In his own words: A narrative analysis of the stories of trans men in gender transition


Claire Ely As director of a third sector CAMH


service for the past 18 years, meeting with many young people exploring their gender identity, I quickly realised how much they could teach me. Trans young adults are often discriminated against and pathologised because of their identities and I questioned my responsibility towards them, both in my role as a therapist and as part of wider society. I was struck by a seemingly ‘innate’ urge to categorise gender and a sharp awareness of the effects of societal binary gender-constructs. ‘Working at the edges of meaning’ with my sparse understanding and knowledge base, I have attempted to widen the lens through which I have understood gender through studying the narratives of three trans young people. Those who transgress from the


‘norms’ of gender are classified as having gender dysphoria, as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). In order to qualify for a diagnosis, individuals must tell their ‘dysphoric’ stories to access treatment. As such, Jay Prosser (1998) has suggested that: “Narrative is the linchpin of the


transsexual diagnosis” (p. 113). He goes on to argue that, if the


individual’s story has to fit with a diagnostic narrative, it is the clinician who becomes the author of the individual’s story, rather than the individual themselves. This highlights the importance of attending to systems of power and histories of pathologisation when supporting trans people. Post-modern-inf luenced social


constructionism argues that there are multiple truths about gender, and gender identity: there may be multiple versions of our gendered selves. How transgender people position themselves in relation to


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others in their stories and in society, may help to inform professionals about their experience of being in the world. Narratives can be thought of as


sequences of events that are connected in some way to make sense of the individual’s experience. “Embedded in the lives of the ordinary,


the marginalized, and the muted, personal narrative responds to the disintegration of master narratives as people make sense of experience, claim identities, and ‘get a life’ by telling and writing their stories” (Langellier, 2001, p. 700). My study centred on the stories of


three young trans men, employing William Labov’s (1972) model of narrative analysis that applies itself to the structure and function of a clause in the individual’s narrative. Stories can be seen as constructed in the following manner: • An abstract (a) – what the story is about • Orientation (o) – in terms of time, place, actors


• Complicating action (c) – the plot of the story


• Evaluation (e) – the narrator comments on meaning


• Resolution (r) – outcome of the plot • Coda (c) – end of the story Further, I employed Paul Gee’s (1991)


poetic narrative method, which places the narration into a stanzic structure. I interviewed three trans men (whom


I have anonymised) and certain key themes emerged; namely, not wanting to be seen as a woman, seeking help from professionals, and coming out to family. I will share a small selection of each theme below.


Not being seen as a woman Narratives of not wanting to be seen as a woman and the transitional stage of


moving from adolescence to adulthood appeared pivotal in the participant’s need for gender transition. If they can’t be the ‘right’ kind of woman, what will that mean for them; will that lead to oppression or stigmatisation for them or their families? Their stories suggest the gender ambiguities of earlier years may no longer be acceptable to themselves, or to society as a further life-stage looms. The movement between being a


girl and then being seen by others as a woman is a turning point for ‘Jay’: he cannot imagine being a woman or remaining as a tomboyish girl, rather, he resolves that he has to become a man: “I was trying to work out why I felt so


boyish when I got to 16 and people didn’ t call you a girl anymore, they called you a woman and when people started calling me a woman that just made me feel like really cringey. I knew for definite that I hated that


term that people were calling me. I didn’ t want people calling me a woman. Being called a girl was bad enough. Because I knew I wasn’ t one. It kind of hit me then that I would have


to actually be either a man or a woman”. It raised the question for me of how


much of society seeing him as the ‘other’ had ‘permitted’ him to remain as he was. If his gender ambiguity and non-embracing of ‘womanness’ were accepted, would this have inf luenced his desire to seek transition? This theme continues with the


transition from child to adult: what will he, can he, grow up to be? How ‘Luke’ perceives himself is directly impacted upon by how he perceives societal rules around gender. The theme of time is pivotal to him in his sense of being able to change himself. At the point where he may be labelled as a woman by others,


Context 155, February 2018


In his own words: A narrative analysis of the stories of trans men in gender transition


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