Browsing by Subject "minority stress"

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    Looking for Signs of Trans Life: Rejecting Transnormativity to Explore Genderfluidity as Both Identity and Relational Process
    (2023) Morrow, Quin
    Genderfluidity refers to having a gender that changes consistently and nonlinearly. For people who are genderfluid, change is the basis of gender identity cohesion; past genders are not rationalized as a phase, a misnaming, or confusion, future genders are anticipated, and one’s current gender experience is not upheld as more “true” or “real” than those past or future genders. It is a form of nonbinary gender, and is an aspect of some transgender people’s experience that has so far been understudied. The present research used hermeneutic phenomenology to explore 16 people’s experiences of genderfluidity. In their interviews, participants described genderfluidity as a relational experience, fundamentally informed by their interactions in community, rather than solely as an individualized identity. Major themes included the importance of gender euphoria (as opposed to dysphoria) for finding an authentic gender presentation; authentic gender embodiment as a prerequisite for building authentic and noncoercive relationships; genderfluidity as an experience which blurs the lines between masculinity, femininity, and androgyny and which is therefore treated as illegitimate under cisnormativity; White supremacy and ableism as defining features of cisnormativity and anti-transness; and fluidity-affirming community ties as permission to exist as a genderfluid person. Genderfluidity therefore provides a unique lens through which to understand connections between anti-transness, patriarchy, White supremacy, and ableism, as well as possibilities for resisting these forces through noncoercive, responsive, and authentic relationships.
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    Sexual Minority Stress, Resilience, and Intimate Relationships: An Examination of Individuals with Commitment Uncertainty
    (2019-08) Hall, Eugene
    Minority stress has been shown to negatively impact the mental health of sexual minorities and decreases same-sex relationship well-being. This dissertation examined the impact of minority stress on the mental and relational health of sexual minority individuals in same-sex relationships at the individual and couple level. The sample consisted of 280 participants, all of whom indicated they were currently in committed same-sex relationships and had seriously considered terminating their relationship at some point in the last six months. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with latent mediation and moderation. The first results of the first analysis showed that family rejection and nondisclosure were associated with increased uncertainty regarding one’s commitment to their relationship. Family rejection increased nondisclosure and decreased redemptive framing. Redemptive framing fully mediated the relationship between family rejection and uncertainty. Results of the second analysis indicated that social recognition can increase negative mental health symptoms through an increase in perceived constraint on the relationship. LGBT community connectedness moderated the relationship between social recognition and perceived constraint. At low levels of connection, recognition had some effect on constraint while high levels of connection resulted in a more substantial increase in constraint due to recognition. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.