try to mediate a more realistic and sculpturesque image of transgender/transsexual life, identity and sense of self.

The thesis presents the processes of gender role transition and sex reassignment from the perspectives of psychology, medicine, and sociology. Its main focus is on the various aspects influencing the psyche of a person undertaking transition. The thesis investigates why trans identity is commonly viewed as a pathology and the impact of pathologization on the self-perception of trans people. Furthemore, the traditional outline of the transition process in Czech sexology is compared to some current international approaches. A section of the text addresses psychotherapy as a key factor in transition. A significant component of the thesis is that it takes a sociocultural viewpoint on gender identity and gender roles. One of the goals is to understand how medical experts dealing with trans identity conceptualize transition and how trans people themselves conceptualize it. The overall aim is to investigate how both of these sides influence each other and what psychological aspects enter the processes of gender role transition and sex reassignment. Key words: transsexuality, transgender, sex reassignment, gender identity, gender role.

Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / More than 5% of the 65 and older population utilize nursing homes, congregate care, assisted living, and board-and-care homes, with about 4.2% of these individuals occupying nursing homes at any given time (Administration on Aging, 2008). The rate of nursing home use generally increases with age and studies have shown that by the year 2030, the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults over the age of 65 is expected to be nearly 3 million (SAGE, 2010). With this overall increase in potential resident populations, those aging adults who identify as LGBT are faced with additional unique challenges commonly not encountered by their heterosexual counterparts. The majority of LGBT elders fear they will experience discrimination in long-term care organizations, with more than half maintaining that staff or even other residents will abuse or neglect them (Knochel, et al., 2010). Unrevised long-term care organizational rules combined with prejudice and hostile treatment from staff members can create unwelcoming environments for LGBT elders who are generally unable to advocate for themselves. Challenges that aging LGBT adults face in long-term care settings will be reviewed and discussed in this report. In addition, this report will provide educational guidelines to assist long-term care organizations in developing an educational model targeted at addressing LGBT elders’ concerns. When staff within a long-term care community lack proper training on and understanding of LGBT concerns, it can negatively affect the quality of care provided to these members. As such, the educational guidelines will encourage an educational model incorporating cultural competency training among the long-term care staff and organizational leadership, and will utilize community development principles to ensure inclusiveness and increase social capital.

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Sarah E. Riforgiate / Leadership is a phenomenon studied in all cultures (Murdock, 1967), yet representation in the diversity of influential leaders is often limited (Moon, 1996). In order to understand the full breadth of leadership scholarship, it is essential that research focuses on how leadership is both enacted and communicated in underrepresented groups. A group that is currently facing marginalization from dominant culture is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. With no national anti-discrimination law in place to protect the individuals belonging to this community (American Civil Liberties Union, 2016) it is vital to understand how leaders within this marginalized group are motivating others to fight to enact change. While influential organizations like The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) are fighting for social justice on a national level, it is important to understand how local organizations are engaging in communicative leadership to motivate others to enact change in their own community. This study seeks to understand how leadership is communicated within a local LGBT rights organization (given the pseudonym the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campaign, or LGBTC) and to identify the ways LGBT leaders motivate others to enact social change. Using ethnographic methodology, the researcher observed four monthly board meetings held by this group (lasting approximately an hour and a half each) and conducted a focus-group interview where the participants confirmed observations and answered follow-up questions from the ethnographic observations. A qualitative thematic analysis revealed two common themes: the first theme, cohesive communication, was exemplified through organizational procedures that allowed for collective discussion and expression of individuality by emphasizing and depending on group members’ personal expertise. The second theme, proactive communication, emerged through group members’ communication to evoke tenacious defense strategies to counter the opposition and engage in outreach with external organizations. These leadership communication behaviors resulted in two critical implications on the theoretical and practical levels. In regards to the theoretical implications, LGBT leaders, who have been typically characterized as predominantly transformational, were found to enact leadership outside of that typology, actually engaging in relational styles through shared leadership, communicating in a way that relies on interaction and emotional expression. On a practical level, other marginalized groups could benefit from inclusivity, or the mode of collective leadership this particular LGBT Rights Group engaged in. By including multiple voices and having a variety of minority representation, the LGBTC was able to successfully motivate community change. Other marginalized groups experiencing social injustice may be able to motivate others to enact change by adopting this mode of collective communication through shared leadership.