Abstract
Traditional models of gender identity development for individuals who do not identify with their assigned birth sex have generally treated medical intervention as normative, and non-binary identification as relatively rare. However, changing demographics within gender diverse populations have highlighted the need for an updated framework of gender identity development. To address this gap in the research, this study systematically reviewed the qualitative literature assessing the lived experiences of identity development of over 1,758 gender diverse individuals, across 72 studies. Reflexive thematic analysis of excerpts were synthesised to produce a novel, integrative perspective on identity development, referred to as the Diverse Gender Identity Framework. The framework is inclusive of binary and non-binary identities and characterises the distinctive identity processes individuals undergo across development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, G. (2014). Adult transgender perspectives on identity development [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University].
Balius, A. (2018). “I want to be who I am”: Stories of rejecting binary gender [Master’s thesis, University of South Florida]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2093878022
Beagan, B. L., de Souza, L., Godbout, C., Hamilton, L., MacLeod, J., Paynter, E., & Tobin, A. (2012). “This is the biggest thing you’ll ever do in your life”: Exploring the occupations of transgendered people. Journal of Occupational Science, 19(3), 226–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2012.659169
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.4.354
Bockting, W. O., & Coleman, E. (2007). Developmental stages of the transgender coming out process: Toward an integrated identity. In R. Ettner, S. Monstrey, & A. E. Eyler (Eds.), Principles of transgender medicine and surgery (pp. 185–208). Routledge.
Boddington, E. (2016). A qualitative exploration of gender identity in young people who identify as neither male nor female [Doctoral dissertation, University of East London]. https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/85119
Bradford, N. J., & Syed, M. (2019). Transnormativity and transgender identity development: A master narrative approach. Sex Roles, 81(5–6), 306–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0992-7
Bradford, N. J., Rider, G. N., Catalpa, J. M., Morrow, Q. J., Berg, D. R., Spencer, K. G., & McGuire, J. K. (2019). Creating gender: A thematic analysis of genderqueer narratives. International Journal of Transgenderism, 20(2–3), 155–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2018.1474516
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.
Brown, C., Dashjian, L. T., Acosta, T. J., Mueller, C. T., Kizer, B. E., & Trangsrud, H. B. (2013). Learning from the life experiences of male-to-female transsexuals. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 9(2), 105–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2013.765247
Carlile, A., Butteriss, E., & Sansfaçon, A. P. (2021). “It’s like my kid came back overnight”: Experiences of trans and non-binary young people and their families seeking, finding and engaging with clinical care in England. International Journal of Transgender Health, 22(4), 412–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2020.1870188
Clark, B. A., Veale, J. F., Townsend, M., Frohard-Dourlent, H., & Saewyc, E. (2018). Non-binary youth: Access to gender-affirming primary health care. International Journal of Transgenderism, 19(2), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2017.1394954
Coleman, E. (1982). Developmental stages of the coming out process. Journal of Homosexuality, 7(2–3), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v07n02_06
Coleman, E., Radix, A. E., Bouman, W. P., Brown, G. R., de Vries, A. L. C., Deutsch, M. B., Ettner, R., Fraser, L., Goodman, M., Green, J., Hancock, A. B., Johnson, T. W., Karasic, D. H., Knudson, G. A., Leibowitz, S. F., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Monstrey, S. J., Motmans, J., Nahata, L., & Arcelus, J. (2022). Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(S1), S1–S259. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. (2019). CASP qualitative checklist. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. https://casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/
Crocetti, E., Rubini, M., Luyckx, K., & Meeus, W. (2008). Identity formation in early and middle adolescents from various ethnic groups: From three dimensions to five statuses. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(8), 983–996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9222-2
Devor, A. H. (2004). Witnessing and mirroring: A fourteen stage model of transsexual identity formation. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy, 8(1–2), 41–67. https://doi.org/10.1300/J236v08n01_05
Downing, J. B. (2013). Trans identity construction: Reconstituting the body, gender, and sex [Doctoral dissertation, Clark University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1334957140
Ehrhardt, A. A., Grisanti, G., & McCauley, E. A. (1979). Female-to-male transsexuals compared to lesbians: Behavioral patterns of childhood and adolescent development. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 8(6), 481–490. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541415
Eisenberg, E., & Zervoulis, K. (2020). All flowers bloom differently: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experiences of adult transgender women. Psychology and Sexuality, 11(1–2), 120–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2019.1661278
Evans, J. L. (2010). Genderqueer identity and self-perception [Doctoral dissertation, Alliant International University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/745602050
Gagné, P., Tewksbury, R., & McGaughey, D. (1997). Coming out and crossing over identity formation and proclamation in a transgender community. Gender and Society, 11(4), 478–508. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124397011004006
