TGNB persons, mental health, and gender binarism in Serbia

Abstract

Background

There are for the time being no systematic studies exploring transgender and non-binary (TGNB) mental health in the Serbian context which, over the last three decades, has been characterized by profound social transformations.

Method

We draw upon 15 semi-structured interviews with members of a TGNB self-help group operating in Belgrade, Serbia. The material was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results

We identified three elements of group operation: 1) information, support, and community, 2) navigating the medical/psychiatric system, and 3) dealing with gender binarism. While the group is important for helping its members navigate the medical system in terms of mental health professionals’ expectations regarding “proper” candidates for gender affirmation procedures, it has a hard time escaping a gender binarism that characterizes its social context.

Conclusions

Despite significant improvements in the situation of TGNB people concerning psychiatric gatekeeping and legal gender recognition, the TGNB community is still marginalized with mental health being one of the main areas of marginalization. Activist organizations’ alternative forms of mental health care can help to transform mainstream mental health policies rendering them more sensitive to the needs of TGNB individuals.

Keywords:

• TGNB people
• gender binarism
• self-help group
• Serbia
• gender identity

Note

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the reviewers and Paul Stubbs for constructive comments on the earlier versions of this text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics Statement

None.

Funding

There is no funding to declare for this study.

Notes

1 Gender reaffirming surgeries were not possible in other capitals of the Yugoslav republics throughout the 1980s and are still unavailable in some of them.