Transgender Communication Studies: Histories, Trends, and Trajectories brings scholarship in transgender studies to the forefront of the communication discipline. Leland Spencer and Jamie Capuzza provide a broad foundation that documents the evolution of transgender communication studies and challenges fundamental assumptions about the relationship between communication and identity. The contributors explore the political conditions these practices create for persons across the spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations, placing them in the subdisciplines of human communication, media, and public and rhetorical communication. The collection also looks to the future of transgender research with suggestions and directives for continued work. This comprehensive study inspires critical thinking about gender identity and transgender lives from within the vocabularies and methodologies of communication studies.
Transgender studies, broadly defined, has become increasingly prominent as a field of study over the past several decades, particularly in the last ten years. The experiences and rights of trans people have also increasingly become the subject of news coverage, such as the ability of trans people to access restrooms, their participation in the military, the issuing of driver’s licenses that allow a third gender option, the growing visibility of nonbinary trans teens, the denial of gender-affirming health care to trans youth, and the media’s misgendering of trans actors. With more and more trans people being open about their gender identities, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counselors, educators, higher education administrators, student affairs personnel, and others are increasingly working with trans individuals who are out. But many professionals have little formal training or awareness of the life experiences and needs of the trans population. This can seriously interfere with open communications between trans people and service providers and can negatively impact trans people’s health outcomes and well-being, as well as interfere with their educational and career success and advancement. Having an authoritative, academic resource like The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies can go a long way toward correcting misconceptions and providing information that is otherwise not readily available. This encyclopedia, featuring more than 300 well-researched articles, takes an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to trans studies. Entries address a wide range of topics, from broad concepts (e.g., the criminal justice system, activism, mental health), to specific subjects (e.g., the trans pride flag, the Informed Consent Model, voice therapy), to key historical figures, events, and organizations (e.g., Lili Elbe, the Stonewall Riots, Black Lives Matter). Entries focus on diverse lives, identities, and contexts, including the experiences of trans people in different racial, religious, and sexual communities in the United States and the variety of ways that gender is expressed in other countries. Among the fields of studies covered are psychology, sociology, history, family studies, K-12 and higher education, law/political science, medicine, economics, literature, popular culture, the media, and sports.
This book articulates a communicative praxis for resisting multiple forms of oppression by showing how everyday performances of identity and culture challenge master narratives of power and control. As an emancipatory tool, it recenters nonheteronormative Latinx experience difference as a managed form of queer of color worldmaking.
An interdisciplinary examination of the strategies GLBTQ communities have used to advocate for political, social, and cultural change Queerly Remembered investigates the ways in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) individuals and communities have increasingly turned to public tellings of their ostensibly shared pasts in order to advocate for political, social, and cultural change in the present. Much like nations, institutions, and other minority groups before them, GLBTQ people have found communicating their past(s)—particularly as expressed through the concept of memory—a rich resource for leveraging historical and contemporary opinions toward their cause. Drawing from the interdisciplinary fields of rhetorical studies, memory studies, gay and lesbian studies, and queer theory, Thomas R. Dunn considers both the ephemeral tactics and monumental strategies that GLBTQ communities have used to effect their queer persuasion. More broadly this volume addresses the challenges and opportunities posed by embracing historical representations of GLBTQ individuals and communities as a political strategy. Particularly for a diverse community whose past is marked by the traumas of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the forgetting and destruction of GLBTQ history, and the sometimes-divisive representational politics of fluid, intersectional identities, portraying a shared past is an exercise fraught with conflict despite its potential rewards. Nonetheless, by investigating rich rhetorical case studies through time and across diverse artifacts—including monuments, memorials, statues, media publications, gravestones, and textbooks—Queerly Remembered reveals that our current queer "turn toward memory" is a complex, enduring, and avowedly rich rhetorical undertaking.
At no other point in human history have the definitions of "woman" and "man," "male" and "female," "masculine" and "feminine," been more contentious than now. This book advances a pragmatic approach to the act of defining that acknowledges the important ethical dimensions of our definitional practices. Increased transgender rights and visibility has been met with increased opposition, controversy, and even violence. Who should have the power to define the meanings of sex and gender? What values and interests are advanced by competing definitions? Should an all-boys’ college or high school allow transgender boys to apply? Should transgender women be allowed to use the women’s bathroom? How has growing recognition of intersex conditions challenged our definitions of sex/gender? In this timely intervention, Edward Schiappa examines the key sites of debate including schools, bathrooms, the military, sports, prisons, and feminism, drawing attention to the political, practical, and ethical dimensions of the act of defining itself. This is an important text for students and scholars in gender studies, philosophy, communication, and sociology. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Queer Studies is designed as an advanced undergraduate textbook in queer studies for this rapidly growing field. It is also appropriate as a required or recommended graduate textbook. The author uses the overarching concept of queering as a way of looking at the lives of queer people across a range of disciplines.
