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Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare • March, 2023 • Volume L • Number 1
74
“An Institution Can Have Good Intentions
and Gender Expansive Experiences
in Social Work Education
M. Killian Kinney
Darren Cosgrove
Miami University
Indiana University
Indiana University
der and gender expansive (TGE) youth and young adults due to misgen
and lack of inclusive gender identity demographic options), and frequent
silence or avoidance related to TGE issues. Though studies of TGE adult
experiences. Social work education focuses on diversity, equity, and in
clusion, along with how to promote social justice, which suggests more af
the experiences of TGE students and even less about faculty in social work
75
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
inclusion in social work programs. Social work is in a strategic position to
serve the needs and impact the social welfare of TGE individuals, starting
Keywords: Transgender, social work education, lived experience, policy,
and paradigm shift
a sociopolitical climate that challenges their daily existence, from
school to work to healthcare and who they love. Each year, more
-
all areas of life for TGE people, and it is through understanding the
nuances of their gendered experiences that social workers can learn
talents, abilities, resources, and support needed to practice suc-
cessfully. Social workers are obligated to learn, understand, and
adhere to the guidelines detailed in the National Association of So-
cial Workers’ Code of Ethics
Edu
cational Policy and Accreditation Standards
has a history of using language, policies, and procedures to restrict
access to resources for people who are not perceived or received as
-
tain learning environments wherein social justice is fully embraced
and experienced by all participants. Unfortunately, the experiences
of
meeting these ideals.
The small amount of literature to date suggests that many TGE
76 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
can negatively impact students’ academic engagement and post-ed-
ucational success, in addition to contributing to mental health con-
can hamper employment experiences and contribute to personal
curricula, namely that the very curricula expected to prepare fu-
ture social workers to work with members of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, and additional gender- and sexuality-diverse
-
curricula recommended by faculty and taught at the college and
For TGE students, common experiences of macro- and micro-
aggressions include deadnaming, refusal to use correct pronouns,
outing, having transphobic comments either ignored or even re-
inforced, exclusion by and isolation from peers, and experiences
found that such experiences contribute to poorer educational sat-
isfaction, lower academic performance, reduced social acceptance,
and increased challenges with academic development. TGE social
work students also report that when topics related to gender iden-
tity manifest, faculty are often uninformed, express discomfort,
-
tishized and as if there was an inappropriate focus on their body
77
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
TGE faculty stating they felt both invisible and hyper-visible, some-
times being actively excluded and other times having to be an ex-
pert on gender diversity or a spokesperson for all TGE individuals.
The bulk of the research on TGE individuals in academia has
member, limiting information that centers positive experiences of
TGE students and faculty members. Further, much of the litera-
ture providing suggestions and guidelines on working with TGE
students comes from individual faculty members’ experiences or
general guidelines rather than based on a systematized analysis of
students’ and faculty members’ experiences, limiting the ability to
those gaps by centering the lived experiences of TGE social work
students and faculty. This study also seeks to enhance the experi-
ences of TGE students and faculty and provide them with the re-
sources and support needed to thrive. For this to occur, we framed
our study around the following research question: What are the
gendered experiences of TGE students and faculty in social work
-
Methods
Sampling
TGE social work faculty and students were recruited using pur-
posive and snowball sampling, following strategies recommended
participants from their respective queer and TGE professional net-
works and social media and invited selected individuals to partici-
pate and share recruitment information. Second, participants were
recruited through direct emails to students and faculty within
-
demics and students.
78 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Participant eligibility included being 18 years or older, iden-
-
ing involved in a social work educational program. Program in-
volvement included enrollment as a student or serving as faculty
-
ceived a $15.00 electronic gift card compensation for their time.
Sample
N
Participant demographic details are presented in Table 1 and par-
ticipant geographical regions are mapped in Figure 1. Pseudonyms
have been used.
