CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Rueda-Toro, Juan Sebastian |
|---|---|
| Title | Transgender Women Identity Construction in Colombia: The Reparative Psychosocial Continuum |
| Summary | The transgender population is traditionally associated with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. This reality must be viewed through a psychosocial lens that allows for an understanding of the continuum, bidirectionality, and interconnection between the psychological and social realms. Recent research highlights that studies on LGBTQ+ health, mental health, and psychosocial well-being often focus solely on gay and lesbian individuals, neglecting other gender identities and lacking an intersectional perspective. Thus, the main question guiding this study was: How is gender identity constructed by transgender women in Colombia? Guided by three specific questions: (1) How can the concepts of Gender Performativity and Melancholia illuminate the process of gender identity construction among transgender women? (2) How do different affects mobilize reparative and/or paranoid readings towards the self and the other? (3) How does the concept of Mourning and Melancholia as a Continuum lead to non-pathologizing interpretations of transgender identity? This was a qualitative study employing a design for secondary data analysis, specifically, 20 interview transcripts of transgender women conducted in six cities of Colombia during the TranSER program. Utilizing Critical Discourse Analysis and three analytical categories derived from each research question, a close reading of each interview was conducted. The results are presented based on the three analysis categories: Gender Performativity and Melancholia, Reparative and Paranoid Readings, and Mourning and Melancholia as a Continuum. The conclusions highlight that the process of constructing the gender identity of transgender women underscores the social rejection they continuously face and its relationship with melancholic states, self-medication, and the importance of a psychosocial and systemic perspective for a deeper understanding of these issues. Finally, recommendations are provided for healthcare professionals, such as psychologists and psychoanalysts, working with transgender populations, and for future research endeavors. |
| Supervisor | Eszter Timar |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/rueda-toro_juan.pdf |
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