View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Northern Iowa University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Dissertations and Theses @ UNI Student Work 2019 Beyond "Born This Way": Reconsidering trans narratives Ashley Elizabeth Meyers University of Northern Iowa Copyright ©2019 Ashley Elizabeth Meyers Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Recommended Citation Meyers, Ashley Elizabeth, "Beyond "Born This Way": Reconsidering trans narratives" (2019). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 982. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/982 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses @ UNI by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Copyright by ASHLEY ELIZABETH MEYERS 2019 All rights reserved BEYOND “BORN THIS WAY”: RECONSIDERING TRANS NARRATIVES An Abstract of a Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Ashley Elizabeth Meyers University of Northern Iowa July 2019 ABSTRACT When most Americans hear the words “trans” or “transgender”, celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner, Chaz Bono, or Laverne Cox likely come to mind along with their highly public stories of medical and social transition. While these celebrity representations have served to increase visibility for the trans community throughout the United States over the past decade, trans representation remains limited in terms of intersectionality and a narrow focus on celebrity stories and themes of essentialization, dysphoria, and medical transition.