Emma Verhoeven , Rylan Verlooy

The position of trans people in news media has long been researched but much of this body of research does not consider op-eds pages. Considering the recent increase in anti-trans discourses in Europe, this study investigates how transgender issues are debated in the opinion pages of the Flemish press. Through a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative thematic analysis inspired by a Critical Frame Analysis, we uncover which themes are problematized by whom and which solutions are proposed on the opinion pages. The findings show that non-trans authors dominate the debates on trans issues and that trans-exclusionary arguments are widespread. The debates center the themes of sex and gender, freedom of speech, and discrimination and violence, sports, and health care. However, underlying these themes, the boundaries of transness are debated and defined. This way, a debate is induced on what it means to be transgender which is instigated by non-trans authors in trans-exclusionary texts.

Original Article

Kalei Glozier , Jae A. Puckett , Dee Jolly , Richard Mocarski , Debra A. Hope , L. Zachary DuBois

Transgender people experience minority stressors, enacted stigma, and discrimination, with negative implications for mental health. Although research is growing in this area, few studies have explored ways of coping with marginalization. In this sample of 158 transgender individuals, who were predominantly white (n = 109, 69%) and had a mean age of 33.06 (SD = 12.88), we used cluster analysis to identify patterns of coping and examined their potential buffering effects on the negative impacts of marginalization. Three coping clusters were identified: functional (n = 67; 43.2%), unhelpful (n = 23; 14.8%), and undifferentiated (n = 65; 41.9%). Approximately two-thirds of our sample experienced at least one instance of major discrimination in their lifetime, and our findings revealed that both enacted stigma and major discrimination were associated with lower satisfaction with life. The findings of this study suggest that at low to moderate levels of lifetime discrimination, participants in the functional or undifferentiated coping groups had higher levels of life satisfaction than participants in the unhelpful coping group. However, at high levels of lifetime discrimination, there was little difference in life satisfaction based on coping. In comparison, there was not a significant moderating effect for past-year enacted stigma.

Original Article

Jules Soper , Douglas Knutson , Laina J. Nelson , Kristiana Feeser

Trans athletes in the United States are experiencing systemic and social exclusion from sport, including the introduction of legislation that restricts the participation of trans people in sport. Although legislators have sought to exclude trans athletes from sport, the attitudes of cisgender athletes toward trans athlete inclusion are much more varied. Psychologists and other advocates for trans equity may benefit from better understanding specific psychosocial variables that are associated with prejudice against the participation of trans people in sport. The present study examined the roles of prejudice and religiosity on exclusionary attitudes in a sample of 248 past and current intercollegiate athletes. Participants reported demographic information, attitudes and beliefs, and responded to vignettes related to trans athlete inclusion. Two PROCESS Model 4 analyses were conducted with religiosity as a mediator of the association between prejudice and exclusionary attitudes toward trans men and trans women, respectively. Results indicated that overall attitudes towards transgender individuals predicted support of inclusion in sport for both transgender men and women, however religiosity significantly mediated attitudes towards transgender men in sport. Implications for advocacy among psychologists and other health service professionals are discussed.

Original Article

Sean T.E. Maulding

In light of a continued legislative and social push in the United States to harm already marginalized communities of transgender students, there must be examinations into how to ensure these communities still feel supported at the University. This current study analyzes interview data from trans university students using the levels of self-perceptions of trans acceptance identified by Maulding (2023) and co-cultural theory (Orbe 1996) to determine the impacts of acceptance on their communication strategies. The findings can be applied by those in positions of relative power (e.g., faculty, staff, administrators) to understand how the communication events with trans students may actually reveal their feelings of acceptance or rejection. The findings reveal that each of the four self-perceived levels of acceptance or rejection (i.e., active acceptance, passive acceptance, active rejection, and passive rejection) inspired distinct communication strategies. This study is useful for identifying the potential impacts of acceptance or rejection present in co-cultural communication involving trans university students.

Original Article

F. Virago

Parental rejection poses a major challenge for transgender individuals; however, the reasons behind this rejection remain critically understudied, especially within the Chinese sociocultural context. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates parental rejection as experienced by the transgender population in China by analyzing quantitative survey data (N = 199) and qualitative interviews (N = 32) to document rates of parental support, identify key reasons for rejection, and explore factors that facilitate acceptance. Over 75% of participants reported that both their mothers and fathers were unsupportive when they first came out as transgender, with the belief that being transgender is “unnatural” (71%) and the fear of losing face (67%) cited as the two most prevalent reasons for this rejection. However, a significant proportion of parents eventually moved towards acceptance, with 43% of mothers and 34% of fathers showing an increase in support after the initial disclosure. According to participants, this increase in acceptance was motivated by parental love, concern over the participant’s mental health, and the participant’s transition. They reported that parents then utilized three pathways to understanding their transgender identity: consumption of informational resources, engagement with the queer community, and guidance from medical professionals. Understanding why parents reject their transgender children is the first step towards promoting acceptance both within the family and in society as a whole.

Original Article