The Lives of Transgender People

Genny Beemyn, Susan Rankin

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2011
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9780231512619
• Subtopic: LGBT Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Responding to a critical need for greater perspectives on transgender life in the United States, Genny Beemyn and Susan (Sue) Rankin apply their extensive expertise to a groundbreaking survey—one of the largest ever conducted in the U.S.—on gender development and identity-making among transsexual women, transsexual men, crossdressers, and genderqueer individuals. With nearly 3,500 participants, the survey is remarkably diverse, and with more than 400 follow-up interviews, the data offers limitless opportunities for research and interpretation.

Beemyn and Rankin track the formation of gender identity across individuals and groups, beginning in childhood and marking the "touchstones" that led participants to identify as transgender. They explore when and how participants noted a feeling of difference because of their gender, the issues that caused them to feel uncertain about their gender identities, the factors that encouraged them to embrace a transgender identity, and the steps they have taken to meet other transgender individuals. Beemyn and Rankin's findings expose the kinds of discrimination and harassment experienced by participants in the U.S. and the psychological toll of living in secrecy and fear. They discover that despite increasing recognition by the public of transgender individuals and a growing rights movement, these populations continue to face bias, violence, and social and economic disenfranchisement. Grounded in empirical data yet rich with human testimony, The Lives of Transgender People adds uncommon depth to the literature on this subject and introduces fresh pathways for future research.

APPENDIX A

TRANSGENDER SURVEY INSTRUMENT

PURPOSE

Thank you for participating in this confidential survey to assist in the development of a transgender identity model. The results of the survey will provide important information about the experiences of transgender people.

PROCEDURES

You will be asked to complete an online survey. Your participation and responses are confidential. Please answer the questions as openly and honestly as possible. You may skip questions. The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Please note that you can choose to withdraw your responses at any time before you submit your answers. The survey results will be submitted directly to a secure server where any computer identification that might identify participants is deleted from the submissions. Any comments provided by participants are also separated at submission so that comments are not attributed to any demographic characteristics. These comments will be analyzed using content analysis and submitted as an appendix to the report. Quotes will also be used throughout the report to give “voice” to the quantitative data.

DISCOMFORTS AND RISKS

There are no risks in participating in this research beyond those experienced in everyday life. Some of the questions are personal and might cause discomfort. In the event that any questions asked are disturbing you may stop the survey at any time. Additional resources may be found at:

Gender Education and Advocacy http://www.gender.org/

FTM International http://www.ftmi.org/

The Trevor Project http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ (24-hour

hotline)

BENEFITS

The results of the survey will provide important information...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreward
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• One Demographics of the Survey Participants
• Two Experiences of Transgender Identity
• Three The Climate for Transgender People
• Four Developmental Milestones of Different Transgender Groups
• Five Transgender Youth and Implications for Higher Education
• Appendix A Transgender Survey Instrument
• Appendix B Interview Protocol
• Appendix C Review of Statistical Analyses
• Notes
• References
• Index