Systems of cissexism and the daily production of stress for transgender and gender diverse people

Abstract

Background: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people encounter a range of minority stressors (e.g., harassment, victimization, misgendering) that impact many areas of life. Much of the empirical literature on gender minority stress has utilized frameworks that were developed with a focus on sexual orientation and were often limited to cisgender sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other non-heterosexual individuals), leaving questions about how well existing models fit the experiences of TGD people. Aims: To expand understandings of gender minority stress, we conducted a daily diary study where participants detailed the types of stressors they encountered on a daily basis for 56 days. Methods: There were 181 TGD participants recruited into the study (M age = 25.6 years; SD = 5.6), with 167 retained in the daily surveys from which these analyses were conducted. Results:The written responses revealed a variety of stressors, some of which are novel to the literature. Many participants reported instances of non-affirmation, such as misgendering, as well as vicarious stress when learning of oppressive experiences impacting other TGD people and seeing negative media portrayals of the lives of TGD individuals. Participants also reported bodily vigilance when being on alert for how others were perceiving their gender. Other stressors included rejection, political oppression, physical violence, uneasiness from others, and the enforcement of gender binarism. Discussion: These findings highlight gaps in the existing understandings of marginalization for TGD people that must be addressed to ensure that frameworks include and center the experiences of gender minorities. Marginalization stressMinority stress theory was originally proposed to help explain the mental health disparities that

Daily experiences of minority stress and mental health in transgender and gender-diverse individuals.

“…Individuals who did not qualify for the daily diary study were offered the chance to participate in a brief one-time survey. Further details about data collection and steps to ensure the quality of the online data collection are available in Puckett et al (2021), as well as details about our integration of a community advisory board.…”

“…Participants were recruited via a multi-pronged approach, including outreach at community events in the Chicago area, flyers and advertisements shared with community organizations, and online recruitment via social media (see Puckett et al, 2021 for more description). Participants completed a screener survey to express their interest in participating.…”

“…Minority stress refers to the unique stressors that minority groups experience which impacts mental health above and beyond the general stressors that everyone may encounter (Brooks, 1981; Herek, 2016; Meyer, 2003; Testa et al, 2015). The expanding research on mental health disparities experienced by transgender individuals indicates that these elevated rates of distress are driven by contextual factors, such as hostile sociopolitical contexts (Price et al, 2021; White Hughto et al, 2015) and minority stressors (Puckett et al, 2021; Russell et al, 2018; Testa et al, 2015).…”

“…These stressors include internalized stigma, expectations of rejection, and nondisclosure of one's gender identity or gender history. There are many nuances in how these minority stressors may be experienced by transgender people (e.g., Rood et al, 2017) and the literature has expanded to include additional transgender-specific minority stressors (e.g., Puckett et al, 2021).…”

Gender‐justice beyond inclusion: How trans knowledges and linguistic practices can and should be re‐shaping language education

“…Our fields—which so often claim to foster global and intercultural connections, to promote the development of critical literacies, and to do diversity, equity, and inclusion or social justice work (whether by these or other names)—appear to have little insulation from the onslaught of transphobic violence that plagues our broader sociocultural contexts in simultaneously globalized and localized ways 2. Rather than collectively and consistently upending the transphobia and exclusionary practices that are entwined with our institutions (Baril et al., 2019; Jaekel & Nicolazzo, 2022; Kaplan, 2024; Puckett et al., 2021), the processes and products of language education too often serve to reproduce and reformulate cisheteronormativities (Knisely & Paiz, 2021; Knisely & Russell, 2024; Paiz, 2020; Zimman, 2021). This continues to play out in the United States—and in myriad contexts globally—despite ongoing calls for resistance to such oppressive forces on the part of language students, educators, and professional organizations (ACTFL, 2021; AERA, 2021; DDFC, 2021; LSA, 2021a; MLA, 2016).…”