Trans Abroad: American Transgender Students’ Experiences of Navigating Identity and Community While Studying Abroad
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Transgender Identity Development
1.2. LGBTQIA+ Study Abroad Research
1.3. Study Aims
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Researcher Description
2.2. Ethical Considerations
2.3. Study Participants
2.3.1. Participants
2.3.2. Researcher–Participant Relationship
2.4. Recruitment and Participant Selection
2.5. Data Collection
2.5.1. Data Collection Procedures
2.5.2. Recording and Data Transformation
2.6. Analysis
2.6.1. Methodological Integrity
2.6.2. Data Analytic Strategies
3. Results
3.1. Reflecting on Identity and Personal Growth Domain
3.1.1. Category: Making Identity Disclosure Decisions
I’m definitely myself but I’m not walking down the street telling people I’m trans… I look really gay. And it’s not something I can fully help right now, but I’m not a clock-able trans person… I think people think I’m a butch lesbian or something even though that’s really not the case, so I think that’s the way people look at me when I move. So unless I’m disclosing it, there is no disclosure on my body most of the time. Nobody’s walking around looking at me like I’m a trans, genderfluid person … that’s not something they’re able to see.(Participant 8)
3.1.2. Category: Context Elicits Identity Salience
Everyone knew that [I was gay] instantaneously. And the non-binary identity was essentially intertwined with that. At least, in my mind, the way my queer identity exists, it’s completely one thing. It just has different components. And, for me, I’m always, whenever I’m expressing my queer identity, I’m expressing both the, “I’m gay” and “I’m non-binary.” These are both things that make up this queer person that I am… That’s the identity that I’m most comfortable with and most confident in … I made it very prominent that I was a queer person regularly.(Participant 14)
I think the most prominent for me was being legally blind because that basically affects how I navigate the world and being able to have access to transportation was amazing. So that was really awesome … being Mexican American and being trans and legally blind were so at the forefront all the time because I was in student politics… But I think that being trans was … actually pretty big for me because it kind of would come up a lot with my trans friends who I hung out with a lot. And then being international would actually get brought up a lot, so.(Participant 3)
3.1.3. Category: Experiencing Identity Change and Personal Growth from Studying Abroad
While being in the U.S., I was taking things for granted because … the people I usually hang out with are really similar to me, but stepping out of that comfort zone and going … abroad to a community that’s different in values and beliefs but similar in skin color, it’s strange. But it’s made me think, you know, basically not take things for granted how I lived in the States.(Participant 15)
3.1.4. Category: Enduring Harm and Anguish Related to Participants’ Bodies and Identities
So, [gender] definitely affected my experiences, and I think I also was feeling really vulnerable with my, just not passing … because my partner is trans but he was further into his medical transition than I was, and so I did feel these moments of, “… everyone is able to have so much fun and feel so free tonight but I was misgendered an hour ago and no one knows what that feels like…”(Participant 11)
3.1.5. Category: Consequences of Identity Disclosure Decisions
From the very first introduction with my study abroad program, everyone knew that I was queer… if you were queer, it was, we were all very open about it. In those introductions everyone was like “… my pronouns are they/them.” So it was kind of like we were … making sure that our presence was known, and would not be forgotten or diminished.(Participant 14)
I came out to my dad as well who is Mexican … and he definitely was not okay with it and he’s still not really okay with it. He still deadnames me and everything, uses he/him pronouns with me and stuff like that … I think one day, I’ll stop talking to him because he can’t accept my identity.(Participant 3)
And sometimes … I would just have to closet myself because I knew that there are some battles that just can’t be won about being truly my authentic self. And unfortunately, if this kind of fluidity of gender and presentation that I have can work sometimes to my favor in order to pass, then sometimes it has to work like that.(Participant 7)
3.2. Developing Relationships, Discerning Community, and Interacting with Others Domain
[Community] made the experience so much more meaningful because I felt seen. I felt present. I was in a foreign country … but I was seeing queer people that do call this place home living happily and enjoying my company. And I enjoyed theirs… I like to think about my study abroad experience as … this queer adventure because … I was always doing something with my queer friends. It felt like we were just this tight-knit family …(Participant 14)
3.2.1. Category: Energy Investment in Relationships