Transforming Voice and Communication with Transgender and Gender-Diverse People: An Evidence-Based Process is written for speech-language pathologists and voice teachers to guide transgender and gender-diverse people through communication transformations. It follows a chronological progression from preparations through techniques, acknowledging all gender presentations throughout the text. A client-centered process is emphasized through case examples illustrating each step. The first section, “Start Smart,” begins with a chapter about developing and monitoring the provider’s self-awareness because a mindful provider is crucial for the safety and success of the process. Information about the populations is provided next to develop the provider’s cultural humility and sensitivity. This section closes with practical considerations for working with marginalized populations and ways to mitigate barriers to their accessing care. Service delivery models for five types of settings are described by practicing speech-language pathologists who developed successful programs. The second section, “Press On,” guides the provider through the best practice standards for gender-related voice and communication services. Procedures and provided forms are tailored to the circumstances and needs of the client and extend the assessment beyond basic vocal function. Three chapters dedicated to the phases of intervention highlight the importance of taking time to establish a collaborative and informed evidence-based plan and prepare the client’s body and mind before launching into direct voice work. Stimuli lists, photographs, and figures are provided to assist the client’s practice. The final section, “Finish Strong,” offers several real case examples of navigating the more unique challenges in this process. Five essays about communication transformation written by gender diverse people end the book on an inspirational note. Clients who wish to transform their voice and communication navigate physical, mental, and emotional work. This text is a guide for speech-language pathologists and voice teachers to inform and facilitate transformation. Throughout the book, real examples from the authors and colleagues demonstrate how this work can be done well with informed, thoughtful planning.
Voice and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Gender Diverse Client: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide, Third Edition remains a must-have resource for speech-language pathologists, voice clinicians and trainers who assist transgender/gender diverse clients in aligning their communication with their gender identity. Such goals for transfeminine, transmasculine and gender diverse people are far from insurmountable given appropriate training. This third edition builds on the work of the first two editions, and meets the clinical and training needs of an even larger and better-informed core of speech language pathologists and trainers. Enhancements to this edition include significantly expanded chapters on counseling, psychotherapy, theater, non-verbal communication, singing, vocal health, medical considerations, and the historical perspectives on evidence-based research as well as a call to action to meet the needs of trans youth. Chapters cover each aspect of a communication training program, including case studies, summaries, appendices and an extensive bibliography, as well as an outline of therapy protocols and ideas for transmasculine, transfeminine and gender diverse clients. New to this edition: A new co-editor, Jack Pickering, brings a fresh perspective from extensive experience in transgender voice and communication trainingA comprehensive chapter addressing research and the voice and communication needs of transmasculine individualsA chapter focusing on the needs of trans youth, future directions in this area, and the role of SLPs with this unique populationA practical chapter on psychotherapy and the relationship between the SLP and psychotherapist/social worker and how these professionals work in tandem to help in the entire transition processA chapter on counseling for the transgender/gender diverse client, with step by step practical information that can also be used for counseling with all populations seen by SLPsA practical chapter on theater giving the perspectives from two transgender actresses' personal experiences, a cisgender actress/voice clinician, and a cisgender voice/theater coach/teacherAn expanded medical chapter outlining foundational information on terminology, development, endocrinology and surgeries as well as the physician's role and best practice in the transition process for each clientUpdated and expanded chapters on the role of multidisciplinary considerations for the transmasculine, transfeminine and gender diverse client, and assessment of these clients, in all aspects of pitch and inflection, the art and science of resonance, non-verbal communication, and group therapy and discharge This seminal text guides clinicians and trainers who work with the transgender/gender diverse population, in designing and administering a mindful, focused, and appropriate treatment plan. Speech-language pathologists, voice coaches, ENT physicians, professors and anyone working in the areas of voice, singing, and the vocal performing arts, will find this text to be an essential resource. Disclaimer: Please note that ancillary content (such as documents, audio, and video, etc.) may not be included as published in the original print version of this book.
An in-depth look at the role of media in the struggle for transgender inclusion From television shows like Orange is the New Black and Transparent, to the real-life struggles of Caitlyn Jenner splashed across the headlines, transgender visibility is on the rise. But what was it like to live as a transgender person in a media environment before this transgender boom in television? While pop culture imaginations of transgender identity flourish and shape audience’s perceptions of trans identities, what does this new media visibility mean for transgender individuals themselves? Struggling for Ordinary engagingly answers these questions, offering a snapshot of how transgender individuals made their way toward a sense of ordinary life by integrating available media into their everyday experiences. Drawing on in-depth interviews with transgender communities, Andre Cavalcante offers a richly detailed account of how the media impacts the lives and experiences of transgender individuals. He grippingly looks at the emotional toll that media takes on this population along with their resilience in the face of disempowerment. Deeply rooted in the life stories of transgender people, the book uses everyday circumstances to show how media and technology operate as a medium through which transgender individuals are able to cultivate an understanding of their identities, build inhabitable worlds, and achieve the routine affordances of everyday life from which they are often excluded. Expertly researched and eloquently argued, Struggling for Ordinary sheds a fascinating new light of the everyday struggles of individuals and communities, to seek a life in which transgender identity is fully integrated into the ordinary.
Awards Innovator Award for Outstanding Edited Collection, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Caucus, Central States Communication Association, 2023. Outstanding Book in Performance Studies and Autoethnography, Performance Studies and Autoethnography Division, Central States Communication Association, 2023. Book of the Year, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Communication Studies Division, National Communication Association, 2022. Book of the Year, Ethnography Division, National Communication Association, 2020. Gender Futurity, Intersectional Autoethnography showcases a collection of narrative and autoethnographic research that unpacks the complexity of gender at its intersections, i.e. by ability, race, sexuality, religion, beauty, geography, spatiality, community, performance, politics, socio-economic status, education, and many other markers of difference. The book focuses on gender as it is lived, chaperoned, and chaperones other social identity categories. It tells stories that reveal problematic gender binaries, promising gender futures, and everything in between—they ask us to rethink what we assume to be true, real, and normal about gender identity and expression. Each essay, written by both gender variant and cisgender scholars, explores cultural phenomena that create space for us to re-imagine, re-think, and create new ways of being. This book will be useful for undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional degree students, particularly in the fields of gender studies, qualitative methods, and communication theory.