79
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
Table 1. Participant Demographics
M SD
Age
Gender n %
Nonbinary 7 30.4%
Trans Man 4 17.4%
Genderqueer 2 8.7%
Trans Masculine / Nonbinary 2 8.7%
Trans Nonbinary 2 8.7%
Nonbinary/Genderqueer 1 4.3%
Nonbinary Trans Woman 1 4.3%
1 4.3%
Tra ns/Transgender 1 4.3%
Trans Masculine 1 4.3%
Trans Woman 1 4.3%
Pronouns
they/them 12 52.2%
he/him 4 17.4%
she/they 3 13.0%
all pronouns 1 4.3%
fae/faer/faers 1 4.3%
he/him/his or they/them/theirs 1 4.3%
she/her 1 4.3%
Educational Position
MSW Graduate
Tenure Track / Tenured Faculty
Adjunct Faculty and PhD Student
Ph.D. Student
DSW Student
80 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Positionality of Researchers
Positionalit y statements can be a valuable tool in qualitative work
work educators with a history of working with TGE populations, are
-
nity. Collectively, the authors have insider and outsider perspectives
three authors are non-Hispanic White.
These intersecting identities and gendered experiences impact-
ed each researcher’s position as insider and outsider in reference to
be both valuable, shared lived experiences with participants, and the
possible potential for biases and blind spots. In complement, outsider
perspectives were leveraged as grounding checks and balances.
Data Collection and Analysis
-
thors over Zoom. Interviews lasted approximately 30-45 minutes
and were recorded and transcribed for analysis. The semi-struc-
-
experiences impact your overall experience and decisions about
-
81
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
and data collection were approved by the Indiana University Insti-
After transcripts were cleaned, each interviewee reviewed their
cleaned transcript for member-checking and redaction, as they felt
this additional measure was taken so participants could protect
-
-
ly coded data using a priori codes informed by current theory fo-
cusing on gender-diverse experiences. These codes were used to
-
ment with their program, and recommendations for creating more
meaning assigned to experiences and how such meaning can shape
participants’ understanding of their experience in social work ed-
ucation, the authors also drew upon interpretative phenomenolog-
through participants’ experiences and the meaning assigned to
This blended approach allowed for a deeper understanding of not
only the experiences participants had in their programs but also
the meaning these experiences held as participants contemplated
what it meant to be TGE in social work higher education.
-
tion, impact, and recommendations to selected sample transcripts,
experiences, the authors coded the remainder of the transcripts
codes and the notes taken regarding the participants’ understand-
two authors used the coded data and their dialogue notes to devel-
-
ticipant-assigned meaning of experience.
82 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Findings
Participants described three main themes related to gender af-
presence of positive experiences, the absence of negative experienc-
-
ences occurred.
Presence of Positive Experiences. Participants described the many
actions of others and the environment created as a result of such ac-
Faculty were noted as key individ-
uals to model expected social work behaviors grounded in profes-
sional ethics. Often, this modeling began early in the semester when
faculty asked students to introduce themselves and asked for student
pronouns as part of the introduction. AJ, an MSW student, shared,
There’s been like one class that I experienced where we [were
asked to share pronouns] when we were doing introductions at
the beginning of class. I always love when that happens... just
the intentionality of it like, we recognize that this is a thing we
While students most widely reported the intentional use of pro-
pronouns by their colleagues. Nic, a faculty member, shared about
had as part of an interview:
prepare for the talk], was like, “what do you want your pronouns
want them to be this, but I don’t know how that would be for
And, [he] put it on himself, too. He said, “I’ll make sure that ev-
83
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
While correct pronoun use was widely noted as a simple yet
encouraged faculty and students to think more critically and deep-
ly about gender and TGE marginalization. They shared that with-
out such criticality, the simple act of respecting pronouns merely
-
Participants also noted TGE visibility within their curriculum
in non-pathologizing ways. Despite the importance of such experi-
ences, participants described them as rare and reported that TGE
experiences were often either outright overlooked or treated as an
-
someone in a leadership role at their school required their faculty
to take trans-focused training. Avery, a DSW student, reported a
clear change in the content of faculty lectures and presentations
afterward, saying:
The very next lecture, they use completely inclusive language...
And so they’ve completely shifted decades of their, like research
and knowledge to be wildly inclusive to the point that I sent them
an email afterward like, “I [felt like], I was so included in your
Just as participants noted the val-
ue of professors asking about pronouns, they also reported the im-
portance of students sharing their own to normalize the avoidance
a core group of students who had known them prior to coming out
and who had been consistently supportive of their ongoing expres-
-
ognized their gender outside the classroom as well. Whether within
84 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
a study group or a social gathering, having members of their aca-
-
tently supportive experience. Oliver, an MSW student, explained
that they did not like it when classmates “go out of their way be-
Similarly, Raven, an MSW graduate, shared:
My fellow students were excellent. I did not run into any trans-
phobic people the entire time I was in grad school. A lot of peo-
ple were genuinely interested and not in the way of like exploit-
Absence of Negative Experiences
Early in data analysis, it became evident that participants de-
binarism they were accustomed to elsewhere. Even among partici-
pants who had experiences that made them feel good, when asked
which active harm was not occurring.
professor or student in the program that’s been like outright trans-
I’ve never been misgendered. I’ve never been, you know it’s never
been a question. [My gender] has never been pushed back upon,
which is something that happens often outside of the classroom.
