An Examination of the Role of Social Essentialist Explanations on Motivating Transgender Double Consciousness

• In Event: 40820 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Transgender Consciousness, Realities, and Activism

Abstract

Some people assume that being transgender is natural and inherent, while others believe it to be a constructed and conscious decision. These contrasting assumptions can be understood as essentialism, the belief that members of social categories share an “essence” that is innate and unchangeable, versus constructivism, the idea that social categories are constructed with meaning created through interactions. These beliefs about where the trans identity comes from are meaningful, as they shape the attitudes and behaviors among and towards trans individuals, who historically and currently face discrimination. To understand how trans people make sense of both cis and trans individuals’ beliefs about where their identity comes from, I am conducting 10 semi-structured interviews with University of Washington students ages 18-25 who identify as transgender and/or gender nonconforming. I analyze how specific explanations and assumptions for where the trans identity comes from are related to experiences of prejudice. Next, I consider how these explanations may motivate the cultivation or maintenance of transgender double consciousness, a concept that has been adapted from the writings of W.E.B. DuBois about the impacts of racism. Double consciousness is an instinctive social awareness to uphold two identities, one that is “true” to oneself, and one that is constructed to conform to societal expectations in an act of self-protection. This can lead to feelings of inauthenticity and loneliness in a society that has rigid expectations for how gender should be represented. Therefore, certain assumptions about where transness comes from may motivate trans people to hold an additional social awareness to anticipate how cis people will react to their identities under the cis gaze. My data will be used to provide insight into the forces behind trans prejudice and will offer transphobia mitigation recommendations, while centering trans voices in the research.

Author

• Caroline McLean Hale, University of Washington