Description
This phenomenological study explores the question: What are the lived experiences of Arizonans who identify their gender identities as ‘non-binary’? (‘non-binary’ defined here as anyone who identifies their gender as something other than ‘always and exclusively male or always and exclusively female’). The study explores the lived realities of four non-binary identified transgender people living in Arizona. Each participant took a short survey and conducted a 45-minute in-person interview, conducted through phenomenological questioning to evoke deep descriptions of experience. After analyzing the results through feminist hermeneutic phenomenology, this study suggests that the experience of non-binary gender identity presents an essential pattern of cultivating self-realization. The essential themes of internal recognition, external presentation, and movement toward wellness fell into this pattern. The United States has conceptualized transgender identity in many ways, from pathologizing to politicizing, to medically affirming views. Although the literature on this topic is quite small, there is no doubt that non-binary transgender people exist in U.S. public life. Ultimately, if non-binary people are to find affirming paths toward self-realization, they must be heard from their own experiences in their own voices.
Download count: 8
Details
Title
- Transgender Experiences Beyond the Binary: A Phenomenological Study of Arizonans with Non-Binary Gender Identities
Contributors
- Skinner, Ashton (Author)
- Sandlin, Jennifer (Thesis advisor)
- Nakagawa, Kathryn (Committee member)
- Santos, Carlos (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2017
Subjects
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2017
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 80-83)
- Field of study: Social and Cultural Pedagogy
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Ashton Skinner