Influence of Gender-based Family Roles on Gender Transition for Transgender Women

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of gender-based family roles on the process of gender transition for transgender women in the United States. Secondary analysis was undertaken on a subset of data from a larger phenomenological study; this dataset comprised interviews from 10 women ranging in age from 46 to 65. Findings indicated that participants were challenged to imagine alternative ways of inhabiting family roles that were defined in terms of gender and thus feared the loss of those roles with disclosure of their authentic gender identity. Coupled with the anticipation of familial rejection, 3 family roles that participants perceived to be bounded by gender were identified as particularly influential on their decisions to delay gender transition: (a) son, (b) husband, and (c) father. Findings underscore that barriers to transition are greatly influenced by the relationship boundaries of the binary gender system and call attention to the need for a more flexible understanding of gender within the family system.

KEYWORDS:

• Adaptation
• family relations
• gender identity
• psychological
• transgender persons

Note

Notes

1. Gender transition within this article references a diverse continuum of experiences, including the range of social, physical, medical, legal, role, and/or other changes made by transgender people to align their social presentations with their authentic gender identity (different from sex assigned at birth). Both the nature and duration of this process vary significantly across individuals (National Center for Transgender Equality, 2014).