Being Transgender: The Experience of Transgender Identity Development

Abstract

This article is based on a grounded theory analysis of interviews with transgender-identified people from different regions of the United States. Participants held a variety of gender identities under the transgender rubric (e.g., crossdresser, transman, transwoman, butch lesbian). Interviews explored the participants' experiences in arriving at their gender identity. This article presents three clusters of findings related to the common processes of transgender identity development. This process was made possible by accessibility of transgender narratives that injected hope into what was a childhood replete with criticism and scrutiny. Ultimately, participants came to their identities through balancing a desire for authenticity with demands of necessity--meaning that they weighed their internal gender experience with considerations about their available resources, coping skills, and the consequences of gender transitions. The implications of these findings are considered in terms of their contribution to gender theory, research, and clinical support for transgender clients.

“Am I Doing the Right Thing?”: Pathways to Parenting a Gender Variant Child

“…Quantitative data from LGBTQ youth suggest that acceptance in peer, family, and school social settings supports adjustment (Grossman, D’Augelli, & Frank, 2011; Ryan, Russell, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2010); conversely, experiences of stigma have been linked to lower levels of psychological well-being among GV youth and young adults presenting for gender-related treatment (Baams, Beek, Hille, Zevenbergen, & Bos, 2013). These quantitative data are supported by qualitative data from transgender adults emphasizing experiences of rejection from parents, schools, and social contexts (Levitt & Ippolito, 2013, 2014). However, the social and familial contexts of GV children are rarely examined directly in research (cf.…”

Transgender Noninclusive Healthcare and Delaying Care Because of Fear: Connections to General Health and Mental Health Among Transgender Adults

“…Transgender individuals can find it difficult to balance expressing their gender identity with the fear of being a target for violence or discrimination in healthcare and other services. 14 Although being recognized and addressed as the gender with which they identify is an essential issue for transgender people, 15 medical providers and clinic staff often persist in using incorrect pronouns (i.e., misgendering) or challenging the individual's gender identity.…”

Transactional pathways of transgender identity development in transgender and gender-nonconforming youth and caregiver perspectives from the Trans Youth Family Study

“…Another limitation is that the existing body of research is based primarily on the experiences of transgender individuals with a White race/ethnicity (Moradi et al, 2016); little is known about transgender identity development among transgender individuals of color. Transgender identity development not only occurs in relation to one’s authentic self, but also in relation to one’s social sphere (Levitt & Ippolito, 2014). Although researchers have explored conceptualizations beyond stage theories and have begun to incorporate TGN youths’ perspectives (Olson et al, 2015), there is still a need for more studies of transgender identity development that incorporate perspectives from both TGN youth and their families.…”

“…Levitt and Ippolito (2014) describe transgender identity development as a process of balancing the desire to be one’s true self with considerations of consequences to transition, coping skills, and available resources. For both caregivers and transgender youth, contact with others in the community or with other families with transgender children can be protective and critical to finding support and information (Kuvalanka et al, 2014; Testa, Jimenez, & Rankin, 2014).…”