This thesis reports an interview-based study of thirty female-to-male (FtM) transsexual individuals. These participants were divided into three groups of ten according to their transitional status: 'pre-transitional', 'transitional and 'post-transitional. Interviews were carried out utilising an extensive semi-structured interview schedule and were recorded. Tapes together with field notes from each interview were that transcribed. The thirty transcripts were then subjected to a detailed review and analysis. A range of issues were identified in relation to the notion of FtM transsexual identity as this was experienced through the processes of FtM transition. The conclusions drawn identified a number of substantive areas of insight into the FtM transsexual condition, each of which have implications for an understanding of: coping with a threatened identity; passing; trust; factors relating to and effects of disclosure following these individuals' decision to embark cm transition; issues pertaining to transition, and attitudes of the medical profession toward transsexualism, among others. Some policy issues were also identified indicating scope for interentive measures geared at facilitating the life circumstances and transsitional passage of FtM transsexual people.

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“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 / 0569 / merryfeather@shaw.ca

“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

Adolescence is not experienced in the same way by all individuals or communities; individuals who cannot find harmony between their sense of identity and social norms often have a much harder time during this period. In this vein, there is an especially strong need for transgender adolescents to be able to locate themselves in the world around them. I examine current transgender representations available to (and specifically marketed towards) young adults through three venues—literature, television, and the Internet. The amount of material that deals directly with any instance of transgender or transsexual identity is minimal. I will argue at the very least that these representations are important for transgendered adolescents to find someone with whom they can identify but that more than likely, it is important for all adolescents to have exposure to representations of transgender individuals. I closely analyze the young adult novel, Parrotfish (Wittlinger 2007), and the CW television show, America’s Next Top Model, for narratives of success that are applied to transgender subjects. I also briefly analyze three websites and compare them to the previous texts, identifying key similarities and differences. I end with suggestions for future growth in all three areas. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

BACKGROUND: Researchers have attempted to modify some measures of religiosity/spirituality to address disparities in examining practices and beliefs in non-European minority groups; however, no one has modified or tested religion scales to address disparities between transgender and non-transgender populations. Research using existing scales proved inadequate with a female-to-male transsexual (FTM) population. To begin to modify instruments for applicability to a FTM population requires gaining more knowledge about this population with regard to religion. Research shows individuals who are transgender face resistance to and rejection of their identities beginning early in life. Reliance on majority religions and their concepts of divinity, embodiment--one's experience of having a particular body--and views of immutable, or essential, human qualities based on sex assigned at birth, may create significant problems when interacting with transgender populations. The significance of this study is in learning how a sample of FTMs conceptualize and experience religion to effect more competent interactions with this marginalized people. Interactions based on increased competency with and understanding of FTMs will contribute to improved long-term health outcomes and overall quality of life for this population. Further, exploring the experiences and beliefs of FTMs may challenge our assumptions and understandings about gender itself, expanding our knowledge about human experience of embodiment, and offering insights into traditional concepts of creation and humanity. RESULTS: This study reports a qualitative investigation of the understanding and experience of religion held by six FTM individuals. All participants completed five or more years of cross-sex hormone treatment with testosterone and identified as male. Methods from Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) guided analysis of semistructured interviews and sample size. Four common themes are presented: rejection of early concepts of religion; connection with others; construction of a way of life; and provision of a source of redefinition and reincarnation. The participants' understandings of religion do not principally parallel those in commonly studied populations. The study's most significant finding is that every participant had a fundamental break from religious tradition as he learned it. The researcher concludes by offering preliminary recommendations for clinical interventions and future research.

Includes bibliographical references / The purpose of this study was to understand the life-world of transsexual women in relation to their awareness of their unique health needs as a direct result of sexual realignment treatment, and their health-seeking behaviours, practices and experiences of responses in negotiating health care for their transgender-related health needs in the healthcare system. The overarching question asked in this research was: What are the lived experiences, and meaning of these experiences, for transsexual women during the sexual-realignment process when negotiating health care for their transgender-related healthcare needs in the healthcare system? Participants in this study were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten participants selected from urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of the Western Cape. Theoretical saturation was reached with the tenth participant, and further selection of participants was ceased. The data was viewed through a trans-inclusive feminist lens with a concurrent collection and analysis process as guided by the steps of analysis of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), as developed by Smith (2010). IPA is a modern qualitative approach to research inquiry which harnesses the strengths of phenomenology, hermeneutics, and ideography. The analysed data were illustrated in a master theme graphic which contained one superordinate theme, two subordinate themes and various categories. The superordinate theme of this study was named "Towards organic Womanhood", while the two subordinate themes were coined "Embracing Womanhood", and "Facing the Giant in order to Become". The subordinate theme Embracing Womanhood gives insight into aspects of transsexual women's journey of moving towards a state of organic womanhood, whereas the subordinate theme Facing the Giant in order to Become maps out powers in the healthcare system which prevent transsexual women from having a smooth transition journey. This study illustrates that transsexual women have a need to align their bodies with their gender identities, but even though South Africa has legislation which protects the health and rights of transsexual women, transsexual women find it challenging to make the transition. Health practitioners are ill-equipped to manage transsexual women, the care which they receive in the government-funded healthcare system is of a poor standard, and they are4subjected to extremely long waiting periods to have access to surgical sexual realignment services. Recommendations are made for the healthcare system, policy makers and educational institutions in order to stimulate the South African healthcare system to become inclusive and affirming to the needs of transsexual women. Furthermore, recommendations for researchers are made to stimulate the debate around transsexual health care in the scientific literature.

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

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