US University to study trans identity
The University of Georgia is to embark on a five-year study on trans identity and experience.
The study, conducted via interviews and surveys, is intended to inform development of support and social services for transgender people.
Anneliese Singh, a professor in the counselling and human development department, who is leading one of the teams, said: “It’s about creating better health outcomes for transgender people across the lifespan and ultimately reducing the massive amounts of discrimination they face.
“There are a lot of things we already know that need to be changed.
“But once we know more about transgender identity development, we will be able to develop better intervention and prevention initiatives so transgender people can thrive.”
She has previously studied discrimination faced by LGBT people, and how this affects them.
This first year of the study will look at critical moments over a person’s lifetime that help shape their identity.
Professor Singh went on: “For instance, people tend to have an internal sense of being a woman or a man.
“Transgender people may not fit neatly into this gender binary as transgender people may not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.”
In the UK, a study into public toilet access is currently under way, with a focus on trans and disabled people
A study released earlier this year showed the gender identities of transgender children was indistinguishable from that of cis children.
