Desire for Genital Surgery in Trans Masculine Individuals: The Role of Internalized Transphobia, Transnormativity and Trans Positive Identity.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101238455 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1660-4601 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16604601 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Environ Res Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel : MDPI, c2004-

Gender Dysphoria* ; Transgender Persons*/psychology ; Transsexualism*/psychology ; Transsexualism*/surgery; Adult ; Female ; Gender Identity ; Genitalia/surgery ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male

Some trans people experience gender dysphoria, which refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one's gender assigned at birth and one's gender identity. People who are trans masculine or nonbinary assigned-female-at-birth may pursue multiple domains of gender affirmation, including surgical affirmation (e.g., masculine chest reconstruction, penile reconstruction, etc.). The present study aimed to investigate the possible factors involved in trans people's desire to undergo gender-affirming genital surgery. Trans masculine and nonbinary participants ( N = 127; mean age = 26.90) were recruited through a web-based survey and completed self-report instruments (i.e., the Internalized Transphobia subscale of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure, the Trans Positive Identity Measure, the Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale, an ad hoc scale on transnormativity, and a single-item on desire to undergo genital affirmation surgery). A path analysis showed that higher levels of internalized transphobia led to more significant genital discomfort via a dual parallel mediation of transnormativity and positive identity. Moreover, this genital discomfort fueling pattern was the most significant predictor of the desire to undergo genital surgery as the effect of internalized transphobia was fully mediated by increased genital discomfort. Findings are discussed in the light of the recent strand of research on gender dysphoria as a multifaceted construct, with social components.

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Keywords: gender dysphoria; gender-affirmation surgery; internalized transphobia; social dysphoria; trans positive identity; transnormativity

Date Created: 20220728 Date Completed: 20220729 Latest Revision: 20220907

20221213

PMC9331673

10.3390/ijerph19158916

35897291