I guess I don’t have a particular incident, because it is just kind
of like it’s a non-issue. It’s just treated as a given. It can just be
For most of the participants, the absence of harm was perceived
-
cause of the challenges faced in their daily lives, they expected
similar challenges within their educational programs. At times,
85
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
the concerns were founded, but at other times participants were
pleased to have relatively positive or at least neutral experiences.
Pepper, an MSW student, shared that they had a practicum place-
ment in a K-12 school and they feared that administrators might be
resistant to their gender presentation, however, their concerns were
thankfully unfounded. Moreover, they were excited to report that
their visibility in the school provided an opportunity for queer and
trans students to connect with them and express their own identities.
I was open with [my students]. You know, these are my pronouns,
they were able to like, share those things [about their identities]
Even when negative experiences occurred, participants did
-
sponses to harmful behaviors and comments.
Participants described
people advocating for inclusive language within their programs.
excited to share that a group of cis men in the class, chimed in, de-
such instances occurred.
Recognizing Challenges and Welcoming Growth
Most participants expressed a general sense that they expected
and were understanding of gender-related mistakes, particularly
regarding language, if faculty and students showed an interest in
86 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
understanding the harm done by cissexism and gender binarism.
harmful components of their programs.
-
tion to the TGE experiences within most of their social work cours-
es. Often, such experiences lend themselves to feelings of invisi-
professor who took the shortcomings of the curriculum and used it
as an opportunity to amplify diverse perspectives and voices:
[My professor] was like, “the book that we’re reading is a White
man’s perspective and we not only need women’s perspective, but
-
volved in any of the data that we’re looking at. He’s careful about
that, and it’s been a great experience. We’ve watched YouTube
videos or supplemental readings.
and experiences. While this was often perceived as burdensome
emotional labor for students who wished to be able to engage in
-
dent, explained:
that generally people don’t use anymore. They’ll use terms like
when I point out, like, “Hey, I’m just really nervous. We don’t re-
would say almost every time—if not every time—the professor
Promoting an Educational Culture of TGE Respect
Program and classroom culture were topics central to both fac-
ulty and student participants’ experiences. The nature of the cul-
ture participants experienced often held elements of both gender
87
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
-
tural environments emphasized the importance of clear expecta-
Zack shared about the need for people to explore their own per-
-
tion as an important process in preparing for professional practice.
However, he also felt that when this exploration occurred in the
based on how a professor responded to students’ value exploration.
You do want it to be a safe place for people to reconcile their be-
liefs, and to debate these things and to be able to understand
them. That’s a messy process, I appreciate it. There’s one profes-
sor I’ve had, where, when these kinds of topics [come up], is like,
“Okay I want this to be a safe place for us to explore but when
it comes wrestling with your own beliefs, you have to take into
she was very explicit on like, it is good that you’re questioning
but I also want to make sure that we are learning to recognize
your audience, and who is consenting [and not consenting] to be
in this conversation.
peer support or counseling-focused spaces if they felt they needed
to unpack their personal beliefs in order to operate within social
Students and faculty alike shared that they felt it is important
for TGE to be visible in leadership roles throughout higher educa-
tion, and especially within the classroom. This visibility was cen-
faculty member, shared that, “I consider it my...an obligation—but
not in a bad way—and my privilege to be visibly me for students
they regularly mentored and provided support for trans students
88 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
When students had the opportunity to take classes with TGE pro-
-
scribed a joy that came with their identity being normalized through
a role model from whom to learn. Tye described one such experience:
the point of being a professor and that they’ve like navigated the
world and are a person older than me, functioning in the world of
-
tional or malicious, though many were not. As an MSW student,
Rae stated, “an institution can have good intentions and still be
-
and even further complicated the challenge of addressing disaf-
as three themes: Interpersonal interactions, curriculum and class-
room culture, and invisibility and avoidance. Within each theme,
Interpersonal Interactions
During participants’ time in their social work educational insti-
participants and included disbelieving, gaslighting, and infantilizing,
These incidents ranged from unintentional accidents to outright hos-
-
ly reported. The people misgendering TGE individuals included stu-
dents, faculty, administrators, and practicum supervisors. Monroe, an
-
ing even when done with good intentions or lack of awareness:
I get called girly a lot…not meaning any harm. They think it’s a
I’m not going to tell you because I have one class with you.
