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“Being here, you could actually be yourself”: Trans and gender expansive youth’s experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ community-based organizations

Galiette, Avery; Herman, Ryan; Reeder, Kelsey; Scheer, Jillian; Stefancic, Ana; Bochicchio, Lauren

Across the United States, polarizing politics have contributed to the increased stigmatization of transgender (trans) and gender expansive (TGE) youth, reinforcing health inequities for this population. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth centers have often served as places of refuge for young people across the gender spectrum, literature has yet to show how practices and strategies used in these settings promote TGE affirmation. This qualitative study explores youth and staff experiences within these settings; identifies the services, policies, and environments needed to support TGE community members; and ultimately calls for the expansion of the limited research on TGE experience and affirmation across such spaces. Using data collected in a larger study on affirming practices for LGBTQ+ youth, this article presents findings from in-depth, semistructured focus groups and interviews with TGE (n = 12) youth and staff (n = 12) across four LGBTQ+ community-based organizations in two large urban centers. Study findings show these organizations provide TGE affirmation through language, programming, and atmospheres of openness to identity exploration. Essential to these offerings are organizational policy mandates, such as correct pronoun usage and TGE-specific programming. Youth often juxtapose their experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ spaces with experiences of invalidation from the cisheteronormative cultures within their school or home environments. Implications for future practice and research include administering ongoing training on TGE-affirming language and developing comprehensive accountability measures (e.g., TGE-inclusive community guidelines). Institutions with these systems in place are well-equipped to contribute to the fight for trans liberation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

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Also Published In

Title
Psychological Services
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000906

More About This Work

Academic Units
Nursing
Psychiatry
Social Work
Published Here
January 24, 2025

Notes

Impact Statement: This study aims to specify the factors contributing to transgender and gender-expansive youth's experience of LGBTQ+ community-based organizations as “safe spaces” for identity exploration, pride, and resilience. Additionally, it provides recommendations at the organizational, environmental, interpersonal, and programmatic levels for how to provide services that promote experiences of identity affirmation within and beyond the organization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Degree Program: School of Social Work - PhD in Advanced Practice
Academic Advisor: Dr. Elwin Wu, PhD
Thesis or Dissertation: Not a thesis or dissertation.
Degree Earned:
Embargo Year(s): 0
Previously Published: true
Article Version: final
Keywords: transgender, youth, trans-affirming, social services, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning