Gender Identity Work: Oppression and Agency As Described in Lifespan Narratives of Transgender and Other Gender Non- Conforming Identified Eoplep in the U
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University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 10-6-2017 Gender Identity Work: Oppression and Agency as Described in Lifespan Narratives of Transgender and Other Gender Non- Conforming Identified eopleP in the U. S. Kathryn O'Brien [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Gender Equity in Education Commons Recommended Citation O'Brien, Kathryn, "Gender Identity Work: Oppression and Agency as Described in Lifespan Narratives of Transgender and Other Gender Non-Conforming Identified People in the U. S." (2017). Dissertations. 718. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/718 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Running Head: INTERSECTIONS OF IDENTITY WORK Gender Identity Work: Oppression and Agency as Described in Lifespan Narratives of Transgender and Other Gender Non-Conforming Identified People in the U. S. Kathryn G. O’Brien, M.A.Ed., LCSW Graduate Certificate, Social Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2015 Graduate Certificate, Gender Studies, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2012 M. A. Ed., Counseling, St. Louis University, 1984 A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. in Education, with an emphasis in Teaching and Learning Processes December 16, 2017 Advisory Committee Brenda Light Bredemeier, Ph.D. Chairperson Wolfgang Althof, Ph.D. Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph. D. Virginia Navarro, Ph.D. Rebecca L. Rogers, Ph.D. Copyright, Kathryn G. O’Brien, 2017 © Copyright by Kathryn G. O’Brien 2017 All Rights Reserved Dedication This project is dedicated to those transgender and other gender non-conforming identified people who met with violence and left us far too soon, in memoriam. Epigraph I say, “It’s not a choice. It’s who you are.” Yeah. It’s, and I actually say it’s not a lifestyle for me. It’s a life correction. A life style is, you know, do I date a, a brunette? Or a redhead? That’s my lifestyle. Do I / uh / go out running, or do I go to the opera? That’s my lifestyle. And then when they say, “Whatever makes you happy.” And I hate that one, too. I go, “What makes me happy’s a good cheeseburger!” [laughs] So it’s, it’s not about, it’s not about a means of whatever makes you happy... It’s, it’s a matter of if you can be who you are (Mimi, sec. 237-240). I’m, you know, talking to you, I’m talking freely to you. I am happy and relaxed. It’s kinda like bein’ dressed [in alignment with gender identity], you know. Uh / it’s / uh somebody who knows who I am, you know. And it’s, it’s good. Uh you know. I // it’s good (Karen, sec. 424). Running Head: INTERSECTIONS OF IDENTITY WORK 5 Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................................ 3 Epigraph .............................................................................................................................. 4 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures .................................................................................................................... 10 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 11 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1. Introduction and Rationale ............................................................................... 19 Statement of Purpose and Background .......................................................................... 19 Identity, Embodiment, and Agency ............................................................................... 26 Identity work. .............................................................................................................. 28 Embodiment. ............................................................................................................... 37 Agency. I ..................................................................................................................... 42 Collective/distributive agency. ................................................................................ 42 Individual agency. ................................................................................................... 44 Cultural Discourses of Morality and U.S. Citizenship ................................................... 48 Mapping the cultural territory. .................................................................................... 48 Heterosexism and morality. ........................................................................................ 56 Gender identity and citizenship. ................................................................................. 60 Immigration. ............................................................................................................ 61 Welfare and the military. ......................................................................................... 62 Mental illness. .......................................................................................................... 63 Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and Narrative ............................................................ 66 CDS. ............................................................................................................................ 67 Discourse. ................................................................................................................ 67 CDA. ........................................................................................................................ 70 Semiotics and Multimodality. ................................................................................. 72 Narrative. .................................................................................................................... 73 Narrative and memory. ............................................................................................ 75 Overview of Inquiry ....................................................................................................... 79 Research questions. ..................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 2: Methods ........................................................................................................... 82 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 82 Sampling and Participants .............................................................................................. 83 Data Collection ............................................................................................................... 89 Interview 1. ................................................................................................................. 90 Interview 2. ................................................................................................................. 92 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 94 Transcription and corroboration. ................................................................................ 94 Incorporation of digital images. .................................................................................. 95 Data Security. .............................................................................................................. 96 Content Analysis. ........................................................................................................ 97 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). ......................................................................... 101 Running Head: INTERSECTIONS OF IDENTITY WORK 6 Multimodal discourse analysis (MDA). .................................................................... 105 Assurances of Data Quality .......................................................................................... 113 Delimitations ................................................................................................................ 116 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 116 Introduction to Chapters 3 through 6 ........................................................................... 118 Chapter 3: Oppression, Suppression, and Visibility ........................................................ 121 Ages 60 and older (1949-1956) .................................................................................... 122 Participants. ............................................................................................................... 122 Findings. ................................................................................................................... 124 Childhood. ............................................................................................................. 124 Adolescence. .......................................................................................................... 127 Adulthood.