This thesis focuses on various topics related to transgender identity and culture. Through a combination of ethnographic and secondary research, I studied transgender coming out narratives, trans media representation, transgender performance and identity, and conceptualizations of group and chosen family in a community of trans students, the WKU Transgender and Non-Binary Student Group.
The three chapters of my thesis address some of the traditional milestones of a trans person’s acculturation: coming out, constructing one’s newly discovered trans identity, and finding community. Chapter 1 explores coming out as transgender, and the way in in which coming out is valued and discussed within trans communities. Chapter 2 discusses transgender representation, and how gender presentation is contested and complicated by transfolk. Chapter 2 also addresses trans media representation, and the way in which transfolk create their own media representation in the absence of adequate and accurate trans representation in popular culture. Chapter 3 provides an in-depth analysis of the WKU Transgender and Non-Binary Student Group, discusses how the group functions as a chosen family, and explores the way in which group membership helps group members mitigate stigma and deal with trauma.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WKU/oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-3310 |
Date | 01 April 2018 |
Creators | Brown, Chloe Jo |
Publisher | TopSCHOLAR® |
Source Sets | Western Kentucky University Theses |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | Masters Theses & Specialist Projects |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds