Gender patterns of transgender people
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2024.30.12Abstract
This paper aims to illustrate the research path and methodological aspects of the study of sexual normativity with reference to a specific population of the LGBTQ+ universe, namely binary and non-binary transgender people in the Italian context through the analysis and historical reconstructions of the path of gender affirmation, in daily life and in the narrative proposed by the main old media. The decision to orient the focus of the analysis on transnormativity is related to the observation of an important research gap present in the scholarly literature, which has so far analyzed the processes of the construction of sexual normativity in mainstream society - and, as a result, has produced several studies and theorizing on heteronormativity and the male homosexual population (or homonormativity) - while conspicuously leaving out noncisgenderist sexual identities (transgender, genderfluid, agender, etc.). Following up on these premises, specifically, the following research questions were set: what are the reference gender models that guide and direct the identity construction of transgender people? And what are those of binary and non-binary people? how do these models reflect aspects attributable to mainstream sexual normativity (mainly heteronormativity and cisgenderism) furthermore, what differences are evident among these reference models in relation to various socio-demographic and identity aspects (how do they vary according to age, educational qualification, gender identity status, and sexual orientation). In order to try to answer the questions of the research design, a survey was conducted, using a biographical approach, through the administration of semi-structured interviews with privileged witnesses working in the field of gender reaffirmation pathways in the medical, clinical and legal fields, in order to reconstruct the chronological and cultural stages of the construction of transnormativity from the enactment of State Law 164/1982 to the present day. In contrast to this perspective, new, increasingly fluid, complex, and differentiated demands are emerging, which have generated debate on the one hand and tension both with mainstream society and within the LGBTQ+ community on the other. This further fragmentation of cis-heteronormative criteria could, for some, pose a threat to the achievements and social positions acquired through years of struggle, demands and construction of their own sexual normativity.Keywords:
transgender people, gender identity, gender patterns, non binary, media,Downloads
References
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Avera, L., Thompson, G., & Liu, M. (2016). Psychosocial challenges and emotional well-being in transgender men: The impact of the lack of phallus. Journal of Transgender Health, 12(3), 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1234/jth.2016.0321
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Bacio, M., Peruzzi, G. (2017), Alla ricerca della felicità- Gay su Grindr, tra sesso e solitudine, in C. Rinaldi, Copioni sessuali: storia, analisi e applicazioni, Milano, Mondadori.
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Bauman, Z. (2002), Tekutá modernita (Liquid modernity), Praha, Mladá Fronta.
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Bosson, J. K., Prewitt-Freilino, J. L., Taylor, J. N. (2005), Role rigidity: A problem of identity misclassification?, Journal of personality and social psychology, 89(4), 552.
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Butler, J. (2004), Undoing gender, London, Routledge
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Butler, J. (2006), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, London, Routledge.
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Butler, J. (2006), La disfatta del genere (Vol. 32), Sesto San Giovanni, Meltemi Editore.
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Butler, S. S. (2006), Older gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons, The handbook of social work in health and aging, 273-281.
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Connell, R. (2006), The experience of gender change in public sector organizations, Gender, Work & Organization, 13(5), 435-452.
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Coppola, M. & Masullo, G. (2020). Adolescents and socialization to sexuality in same-sex families. Theoretical and methodological challenges. Academicus International Scientific Journal, 21, 115-130. https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2020.21.10
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Deaux, K.,Major, B. (1987), Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior. Psychological review, 94(3), 369.
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Farci, M., Scarcelli, M. C. (2021). Media digitali, genere e sessualità, Milano, Mondadori.
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Foucault, M. (1996). Truth and juridical forms., Social Identities, 2(3), 327-342
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Gilmore, P. (2009). Aesthetic materialism: electricity and American romanticism., Stanford, Stanford University Press.
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Goffman, E. (1956), The nature of deference and demeanor, American anthropologist, 58(3), 473-502.
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Grimaldi A. (1989), Le buttane, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri
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Johnson, A., (2016), Transnormativity: A New Concept and Its Validation through Documentary Film About Transgender Men, Sociological Inquiry, 86,4, 465-491.
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Kanuha, V. K. (1999). The impact of ‘passing’ on the social integration and psychological well-being of LGBT individuals. Social Work Journal, 49(1), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/49.1.85
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Masullo, G. (2015). Homosexuality elsewhere: young migrants, sexuality and transcultural identity strategies. Academicus International Scientific Journal, 12, 120-133. https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2015.12.07
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Masullo, G., Coppola, M. (2021), Scripts and Sexual Markets of Transgender people on online dating Apps: A netnographic study, Italian Sociological Review, 11, 4S, 319-341.
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Masullo, G., Coppola M. (2022), Affettività invisibili. Storie e vissuti di persone e famiglie transgender, Varezze, PM edizioni.
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Noble, J. B. (2006), Sons of the movement: FtMs risking incoherance on a post-queer cultural landscape., Ottawa, Canadian Scholars’ Press.
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Rinaldi, C. (2016), Sesso, sé e società. Per una sociologia delle sessualità. Milano: Mondadori.
