Narratives of Gender, Sexuality, and Community in Three Generations of Genderqueer Sexual Minorities.

Genderqueer identities-those that challenge a strict binary between woman and man-are increasingly visible within mainstream culture and psychological research. However, little is known about generational differences in the lived experience of genderqueer people. Inductive thematic analysis of interviews with 30 genderqueer sexual minorities of 3 distinct generations living the United States revealed 3 major themes: (a) unintelligibility: genderqueer people face challenges in identifying, naming, and expressing their gender due to the constraints of everyday language and material culture; (b) managing stigma through challenging oppression: genderqueer people manage stigma by naming and challenging the gender binary, often in relation to other forms of oppression; and (c) connection beyond mainstream LGBTQ communities: genderqueer people often find connection outside of mainstream LGBTQ spaces, such as through ethnicity-based or sexual subcommunities (e.g., kink/BDSM, polyamorous). Within these themes, key generational patterns included (a) greater challenges among the middle and older generations in naming and expressing a genderqueer identity, especially in relation to their sexual identity; (b) intensified critique of mainstream LGBTQ politics among the younger generation; and (c) greater challenges in finding and maintaining community among the middle and older generations. Across generations, participants emphasized the need to create more inclusive environments by changing language and social structures to deemphasize the gender binary.

Experiences of Suicide in Transgender Youth: A Qualitative, Community-Based Study.

Objective: The aim was to develop understanding around the experience of suicide in transgender youth. Method: Qualitative analysis with 85 interviews with transgender youth about their histories with suicidality was performed. Participants were recruited from community clinics in three counties (United States, Canada, and Ireland) between 2010 and 2014. Results: Factors that precipitated participants' suicide attempts included rejection based on gender identity and gender dysphoria. Participants demonstrated resilience by attempting to connect with loved ones for support and through self-awareness of mental states, including by regulating behaviors they perceived to adversely affect their mental health. Conclusions: Transgender youth may fear seeking health care due to health professionals' lack of understanding of transgender issues and fear of further victimization. Reframing suicidality as a rational decision-making process in response to stress may further understanding of why people attempt suicide and provide new avenues for intervention.

Creating gender: A thematic analysis of genderqueer narratives.

Background and Aims: Increasingly, research is emerging on the subjective experience of genderqueer people. This study explored how genderqueer identities are understood and managed in both personal and social domains. Method: Interview data from 25 genderqueer-identified American adolescents and emerging adults, aged 15 to 26 (M = 21.28, SD = 3.20), were pulled from a larger study of 90 transgender and genderqueer participants. The 90-minute semi-structured interviews included questions about gender identity, the developmental pathway of participants, and relationships with others regarding gender. Results: Participants described "genderqueer" as a sufficiently broad category to capture their diverse experiences, and descriptions of genderqueer identities were heterogeneous, directly contradicting binary understandings of gender identity. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts resulted in three themes: intrapsychic experience, descriptions of master narratives about gender identity, and the co-construction of identities. Discussion: Participants described navigating a series of master and alternative narratives, such that all transgender people transgress a cisnormative master narrative, but genderqueer people further transgress normative understandings of a medicalized, binary transgender identity. The experience of co-creating identities was the process by which participants actively navigated constraints of the master narrative experience. Participants described the integral role of language in crafting new narratives to legitimize genderqueer experiences, as well as the subsequent intragroup conflict resulting from conflicting relationships to narratives in the transgender community. This study highlights genderqueer identities as a source of strength and positivity, and the importance of expanding beyond the hegemonic gender binary within research and clinical practice.