Goldberg, A. E., & Kuvalanka, K. A. (2018). Navigating identity development and community belonging when “there are only two boxes to check”: An exploratory study of nonbinary trans college students. Journal of LGBT Youth, 15(2), 106–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2018.1429979
Goodman, M., Adams, N., Corneil, T., Kreukels, B., Motmans, J., & Coleman, E. (2019). Size and distribution of transgender and gender nonconforming populations. Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America, 48(2), 303–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2019.01.001
Graham, L. F., Crissman, H. P., Tocco, J., Hughes, L. A., Snow, R. C., & Padilla, M. B. (2014). Interpersonal relationships and social support in transitioning narratives of Black transgender women in Detroit. International Journal of Transgenderism, 15(2), 100–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2014.937042
Gridley, S. J., Crouch, J. M., Evans, Y., Eng, W., Antoon, E., Lyapustina, M., Schimmel-Bristow, A., Woodward, J., Dundon, K., Schaff, R. N., McCarty, C., Ahrens, K., & Breland, D. J. (2016). Youth and caregiver perspectives on barriers to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(3), 254–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.017
Gülgöz, S., Glazier, J. J., Enright, E. A., Alonso, D. J., Durwood, L. J., Fast, A. A., Lowe, R., Ji, C., Heer, J., Martin, C. L., & Olson, K. R. (2019). Similarity in transgender and cisgender children’s gender development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(49), 24480–24485. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909367116
Hawkins, L. A. (2009). Gender identity development among transgender youth: A qualitative analysis of contributing factors [Doctoral dissertation, Widener University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/305248568
Johnson, A. H. (2016). Transnormativity: A new concept and its validation through documentary film about transgender men. Sociological Inquiry, 86(4), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12127
Kalra, G. (2012). Hijras: The unique transgender culture of India. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 5(2), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/17542863.2011.570915
Katz-Wise, S. L., & Budge, S. L. (2015). Cognitive and interpersonal identity processes related to mid-life gender transitioning in transgender women. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 28(2), 150–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2014.993305
Kennedy, N. (2022). Deferral: The sociology of young trans people’s epiphanies and coming out. Journal of LGBT Youth, 19(1), 53–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2020.1816244
Laljer, D. (2017). Comparing media usage of binary and non-binary transgender individuals when discovering and describing gender identity [Master’s thesis, University of North Texas]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2009056791
Lambrou, N. H. (2018). Trans masculine identities: Making meaning in gender and transition [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsis-Milwaukee]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2108647669
le Roux, N. (2013). Gender variance in childhood/adolescence: Gender identity journeys not involving physical intervention [Doctoral dissertation, University of East London]. https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/85vvw
Lev, A. I. (2004). Transgender emergence: A developmental process. In T. Trepper (Ed.), Transgender emergence : Therapeutic guidelines for working with gender-variant people and their families (pp. 229–269). The Haworth Clinical Practice Press.
Levitt, H. M. (2019). A psychosocial genealogy of LGBTQ+ gender: An empirically based theory of gender and gender identity cultures. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(3), 275–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684319834641
Losty, M., & O’Connor, J. (2018). Falling outside of the ‘nice little binary box’: A psychoanalytic exploration of the non-binary gender identity. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 32(1), 40–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/02668734.2017.1384933
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551–558.
Matsuno, E., Bricker, N. L., Savarese, E., Mohr, R., & Balsam, K. F. (2022). “The default is just going to be getting misgendered”: Minority stress experiences among nonbinary adults. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000607
McCarthy, L. (2003). Off that spectrum entirely: A study of female-bodied transgender-identified individuals [Doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts Amherst]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/305322146
Medico, D., Pullen Sansfaçon, A., Zufferey, A., Galantino, G., Bosom, M., & Suerich-Gulick, F. (2020). Pathways to gender affirmation in trans youth: A qualitative and participative study with youth and their parents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(4), 1002–1014. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104520938427
Money, J., & Primrose, C. (1968). Sexual dimorphism and dissociation in the psychology of male transsexuals. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 147(5), 472–486. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-196811000-00004
Morgan, S. W., & Stevens, P. E. (2008). Transgender identity development as represented by a group of female-to-male transgendered adults. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 29(6), 585–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840802048782
Mullen, G., & Moane, G. (2013). A qualitative exploration of transgender identity affirmation at the personal, interpersonal, and sociocultural levels. International Journal of Transgenderism, 14(3), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2013.824847
Noblit, G. W., & Hare, R. D. (1988). Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies. Sage.
