ABSTRACT

Transgender (trans) people in the United States experience staggering marginalization. To survive, trans people turn to their communities for support. In this study, I use in-depth interviews with 10 trans people living in “Townsville” to explore the social support trans and LGBTQ communities provide to trans members. What types of support are available? How does this support enable survival? How do differences in communities influence support? I found four types of support: emotional, institutional, bodily, and financial. The focus and composition of communities determined the types of support provided, and communities were divided based on gender and class. By concentrating on the contexts in which support occurs, my study adds to trans studies and sexualities scholarship concerned with how local trans and LGBTQ communities are experienced.

摘要

美国的跨性别（trans）人经历了惊人的边缘化。为了生存，跨性别者转向他们的社区寻求支持。在这项研究中，我对居住在“汤斯维尔”的 10 名跨性别者进行了深入访谈，以探索跨性别和 LGBTQ 社区为跨性别成员提供的社会支持。有哪些类型的支持可用？这种支持如何实现生存？社区差异如何影响支持？我发现了四种类型的支持：情感的、制度的、身体的和经济的。社区的重点和组成决定了提供的支持类型，社区根据性别和阶级划分。通过专注于支持发生的背景，我的研究增加了跨性别研究和性学术研究，关注当地跨性别和 LGBTQ 社区的体验。