We were friends our freshman year and we stopped being friends … So we’re going to South Africa as juniors, and we’re like hey, I know we haven’t really talked but we are going to a whole other country for the first time so if you need anything, I will be there. And I think, that just speaks to solidarity and actually putting solidarity in practice.(Participant 12)
3.2.2. Category: Outcomes of Relationships or Lack of Relationships
…there were people there who were willing to help me, they were being very patient and very understanding. I had a friend who walked with me, I had, the wife of the guy who was coordinating all of our events… his wife stayed right by my side the entire time … one of the people … had to carry me across the river… But just having, like, that sense of, these people are here for you, they’re going to support you, they’re going to make sure that you’re going to get through this, you’re going to be able to do it … was … probably one of the best things that has happened to me.(Participant 4)
It happens every time I met somebody in the local community and they’re questioning my identity and questioning my name. I just really hate those conversations. Why can’t they just accept when I say my name is [name]? They ask me “What’s it mean?”, “Is that a female name or a male name?”, Or “Why do you dress this way?”, “Were you born male or female?”… It’s like I have to justify my existence.(Participant 15)
…the best part of that day in particular was being in the clinic and seeing a patient and that patient also had their supportive family… Seeing that and knowing that even though I might not have such a supportive family in the US like that, and knowing that that kind of affirmation and love can still happen in other places is just really… It just gave me hope.(Participant 7)
3.2.3. Category: Ways of Interacting with Others
I think those places and protests … with other queer and trans people have been incredibly empowering because I just saw them not give a shit about what people thought of them … it was just a lot of mix of joy, resilience, fighting, being tired at the system but also realizing that sometimes we are the only ones looking out for each other.(Participant 7)
3.2.4. Category: Unique Considerations in Relationships
…he asked me like, he was like, “Oh, can I ask you, are you like a trans ally or do you have a trans identity?”… I realized I had a button with a trans flag on it on my backpack… I was like, “Yeah I’m transgender…” And then he had revealed to me that he was transgender and he…invited me to join a group… I got to meet a lot of other people who were gender expansive … it was really cool … everyone was just so welcoming and so open.(Participant 3)
I didn’t meet a lot of trans and nonbinary people and the ones that I did meet were White… I don’t experience community with White people, in general. But I did meet a lot of Black queer people, Black lesbians, Black bisexual people in South Africa and that was helpful for me… I usually don’t find community with cis people either. And when I’m [in the US], my friends are Black trans people … so to go to South Africa and my closest friends were queer people who were cis was different for me.(Participant 12)
4. Discussion
4.1. Reflecting on Identity and Personal Growth
4.2. Developing Relationships, Discerning Community, and Interacting with Others
4.3. Implications
4.3.1. Recommendations for Study Abroad Interventions
4.3.2. Recommendations for Future Research
4.4. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Semi-Structured Qualitative Interview Guide
- Can you briefly tell me about how and why you chose to study abroad?
- How did you choose your location?
- How did you prepare for your trip?
- How did you feel before leaving to study abroad?
- How would you compare your lived experience as a transgender or gender expansive person in the United States versus in your host country?
- What meaningful relationships did you develop while abroad? This can include your housemate(s), friends, romantic/sexual partners, teachers, etc.
- How, if at all, were these relationships affected by your gender and other identities?
- Did you have relationships (of any kind) with transgender and/or gender expansive people in your host country?
- How did this change/would this have changed your experience, if at all?
- How did you navigate identity during study abroad?
- Which identities did you share with/disclose to others?
- Which identities were most prominent/salient for you?
- In general, how would you compare the decision to “come out” and/or the process of “coming out” in the U.S. versus in your host country?
- What was the best experience you had while studying abroad?
- What was the worst experience you had while studying abroad?
- What were your experiences with issues of safety while living abroad?
- What were your experiences with harassment and violence while abroad? This could be verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual in nature.
- Have you changed or grown as a result of studying abroad? If so, how?
- When you reflect back on study abroad, do you feel your identities affected your experiences? If so, how? This might include identities such as gender, race, religion, ability, sexuality, etc.
- If you had the opportunity, would you study abroad again? Why or why not?
- What advice would you give to other transgender and gender expansive students who are considering studying abroad?
