What’s in a name? A psychoanalytic exploration of self and identity in transgender individuals who were assigned female at birth

Abstract

This study explores the development of self and gender identity within the lived experience of transgender individuals who were assigned female at birth and now identify as male or male spectrum. A psychoanalytically informed interview technique was employed here, involving six participants, aged 20–37 for 3–4 one-hour interviews. Alongside close attention to the content and the manner of representation of self and other across interviews, the analysis was also informed by counter-transference processes. Three core themes emerged from the data: ‘What’s in a Name?’; ‘Rejected, Bullied, Ignored and Forgotten’; and ‘I’m a Boy (not a Girl)’. Recollections of traumatic experiences and the use of laughter were other notable details that appeared across participants. Links are made between the emerging themes and concepts of incongruent mirroring and the development of a false self. Directions for further research and clinical implications for working with transgender clients in a psychotherapeutic context are also outlined.

Keywords:

• psychoanalytic interview
• qualitative
• transgender
• mirroring
• true self

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the six participants who gave so generously of their time and their stories. Additionally, they would like to thank Mr Broden Giambrone, Director of Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) who acted as clinical advisor and TENI staff members Gordon Grehan and Jack O’Sullivan for their invaluable support during the research process.