"And then. well. and then i became me.": Transgender identities in motion

As part of a larger study exploring dimensions gender variance, we explored the narrative histories of 20 persons self-identifying as trans, transgender, or transsexual. Bibliographic interviews were conducted with twenty individuals. Versions of grounded theory were used to dimensionalize the ways in which informants experienced, balanced, and largely overcame negating experiences with their sex assigned at birth and their journeys of social transition to their current identities. We used a quantitative-qualitative mixed design to explore our informants' narrative experience; in this chapter, we report descriptive results from questions clustered around partnered sexual activity, and conversations with parents about sexuality, but our focus is on interpretive analyses. Grounded theory was used to interrogate bibliographic narratives. We report on three emerging themes: 1) how participants reported understanding their own assigned gender in childhood; 2) the tenuous struggles to manage identity during phases of transition; and 3) how social support from others was vital to solidifying a positive sense of self. Despite a history often chronicled with rejection and elements of violence, members of our sample worked to feel positive about who they are, and the ways in which they were able to craft themselves into living lives authentic to their true selves.