Transgender implies a person whose gender identity or gender expression differs from their assigned sex at birth. However, being transgender is not related to sexual orientation. Gender identity is defined as a sense of own gender. Instead of gender binary categorizing people as men or women, gender is interpreted as a spectrum including agender, genderfluid, pangender and etc. For gender expression, such terms focus on the cultural context on how people make use of their behaviors and manners, interest, make up and appearances to express their preferred gender roles. Cross-dresser, drag king/queen for examples. Regarding their gender identity and expression, traditional psychosis system tended to diagnose them as gender identity disorder which require forced treatment to rectify their preferences. Nowadays, the accuracy of such diagnosis and classification are being questioned. Such shift facilitates better diagnosis and adequate treatment for those who have mental illness ( 香港性文化學會 , 2017). On the other hand, transgender people can access proper psychological assessment for different level and types of medical intervention for sex change such as hormone therapy, sex reassignment therapy and other surgical reconstruction procedure (McCann & Sharek,2016). The terms "trans-masculine" means male who transitioned from female to male and "trans-feminine" means female who transitioned from male to female. Transgender people often being criticized and oppressed by traditional culture and religion. From they recognize their gender identity, “coming out” to their families and others, making changes from appearance to physical body, they bear great distress and negative emotions in such a rocky journey ( 莫坤菱 , 2018). Violence and unequal treatment from family, schools and workplace marginalized them socially and financially (White & Jaclyn, 2015). The society and government provide limited recognition and support for them. Having said that, LGBT social movement includes transgender community in the hope of raising more recognition and equal rights of transgender people. Transgender people should have their gender identity recognized without compulsory requirement of undergoing sex reassignment treatment. For example, the gender registered in identity card, equal rights for male/female as well as marriage ( 早安 , 2017).
A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. 引文
McCann, E. & Sharek, D. (2016). Mental health needs of people who identify as transgender: A review of the literature. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(2), 280–285.
This review highlights the specific needs of mental health services in the transgender population by studying 10 selected papers from 217 comprehensively searched papers in 2014 from social sciences databases. Results identified existing barriers of mental health services against transgender people including accessing suitable consultation and treatment, responsiveness of doctors and nurses, support from family as well as development of potential services on mental health. 引文
Sven C. Mueller, et al. (2017). Transgender research in the 21st century: A selective critical review from a neurocognitive perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry, 174(12), 1155–1162.
This review covers the psychological distress and mental health issues of transgender people in the hope of addressing their needs and care in transition to preferred gender. Although anxiety and depression are common in the pre- and post-transition, 40% of the literature pointed out that they are still prevalent to self-injuries and suicide due to their autistic traits. 引文
White Hughto, J. M. et al. (2015). Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 222–231.
This review integrated researches on transgender stigma across different domains such as employment and healthcare. These stigma create barriers agianst transgender people to access to reasonable physical and mental health. Social ecological model is applied to illustrate how stigma operates in individual, interpersonal and structural levels. It is important to have multi-level stigma prevention and coping intervention to tackle social stigma against transgender people in the hope of raise the health equality for transgender population. 引文
Ekins, R. & King, D. (2006). The transgender phenomenon.
Based on over twenty years of fieldwork, research and archive work with transgender community around the world, this book covers the evolution of transgender as a phenomenon with comprehensive overview of the diversity of transgender nowadays and marks a conceptual framework on making sense of the interaction of women, men and those who may not identify with either male or female. 引文
Girshick, L. (2008). Transgender voices: Beyond women and men (pp. 1–213).
This book covers 150 extensive interviews with gender diverse people to share their experience in coming out, exploring their gender identity and sexual orientation as well as relationship with others and their partners. In sociology perspective, the society creates a sense of control and surveillance of people with gender diversities such as segregating bathrooms in gender. 引文
Hines, S. (2007). TransForming gender: Transgender practices of identity, intimacy and care.
This book provides studies on transgender practice of intimacy and care as well as marks the study on transgender identity formation. It covers several key approaches including anthropology, sociology as well as cultural, contemporary gender and sexuality studies. This book addresses the changing government policy on transgender citizenship. Extensive interviews with transgender people were conducted to examine the impacts of these social policy shift on their identity formation, intimate relationships and practice of care in the near future. 引文
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