Navigating the World: Understanding Gender Expression through the Experiences of Transgender and Nonbinary People

Abstract

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people in the United States face daily discrimination and violence due to their minoritized gender resulting in disproportionately high rates of psychological distress including but not limited to depression, anxiety, and suicide. Current research into these experiences focuses on gender, however, this does not provide a complete picture of the lived experiences of TNB people. Gender expression is the external manifestation of not only gender but a multitude of other factors and is influential in how people are perceived and subsequent discrimination and violence. The overarching goal of this study is to ascertain the process of gender expression for TNB people and describe the associated factors. The dissertation is comprised of three distinct but interrelated analyses. The first paper consists of a principle-based concept analysis clarifying the concept of gender expression. Health science literature, along with historical fiction and current writings from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) authors provided the data for the analysis. The second paperutilizes constructivist grounded theory and dimensional analysis to explore the process of gender expression through interviews with TNB people (n=28). Using the data from Paper Two, the third paper employs situational analysis to map and understand the external influences on the gender expression process. Findings from this study support the need to include gender expression along with gender when conducting research with TNB communities. Additionally, this study proposes a new conceptualization of the Gender Minority Stress Model to better align with TNB experiences.