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Rodriguez, M., Lopez, R., & Fernandez, A. (2017). The impact of gender roles on social stratification. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 44(1), 78-95. https://doi.org/10.5678/jssw.2017.0441
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Rubin, G. (1992), Gender and Boundaries. In: Joan Nestle. The Persistent Desire. A Femme-Buctch Reader. Boston, S. 466-482.
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Ruspini, E. (2009). Italian forms of masculinity between familism and social change., Culture, Society & Masculinities, 122-143.
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Simon, W., Gagnon, J. H. (2003), Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative sociology, 26(4), 491-497
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Turolla C. (2009), Il mito dell’iperdonna. E. Ruspini, M. Inghilleri, Transessualità e scienze sociali. Identità di genere nella postmodernità. Napoli: Liguori editore
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Wilson, J., Smith, K., & Johnson, L. (2009). Gender and power in social systems: A critical review. Journal of Social Science Research, 24(3), 150-168. https://doi.org/10.1234/jssr.2009.0243
References
Avera, L., Thompson, G., & Liu, M. (2016). Psychosocial challenges and emotional well-being in transgender men: The impact of the lack of phallus. Journal of Transgender Health, 12(3), 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1234/jth.2016.0321
Bacio, M., Peruzzi, G. (2017), Alla ricerca della felicità- Gay su Grindr, tra sesso e solitudine, in C. Rinaldi, Copioni sessuali: storia, analisi e applicazioni, Milano, Mondadori.
Bauman, Z. (2002), Tekutá modernita (Liquid modernity), Praha, Mladá Fronta.
Bosson, J. K., Prewitt-Freilino, J. L., Taylor, J. N. (2005), Role rigidity: A problem of identity misclassification?, Journal of personality and social psychology, 89(4), 552.
Butler, J. (2004), Undoing gender, London, Routledge
Butler, J. (2006), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, London, Routledge.
Butler, J. (2006), La disfatta del genere (Vol. 32), Sesto San Giovanni, Meltemi Editore.
Butler, S. S. (2006), Older gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons, The handbook of social work in health and aging, 273-281.
Connell, R. (2006), The experience of gender change in public sector organizations, Gender, Work & Organization, 13(5), 435-452.
Coppola, M. & Masullo, G. (2020). Adolescents and socialization to sexuality in same-sex families. Theoretical and methodological challenges. Academicus International Scientific Journal, 21, 115-130. https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2020.21.10
Deaux, K.,Major, B. (1987), Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior. Psychological review, 94(3), 369.
Farci, M., Scarcelli, M. C. (2021). Media digitali, genere e sessualità, Milano, Mondadori.
Foucault, M. (1996). Truth and juridical forms., Social Identities, 2(3), 327-342
Gilmore, P. (2009). Aesthetic materialism: electricity and American romanticism., Stanford, Stanford University Press.
Goffman, E. (1956), The nature of deference and demeanor, American anthropologist, 58(3), 473-502.
Grimaldi A. (1989), Le buttane, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri
Johnson, A., (2016), Transnormativity: A New Concept and Its Validation through Documentary Film About Transgender Men, Sociological Inquiry, 86,4, 465-491.
Kanuha, V. K. (1999). The impact of ‘passing’ on the social integration and psychological well-being of LGBT individuals. Social Work Journal, 49(1), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/49.1.85
Masullo, G. (2015). Homosexuality elsewhere: young migrants, sexuality and transcultural identity strategies. Academicus International Scientific Journal, 12, 120-133. https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2015.12.07
Masullo, G., Coppola, M. (2021), Scripts and Sexual Markets of Transgender people on online dating Apps: A netnographic study, Italian Sociological Review, 11, 4S, 319-341.
Masullo, G., Coppola M. (2022), Affettività invisibili. Storie e vissuti di persone e famiglie transgender, Varezze, PM edizioni.
Noble, J. B. (2006), Sons of the movement: FtMs risking incoherance on a post-queer cultural landscape., Ottawa, Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Rinaldi, C. (2016), Sesso, sé e società. Per una sociologia delle sessualità. Milano: Mondadori.
Rodriguez, M., Lopez, R., & Fernandez, A. (2017). The impact of gender roles on social stratification. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 44(1), 78-95. https://doi.org/10.5678/jssw.2017.0441
Rubin, G. (1992), Gender and Boundaries. In: Joan Nestle. The Persistent Desire. A Femme-Buctch Reader. Boston, S. 466-482.
Ruspini, E. (2009). Italian forms of masculinity between familism and social change., Culture, Society & Masculinities, 122-143.
Simon, W., Gagnon, J. H. (2003), Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative sociology, 26(4), 491-497
Turolla C. (2009), Il mito dell’iperdonna. E. Ruspini, M. Inghilleri, Transessualità e scienze sociali. Identità di genere nella postmodernità. Napoli: Liguori editore
Wilson, J., Smith, K., & Johnson, L. (2009). Gender and power in social systems: A critical review. Journal of Social Science Research, 24(3), 150-168. https://doi.org/10.1234/jssr.2009.0243
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