Raf Benato , Avi Boukli , Jennifer Fraser , Francis Ray White

Transgender inclusion is an increasingly prominent part of “equality, diversity, and inclusion” agendas in higher education. However, there has been little attention to the specific experiences of nonbinary students and staff. This article seeks to redress this and draws on data from an online survey conducted in 2019 of UK nonbinary higher education staff and students. The survey data highlight the importance participants attach to having their gender known and respected in their higher education institution, but also contained pervasive reports of erasure, invisibility, and ridicule in their work and/or study lives. We analyze these experiences through the lens of social harm in order to focus on the institutional norms, structures and practices that shape nonbinary experiences of higher education, and to counteract narratives of vulnerability/victimhood. Our analysis demonstrates the interconnections between mechanisms of harm in higher education, effects of harm as manifested in reports of exhaustion, distress, and fear, and the strategies nonbinary people engage in to mitigate or resist harm.

Original Article

Laura MacMullin , Joshua Mvunga , Doug VanderLaan

“Despite facing multiple forms of discrimination, very little past research has focused on the experiences of risk and resilience for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) trans youth. To bridge this gap, the present study utilized ecological systems theory to examine the unique experiences of risk and sources of resilience for BIPOC trans youth through qualitative analysis of interviews. In total, 12 BIPOC trans 14- to 24-year-olds participated in an online, semi-structured interview. Key themes from the interviews were derived using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. We found four superordinate themes: accessing community connection and fostering belonging; navigating the healthcare system; personal journey with and relationship to gender identity; and others’ reactions to gender identity. Participants highlighted various risk (e.g., difficulty findings others who shared their race and gender) and resilience (e.g., having adults who took action to support their gender identity) factors in the various layers of their surrounding environment as well as ways that they wished to be treated (e.g., through others becoming informed about the unique experiences of BIPOC trans individuals). The discussion explores key themes participants raised and highlights implications of the present research for groups such as parents, teachers, and healthcare providers.”

Original Article

alithia zamantakis , Juan Pablo Zapata , Artur A.F.L.N. Queiroz , Valeria A. Donoso

Transgender people experience vast disparities in HIV prevalence, incidence, linkage to care, treatment, and prevention. Recent scholarship has highlighted that gender affirming care (GAC) may facilitate HIV treatment and HIV prevention. However, few researchers have examined how best to integrate these forms of care outside LGBT-focused clinics. Twelve interviews were conducted with key informants in community-based organizations, HIV clinics, and health departments in urban and rural Illinois and Missouri. Interviews were analyzed using a rapid qualitative analytic process, involving the production of analytic memos, coding of memos in NVivo using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, and production of matrices for within-site and cross-site comparison. Key informants were highly excited at the possibility of integrating gender affirming care and HIV services. They highlighted numerous barriers that need to be targeted, including local attitudes and conditions, equity-centeredness, provider capability, and policies and laws. They also highlighted barriers to HIV care alone for transgender patients, including transportation, cost, stigma, provider capability, and homelessness. While numerous barriers exist, provider and funder acceptability are high. Attending to the needs of trans patients may support efforts to end the HIV epidemic by increasing organizational adoption of evidence-based and equity-centered interventions.

Original Article

Tee Chuanromanee , Oliver Haimson , Ronald Metoyer

For many transmasculine and nonbinary people, the decision about whether to have a gender-affirming surgery known as “top surgery” is an important part of gender transition. To examine how online support communities may influence top surgery decision-making, we conducted four online asynchronous focus groups (N = 21) using Facebook and Discord. As we show, different factors (including societal expectations and participants’ race, disability status, and gender) can influence both decision-making and the ways that people seek support; the research spaces themselves—the focus groups on Discord and Facebook—became supportive environments that helped with participants’ decision-making, and many participants eventually sought top surgery using non-traditional approaches that they had learned more about in these (and other) online communities. We discuss how top surgery-related online support communities can facilitate trans care. We also discuss the many types of storytelling that participants engaged in in these spaces—one of the key elements, we posit, of participants’ decision-making. Finally, we provide recommendations for future researchers, discussing how focus group composition impacts intracommunity dynamics and how Discord can be used to facilitate online focus groups.

Original Article