Date of Conferral
3-6-2024
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Lamart Hightower
Abstract
Transgender individuals face challenges such as safety, stereotyping, mental illness, racialized violence, lack of support, and cultural challenges. There has been considerable media attention paid to transgender people, but there was little knowledge of the lived experiences of African American transgender males and how they manage situations in which invisibility is required to survive in the world, especially in the southern United States. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American transgender men in this region. Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality was used to understand how the intersectionality of many social statuses impacts the transgender experience of African American transgender men. Semistructured interview data were collected from 10 African American transgender men. The results of coding and thematic analyses indicated (a) awareness of transgender identity was difficult to achieve for African American transgender men in the South; (b) navigating Southern culture is challenging and potentially dangerous as an African American transgender man; (c) mental health and well-being are dependent on one’s internal resilience and access to a support network for African American transgender men in the South; and (d) due to social norms, religious dogma, and gender norms, it can be challenging for African American transgender men to cultivate and sustain healthy relationships with others.
Recommended Citation
Reynolds, Coltena, "The Lived Experiences of African American Transgender Men Living in the Southern United States" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15445.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15445
