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'Look for the helpers': The impact of gender incongruence on transgender individuals' comfort asking for police help

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dc.contributor.authorMiceli, Christopher Jamesen
dc.contributor.committeechairHawdon, James E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberCassinelli, Silas M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberRocha Beardall, Theresaen
dc.contributor.departmentSociologyen
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-16T08:00:34Zen
dc.date.available2021-06-16T08:00:34Zen
dc.date.issued2021-06-15en
dc.description.abstractResearch has established a link between LGBTQ+ identity and high victimization rates. However, transgender experiences specifically are not well understood because they are often subsumed under the monolithic label of LGBTQ+ experiences, despite the specific risks associated with non-normative gender identities. It has also been established that the police function is grounded in the maintenance of the dominant social order. Given that LGBTQ+ individuals, and transgender individuals in particular, are disruptive of the social order, many of their interactions with police have been negative. In this study, I examine how varying degrees of "visible" gender nonconformity affect a transgender individual's comfort level with asking for police help. I hypothesize that transgender people who visibly transgress gender norms by physically presenting as a gender that does not match their government-issued identification will be less comfortable asking the police for help than transgender individuals who do not have such incongruence. Through a logistic regression analysis of the 2015 United States Transgender Survey, I find that those groups who visibly transgress gender norms have a higher likelihood of experiencing discomfort with asking for police help. These findings have important implications for our understanding of transgender victimization by elucidating the barriers to police officers' ability to prevent or lessen the effects of victimization within the transgender community.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralResearch has established a link between LGBTQ+ identity and high victimization rates. However, transgender experiences specifically are not well understood because they are often grouped in under the monolithic label of LGBTQ+ experiences, despite the specific risks associated with non-normative gender identities. It has also been established that the police function is grounded in the maintenance of the status quo. Given that LGBTQ+ individuals, and transgender individuals in particular, disrupt the status quo, many of their interactions with police have been negative. In this study, I examine how varying degrees of "visible" gender nonconformity affect a transgender individual's comfort level with asking for police help. I hypothesize that transgender people who visibly transgress gender norms by physically presenting as a gender that does not match their driver's license or state identification card will be less comfortable asking the police for help than transgender individuals who do not have such incongruence. Through a logistic regression analysis of the 2015 United States Transgender Survey, I find that those groups who visibly transgress gender norms have a higher likelihood of experiencing discomfort with asking for police help. These findings have important implications for our understanding of transgender victimization by elucidating the barriers to police officers' ability to prevent or lessen the effects of victimization within the transgender community.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:31079en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/103876en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectpoliceen
dc.subjecttransgenderen
dc.subjectLGBTQ+en
dc.subjectsocial dominance orientationen
dc.subjecthegemonic gender normativityen
dc.title'Look for the helpers': The impact of gender incongruence on transgender individuals' comfort asking for police helpen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineSociologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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