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“Like a Constantly Flowing River”: Gender Identity Flexibility Among Nonbinary Transgender Individuals

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Identity Flexibility During Adulthood

Abstract

Gender is one of the first identities we learn and binary distinctions based on gender (e.g. girl/boy, woman/man, cisgender/transgender) are pervasive. The conceptualization of gender identity among transgender individuals is uniquely complicated by dichotomous notions of gender/sex. This is particularly true for individuals in the transgender community who are gender non-conforming or experience their gender outside the binary. The present research investigates the conceptualization of gender identity among non-binary transgender individuals by exploring the gender identity labels they choose and the descriptions they provide for their gender identity and experience. Participants included 197 adults recruited from a larger study on transgender experience who completed an online study. Participants ranged in age between 18-70 and self-identified as gender variant (n = 129) or agender (n = 68). Qualitative responses were analyzed via thematic analysis. Six themes were identified as related to the way gender non-conforming individuals describe their gender identity: 1) Gender Identity Using Binary Terms of Gender/Sex; 2) Gender Identity as Blended; 3) Gender Identity as Fluid; 4) Gender Identity as Non-Binary; 5) Transgender as Gender Identity; and 6) Agender Conceptualizations. Discussion focuses on the ways that gender non-conforming individuals’ experience of gender identity may contribute to the way we conceptualize identity flexibility.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We intentionally use the singular they and them as gender inclusive pronouns.

  2. 2.

    Following van Anders (2014, 2015), we use gender/sex to reference a concept that cannot be understood as only biologically or socially constructed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Towson University, 8000 York Rd, Towson, MD, 21252, USA

    M. Paz Galupo, Lex Pulice-Farrow & Johanna L. Ramirez

Authors
  1. M. Paz Galupo
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  2. Lex Pulice-Farrow
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  3. Johanna L. Ramirez
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Correspondence to M. Paz Galupo .

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  1. Towson University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Jan D. Sinnott

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Galupo, M.P., Pulice-Farrow, L., Ramirez, J.L. (2017). “Like a Constantly Flowing River”: Gender Identity Flexibility Among Nonbinary Transgender Individuals. In: Sinnott, J. (eds) Identity Flexibility During Adulthood. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55658-1_10

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