Thesis
It's never too late: documenting trans* and gender diverse people’s experiences of gender affirmation in mid - later life in the Northern Rivers of NSW
Southern Cross University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.217
Appears in Recent Southern Cross PhD Theses
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Abstract
There is little research on mid-life and older trans* and gender diverse (TGD) people living in regional areas. This study documents the experiences of eight mid-life and older TGD people making the decision to begin gender affirmation in later life in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Employing a cultural studies approach, the study uses narrative inquiry interviews with seven participants alongside autoethnographic reflections of the researcher from journaling and field notes on the research processes. As a small study of situated knowledges, the stories told are unique and timely. Indeed, the interviews took place in early 2018, a pivotal moment politically, in the aftermath of the Marriage Equality plebiscite, and mainstream media’s scaremongering about gender identity, and promotion of citizen policing of public toilets.
Many of the participants’ narratives explore their childhood gender identities, lack of knowledge or access to role models in conservative small-town places, and feelings of ‘wrongness,’ internalised transphobia, and poor mental health, including suicidal ideation and attempted suicide when these feelings of unbelonging were carried into adulthood. The narratives’ sociocultural contexts contrast with those of younger TGD people, with participants having little access in their youth to gender diverse media representations or puberty blockers that would have allowed them to carefully consider their gender identities before the irrevocable changes of puberty. The small body of literature on older TGD people focuses on medicalisation, lack of knowledgeable service providers, gatekeeping, resilience, gender dysphoria and poor mental health. This study fills a gap by also documenting participants’ feelings of comfort, joy, happiness, and gender euphoric moments once they begin gender affirmation – something which has received little attention in comparable studies thus far. Unlike the few existing rural studies that note intolerance or conditional acceptance based on cisnormative stereotypes, this study finds a significant degree of community acceptance of gender diversity in the Northern Rivers.
Details
- Title
- It's never too late: documenting trans* and gender diverse people’s experiences of gender affirmation in mid - later life in the Northern Rivers of NSW
- Creators
- Gyps Jesse Jae Curmi
- Contributors
- Erika Kerruish (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityMark Hughes (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityRob Garbutt (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityBaden Offord AO (Advisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University
- Number of pages
- 345
- Identifiers
- 991013048313602368
- Copyright
- © GJJ Curmi 2022
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Resource Type
- Thesis