Oakley, A. (2016). Disturbing hegemonic discourse: Nonbinary gender and sexual orientation labeling on Tumblr. Social Media and Society, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116664217
Opromalla, J. A. (2019). Transgender young adults’ negotiation of gender consciousness in relation to others’ behaviors and attitudes [Doctoral dissertation, Fordham University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2239312970
Ouzzani, M., Hammady, H., Fedorowicz, Z., & Elmagarmid, A. (2016). Rayyan—a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 210. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4
Patel, E. (2019). Understanding gender identity development in gender variant birth-assigned female adolescents with autism spectrum conditions [Doctoral dissertation, University College London]. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10083597/
Penklis, H. S. (2020). “Celebrated, not tolerated”: How transgender and nonbinary individuals navigate the social world [Master’s thesis, The University of Texas at El Paso]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2424094395
Pollock, L., & Eyre, S. L. (2012). Growth into manhood: Identity development among female-to-male transgender youth. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 14(2), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2011.636072
Pullen Sansfaçon, A., Medico, D., Suerich-Gulick, F., & Temple Newhook, J. (2020). “I knew that I wasn’t cis, I knew that, but I didn’t know exactly”: Gender identity development, expression and affirmation in youth who access gender affirming medical care. International Journal of Transgender Health, 21(3), 307–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2020.1756551
QSR International Pty Ltd. (2020). NVivo (March 2020). https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home
Rankin, S., & Beemyn, G. (2012). Beyond a binary: The lives of gender-nonconforming youth. About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience, 17(4), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21086
Rood, B. A., Reisner, S. L., Puckett, J. A., Surace, F. I., Berman, A. K., & Pantalone, D. W. (2017). Internalized transphobia: Exploring perceptions of social messages in transgender and gender-nonconforming adults. International Journal of Transgenderism, 18(4), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2017.1329048
Sakai, C. (2003). Identity development in female-to-male transsexuals: A qualitative study [Doctoral dissertation, Alliant International University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/305213596
Schimmel-Bristow, A., Haley, S. G., Crouch, J. M., Evans, Y. N., Ahrens, K. R., McCarty, C. A., & Inwards-Breland, D. J. (2018). Youth and caregiver experiences of gender identity transition: A qualitative study. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5(2), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000269
Schneider, J., Page, J., & van Nes, F. (2019). “Now I feel much better than in my previous life”: Narratives of occupational transitions in young transgender adults. Journal of Occupational Science, 26(2), 219–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2018.1550726
Schulz, S. L. (2012). Gender identity: Pending? Identity development and health care experiences of transmasculine/genderqueer identified individuals [Doctoral dissertation, University of California]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1322090378
Stryker, S. (2017). Transgender history: The roots of today’s revolution (Revised). Seal Press.
Tan, S. (2019). Lived experience of Asian transgender youth in Canada: An intersectional framework [Doctoral dissertation, Adler University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2312892674
Valle, J. (2020). A qualitative study of the trans fem community: Exploring trans identity formation, familial support, and relationships with food [Doctoral dissertation, Alliant International University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2476835074
Ward, K. (2019). Building an identity despite discrimination: A linguistic analysis of the lived experiences of gender variant people in North East England [Doctoral dissertation, University of Sunderland]. https://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/10874/%0A
Weisgram, E. S. (2016). The cognitive construction of gender stereotypes: Evidence for the dual pathways model of gender differentiation. Sex Roles, 75(7–8), 301–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0624-z
Wright, K. A. (2011). Transgender identity formation [Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1411944798
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues as part of the 2021 Spring Grand-in-Aid program; and an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, granted to the first author.
Funding
This work was supported by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues as part of the 2021 Spring Grand-in-Aid program; and an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, granted to the first author.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization: Molly Speechley, Jaimee Stuart, Kathryn Modecki; Methodology: Molly Speechley, Jaimee Stuart; Formal analysis and investigation: Molly Speechley; Writing—original draft preparation: Molly Speechley; Writing—review and editing: Molly Speechley, Jaimee Stuart, Kathryn Modecki; Funding acquisition: Molly Speechley, Kathryn Modecki; Supervision: Jaimee Stuart, Kathryn Modecki.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval and Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Human and Animal Ethics
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
All authors consent to publication of the manuscript.
Availability of supporting data
All data analysed during this study are included in its supplementary information files.
Competing interests
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Speechley, M., Stuart, J. & Modecki, K.L. Diverse Gender Identity Development: A Qualitative Synthesis and Development of a New Contemporary Framework. Sex Roles 90, 1–18 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-023-01438-x
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-023-01438-x