The impact of the gender binary on gender nonconforming females\u27 lives and psyches over time : an exploratory study

The purpose of this research is to explore the impact of the systematically imposed gender binary on the lives and psyches of gender non-conforming females over time. To pursue this qualitative research, I conducted single, exploratory, hour-long interviews with eight gender nonconforming females aged 59 years and older. The interviews touched upon many themes including the multiple ways participants\u27 identify their gender, sex, and sexuality (and the developmental trajectory of each); how each participant relates to notions of the gender binary; participants\u27 experiences as gender nonconforming young people, or tomboys ; ways that families, institutions and the general public have performed regulatory acts through the employment of manipulation, discrimination, and/or violence against participants\u27 non conforming gender presentations; participants\u27 various expressions of female masculinity ; participants\u27 accumulative experiences of the stresses of living as a gender minority; and participants coping strategies and resilience in the face of discrimination. Because there is little-to-no literature on the cumulative effects of the gender binary on gender nonconforming individuals\u27 lives, nor is there readily available literature exploring the experiences of gender nonconforming females, this research works to expand social work discourse in this way