89
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
These cases can be particularly challenging to speak up against
with some, like Monroe, sharing that they do not correct people
when it is not intentional.
Unfortunately, participants reported much of the misgendering
seemed intentional—Fen, an MSW student, described it as “repeat-
-
cluded on Zoom, such as when Rae said, “all my Zoom things I
have they/them and even one of my professors, we had our names
Misgendering occurred with pronouns and names when not legal-
ly changed, as Fen stated, “Thankfully, these people don’t know my
dead name, because I had it legally changed, and I protected myself
in that way. Or else that would have been a thing, too. And that
-
erbated by power imbalances, as Fen stated, “We have the perfect
storm of you have all the power, and you’re deeply oppressive, and
experience, Rae reported feeling helpless due to the power position
of being read as a woman and not nonbinary, which gave them em-
pathy for students who are being misgendered:
I’m successful, and I have so much privilege and all of these
things, and it still is so fucking hard. And then I think about stu-
dents, and they’re also new, and they’re coming into a new place
TGE faculty were driven to speak out to disrupt misgendering and
establish it as unacceptable. Thus, the burden to correct or point out
misgendering was often said to fall upon TGE students or faculty
unless allies advocated for them. These dynamics were often exac-
erbated by being the only out TGE student or faculty. Jack describes,
90 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
“as the
And
When students observed cisgender faculty misgendering stu-
dents without intervention, they felt it established an atmosphere
where misgendering is acceptable. Fen shared:
They [faculty] weren’t even remotely trying. And what’s terrible
of what they should be doing...they [students] would just blatant-
ly misgender me. I felt like it was a machine gun of misgendering.
Further, even when faculty were respectful and used chosen names
and pronouns, sometimes misgendering continued from peers.
Pepper stated:
-
and working with some of the most vulnerable populations.
This impact is doubled when the response was described as gas-
lighting as Merrill, a Ph.D. student and adjunct faculty, recounted:
People get angry when I correct them. And they’re just like, “Oh,
Curriculum and Classroom Culture
A sentiment across participants was frustration related to
TGE-focused curricula and how such topics were taught in outdated
and potentially harmful ways. Participants raised two primary cri-
tiques: The quality of TGE narratives and topics and the absence of
First, participants described TGE content as transphobic and
pathologizing. For Raven, “some of the educational materials in the
coursework were aggressively transphobic. And they didn’t even
member who did notice, reported, “I’ve engaged in a lot of debate
91
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
over textbooks and ideologies and what kind of politics we have
TGE content was said to be taught through a frame of pathology
and adversity. Nic critiqued the inclusion of TGE content for:
[An] over focus on clinical—only talking about trans people in
We just had gender dys-
phoria in my DSM-5 class and here’s how it felt to me as a trans
person, like, hearing this professor completely pathologize so
many wonderful things about who I am.
As a result, participants described painful experiences learning
about their communities in social work education.
included TGE people was described as an afterthought or a spe-
cialty rather than infused across course content. Finley, an MSW
graduate, recounted such an example:
I just remember in general, like, the lack of transness the entire
that had a trans person in it, but it was not the point of the case
presence really hurt.
-
guage used in curriculum and without disclaimers or context. The
teachers who
are not knowledgeable or comfortable with trans content, such as
were used incorrectly, and others did not understand. Avery not-
ed
improvement:
[The professor] was talking about trans people and was constant-
you to get those words out of your mouth forever. And at one
92 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
And I sat in the room silently knowing that he’s in charge of my
whole future and just quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet. And by the third
or fourth time he did that I was like, “so I know you’re the expert.
I know you’re the one with the information. And you really can’t
As a result of missing or poor curriculum, TGE students were ex-
pected to be in the role of cultural expert and educator. Raven expe-
rienced this in his undergraduate and graduate classes:
It became an issue with some teachers who would just bizarre-
ly reference me in their education because they had zero under-
standing of trans people. So, if anything came up, they would just
me to teach the class because I happen to be trans. It was super
problematic.
