RESEARCH

How do nonbinary individuals experience and respond to gender identity erasure in their daily lives?

How do nonbinary individuals’ sense of identity and interactions with institutions, such as healthcare and family, evolve as they age?

How do nonbinary people who are parents negotiate their identities with their children and co-parents?

What role does access to language (or the lack thereof) play in shaping the gender identities and expressions of nonbinary people?

How have historical and cultural shifts influenced the lives of nonbinary individuals across generations?

How can social institutions better support the unique needs of nonbinary individuals?

Questions such as these form the basis of my research into nonbinary identities, in which I employ qualitative methods to examine how nonbinary individuals navigate the complexities of identity across the life course and in the context of various social institutions. My work investigates themes such as identity expression, the impacts of social and institutional erasure, sources of joy, and the ways nonbinary people negotiate their gender in contexts such as healthcare, family, and aging.

Through my research, I hope to not only to illuminate the challenges faced by nonbinary individuals but also celebrate their history, resiliency, joys, creativity, and contributions to reimagining gendered institutions.

LATEST ARTICLE

JOY BEYOND THE GENDER BINARY

Experiences, Constructions, and Barriers of Joy in Nonbinary Lives

Sociologists have increasingly begun exploring the experiences of gender-expansive populations, however these studies are oversaturated with negative experiences of prejudice and discrimination and do not accurately portray the joy which accompanies identifying outside of the gender binary. This omission of joy prevents a comprehensive exploration of gender-expansive lives, potentially reinforcing stereotypes and contributing to the marginalization of their diverse narratives. To address what shuster and Westbrook (2022) term the ‘joy deficit’ in sociology and trans studies, I conducted in-depth interviews with 28 nonbinary people in which they discussed their experiences of joy. This study identifies four key dimensions of nonbinary joy: 1) discovery of gender identity; 2) authentic expression of gender; 3) external affirmation of identity and expression; and 4) engagement with validating communities. However, interviewees also discussed individual and social factors which frequently created barriers to experiencing these forms of joy. By examining both the sources of nonbinary joy and obstacles to its realization, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of gender-expansive identities. Furthermore, this project reveals joy as a socially constructed phenomenon, influenced by structural factors that govern its accessibility and manifestation, rather than an individual state of being.

Read "Joy Beyond the Gender Binary" in The Sociological Quarterly.

ONGOING PROJECTS

Photo from Kids Helpline.

"You'll always be my little she/her": Examining Impacts of Nonbinary Gender Identity Erasure

In 28 in-depth interviews with nonbinary individuals, interviewees overwhelmingly described being misgendered as "the cost of doing business" when navigating life as a nonbinary person. But what are the deeper impacts of such erasure on their identities, well-being, and self-expression? This study identifies the institutions in which gender identity erasure is encountered the most, how nonbinary people respond to such erasure, and the lasting effects of such erasure.

With Dr. Daniel Bartholomay.

Photo from Adobe.

Invisible Threads: A Discourse Analysis of Intersectionality in r/NonBinary

r/NonBinary is a thriving Reddit community with over 258,000 members, described as a space for "people of every stripe who feel that they don't fit into a preference-binary or gender-binary culture." Despite its inclusivity in principle, the subreddit is dominated by posts and narratives from young, thin, white individuals who embody a specific aesthetic. This project employs discourse analysis to: 1) explore the factors contributing to this overrepresentation, and 2) examine the experiences of community members with intersecting marginalized identities, including those related to age, race, ability, rurality, and body size.

Photo from iStock.

Grey/Them: An Explorative Study of Nonbinary Aging

For my master’s thesis, I aim to address the significant gap in understanding the experiences of aging nonbinary individuals. With 75% of openly nonbinary people under the age of 30, little is known about how older nonbinary individuals navigate social institutions and key life milestones. This lack of representation limits the sociological understanding of the life course, gendered institutions, and ways to "do" gender, while also restricting younger nonbinary people’s ability to envision their futures and foreclosing the possibility of genders beyond the binary for older adults. Through in-depth interviews and focus groups, my thesis will explore how aging nonbinary individuals interact with support systems, family dynamics, and healthcare, and navigate transitions such as retirement and long-term care, expanding the scope of sociological inquiry and informing institutional support for these communities.

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