Abstract
Despite attending the same universities and working toward the same degrees, trans students and cisgender students do not always have the same perceptions of acceptance at their university. The transmale, gender nonconforming, and gender nonbinary students who participated in this study continue to experience a layer of rejection due to their gender identities and expressions. Using queer theory and feminist standpoint theory, this study sought to answer the question of what acceptance looks like from the standpoint of trans students at the University. Through these theoretical lenses and thematic analysis, it was determined that there were four general levels of acceptance experienced by members of trans communities at this university (i.e., active and passive acceptance, & active and passive rejection). Using their stories and experiences as a guide, a definition for both levels of acceptance and rejection was created. The discussion section includes a list of actions universities could take, provided by the participants of this study.
Recommended Citation
Maulding, Sean TE
(2023)
"Trans-Centered Acceptance within a University: Offering a Model of Acceptance Created By and Centered Around Trans Student Experiences,"
Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research: Vol. 21, Article 10.
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/kaleidoscope/vol21/iss1/10