Transgender people in Australia's Northern Territory

ABSTRACT

While research has provided a significant picture of the lived experiences of transgender and sex/gender diverse (TSGD) Australians, it remains incomplete because population samples rarely include TSGD people from Australia's Northern Territory. The Northern Territory is twice the size of France but is populated by only 210,000 people. The territory's environmental and demographic features make it very distinct from Australia's other six states and mainland territory. Most notably, it possesses a "frontier" mentality and is considered to be one of Australia's most homophobic states and territories. This paper publishes the results of an online survey conducted as part of an ongoing research project into the health needs of TSGD individuals, such as availability of medical and support services that specialize in, and are "friendly" to, TSGD people, especially in remote areas of the territory, colloquially referred to as out bush.

KEYWORDS:

• Transgender
• sex/gender diverse
• Australia
• northern territory
• sistergirls
• aboriginal
• health

Notes

1. https://www.facebook.com/TransHealthNT.

2. The K10 is a standard psychological apparatus to measure a person's level of distress in the 4 weeks prior to the test, as a means of determining this person's mental wellness. This is a common measure within research projects focused on health needs.

3. The author concedes that the phrase “transgender status” is problematic, however, it is employed to remain consistent with the original wording of the online survey.

4. It should be noted that Australians are able to change the sex/gender on their passport without surgery or hormone therapy. Changing one's sex/gender on other official documents (e.g., birth certificate) varies across Australia's two mainland territories and six states.

5. When a person refers to “out bush” they mean living in remote areas of Australia, usually far away from residential centers.

6. Mob is a term used by Australia's First Peoples to refer to themselves and their community/ies.