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Demographic Category | Participant Demographics | N = 15 |
---|---|---|
Gender | Nonbinary | 5 |
Female | 2 | |
Male | 1 | |
Nonbinary genderfluid | 1 | |
Trans femme | 1 | |
Genderqueer | 1 | |
Genderfluid | 1 | |
Transmasculine/Nonbinary | 1 | |
Transmasculine/GNC | 1 | |
Black nonbinary person | 1 | |
Study Abroad Location | Europe | 9 |
North America | 2 | |
South America | 2 | |
Africa | 1 | |
Asia | 1 | |
Race/Ethnicity | White | 4 |
Black or African American | 3 | |
Latinx | 3 | |
Latinx and Native American or Alaska Native | 1 | |
Latinx and White | 1 | |
Native American or Alaska Native and Chicanx | 1 | |
Asian and White and Hispanic | 1 | |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 1 | |
Sexuality | Queer | 3 |
Bisexual | 3 | |
Pansexual/Queer | 2 | |
Demisexual | 1 | |
Straight | 1 | |
Lesbian/Queer | 1 | |
Asexual Polyromantic | 1 | |
Queer/Gay | 1 | |
Lesbian | 1 | |
Gay | 1 | |
Age | 20–24 | 13 |
25–29 | 2 | |
Education Level | Current undergraduate student | 3 |
Two-year college diploma completed | 1 | |
Bachelor’s degree completed | 10 | |
Current master’s student | 1 |
Categories (Frequencies) | Subcategories (Frequencies) |
---|---|
Making identity disclosure decisions (General, 15 participants endorsed) | Interactions between (in)visibility and agency in disclosure decisions. (General, 14 participants endorsed) |
Trust associated with disclosure. (General, 14) | |
Novel challenges associated with disclosure abroad. (Variant, 7) | |
Context elicits identity salience (General, 15) | Identities voiced by participants. (General, 15) |
Situational visibility facilitates awareness and prominence. (General, 15) | |
Privilege affects identity salience. (Variant, 7) | |
Experiencing identity change and personal growth from studying abroad (General, 15) | No subcategories. |
Enduring harm and anguish related to participants’ bodies and identities (General, 14) | Bearing the weight of anticipated harm. (Typical, 12) |
Experiencing deliberate and unintentional harm. (Typical, 11) | |
Experiencing gender dysphoria. (Variant, 2) | |
Consequences of identity disclosure decisions (Typical, 12) | Positive impacts of disclosing. (Typical, 9) |
Negative impacts of disclosing. (Variant, 7) | |
Negative impacts of not disclosing. (Variant, 4) | |
Positive impacts of not disclosing. (Variant, 2) |
Categories (Frequencies) | Subcategories (Frequencies) |
---|---|
Energy investment in relationships (General, 15 participants endorsed) | Investing energy in relationships. (General, 14 participants endorsed) |
Setting boundaries to limit relationships. (Typical, 11) | |
Seeking support/relationships but not finding it. (Typical, 9) | |
Outcomes of relationships or lack of relationships (General, 15) | Led to support and affirmation from others. (General, 15) |
Led to unpleasant and harmful experiences. (General, 14) | |
Led to joyful experiences. (Typical, 13) | |
Ways of interacting with others (General, 15) | Academic/program-related. (Typical, 13) |
Leisure. (Typical, 13) | |
Romantic and sexual interactions. (Typical, 13) | |
Living situation. (Typical, 8) | |
Political engagement and social justice activities. (Variant, 5) | |
Unique considerations in relationships (General, 15) | Disclosure. (General, 15) |
Shared identities. (General, 15) | |
Intersectionality. (Typical, 11) | |
Brevity of study abroad. (Variant, 5) | |
Family of origin. (Variant, 2) |
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Michl, T.; Stookey, A.; Wilson, J.; Chiou, K.; Raque, T.L.; Kracen, A. Trans Abroad: American Transgender Students’ Experiences of Navigating Identity and Community While Studying Abroad. Soc. Sci. 2023, 12, 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090472
Michl T, Stookey A, Wilson J, Chiou K, Raque TL, Kracen A. Trans Abroad: American Transgender Students’ Experiences of Navigating Identity and Community While Studying Abroad. Social Sciences. 2023; 12(9):472. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090472
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichl, Taylor, Alexandra Stookey, Jillian Wilson, Katie Chiou, Trisha L. Raque, and Amanda Kracen. 2023. "Trans Abroad: American Transgender Students’ Experiences of Navigating Identity and Community While Studying Abroad" Social Sciences 12, no. 9: 472. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090472