“I Had Attained the Identity I Had Long Desired”: A Grounded Theory Study of Experiences of Transgender Men in Türkiye


Karakısla F. S., Fidanci C., Aydın R., KABUKCUOĞLU K.

Issues in Mental Health Nursing, cilt.45, sa.9, ss.906-916, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 45 Sayı: 9
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/01612840.2024.2371940
  • Dergi Adı: Issues in Mental Health Nursing
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, CINAHL, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Gender Studies Database, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index, Violence & Abuse Abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.906-916
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Transgender individuals form a distinct community that often experiences marginalization within society. This marginalization is particularly pronounced in patriarchal countries, where transgender men encounter various challenges across psychological, medical, legal, and social domains during their transition. The study design to conduct a thorough analysis of the life experiences and perspectives of transgender men in Türkiye. It involved 15 participants and the collected data were subsequently analyzed using the constant comparative method, a key technique within grounded theory methodology. The coding process resulted in three main themes: “Realizing gender identity”, “Impact of social support sources”, and “The nature of being visible”, and six sub-themes were formed, the core category being “… Despite the numerous challenges encountered along the way, when I gazed into the mirror, I realized I had attained the identity I had long desired”. Transgender individuals in the study expressed encountering emotional, physical, and psychological challenges throughout their personal journeys. However, despite these difficulties, they reported experiencing a sense of satisfaction and contentment upon reaching the end of their transition process. It is recommended to implement counseling services specifically tailored for transgender individuals and their families and incorporate transgender-related content into the training programs of professionals working with transgender individuals.