-
Among participants who were placed
in this role, many were willing to assist—within reason—in their
peers’ learning to help TGE communities. However, a strong sen-
timent was expressed that sometimes they just wanted to be a stu-
dent and not an educator.
Challenges with curriculum were further agitated by feedback
being met with adverse responses. In one case, Jordan experienced
the burden of proof with a colleague:
this thing is transphobic. It’s hurting me to teach it. It’s hurting
our students, all of our students, to have to read it. So, we can just
not important.
-
ilarly, students were met with apathy and dismissal when they
broached the problem. Kelsey, an MSW student, stated:
93
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
One instance is the introductory class. They just went through-
and mentioned some of the statistics about trans people because
it [the class] didn’t mention us. My teacher was like, “Well, yeah, I
Fen experienced a similar degree of dismissal:
My professor’s response to this [very hostile transphobic student
comments] was not you know, maybe we should put this in check
and recognize that sometimes just asking questions is extremely
oppressive. Instead, we were told we should be more polite with
each other, and agree to disagree.
they do not speak up in class as much as they would like. Further,
when topics of transness and gender diversity emerged, they were
-
tion around their identities.
Invisibility and Avoidance
An overarching theme was feeling invisible and experiencing
avoidance by others, which contributed to a disconnect from oth-
ers. Kaid, a Ph.D. student, disappointedly noted his school’s lack of
a stance on trans rights:
like things will happen related to trans rights and then nothing
they’ll mention everything else that’s happening.
Raven voiced a similar concern about the current wave of anti-trans
policies that have swept across the United States and alarm that
some states are proposing legislation that would limit or prevent
yet nothing was being discussed in his program. The silence and
lack of response to pressing concerns of TGE social workers and
institutions or the profession.
94 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
Participants also experienced a wide range of avoidance of pro-
nouns, chosen names, and TGE people and topics, even when the
-
-
students. Kaid describes such an example:
I feel like [faculty] feel uncomfortable talking about it or some-
thing. I feel like they feel uncomfortable even doing something
like adding pronouns to how people introduce themselves. I’ve
heard from them that, especially when they teach undergrads,
there have been times where students have laughed about it or
made fun of it in the class. And they don’t want to make some-
body feel as if there’s somebody in the class who is trans. So, that’s
why they don’t bring it up.
Such instances of avoidance were considered lost opportunities for
growing, teaching, and advocacy that, if done well, could create a
Perhaps the most concerning form of avoidance was intention-
al refusal. Oak, a doctoral student and adjunct faculty, reminded
Ezra, an MSW graduate, told of a time when a student made a state-
ment regarding not wanting to work with TGE clients, “can I just
Ezra’s professor responded, “that’s good for you to recognize that
exchange stating, “A part of me is like, yes, I see some value to that.
The resulting overall impression
95
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
Recommendations
As participants discussed their experiences, they also shared
with us their recommendations for making social work programs
-
mendations focused on ideas such as inclusive language, paper-
changes often feel performative when not supported by deeper par-
adigmatic and structural shifts.
Increase Representation and Visibility
with and learn from TGE faculty. Such faculty presence provided
students with the opportunity to connect with a professional role
model and see TGE individuals as successful within their practi-
cum. For faculty, connection to TGE peers helped foster feelings of
connectedness and a workplace culture in which it was safe to be
academia as a new professor not having many visible TGE profes-
sional role models. They shared how refreshing and reassuring it
has been to see more TGE scholars enter social work education, “I
saw that I was like, “hey, here we come. People are coming. We’re
In addition to visibility among faculty, participants urged for
experiences within social work curriculum. Numerous participants
felt that programs speak to the profession’s espoused values of so-
cial justice and combating oppression but fail to put action behind
these values when teaching materials, texts, and course content
continues to marginalize TGE people through embracing an exclu-
sively cisgender perspective. Moreover, some reported TGE-related
topics only being discussed in a clinically pathologizing manner.
Tye shared:
96 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
[TGE people] don’t show up anywhere until I’m in a class that’s
talking about diagnoses...gender dysphoria came up, and it’s like,
“Oh, now we’ll talk about [TGE people] because we’re going to di-
that we really talk about.
Jack, a faculty participant, shared that they felt it important for
students to discuss the clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and
“what our role is in diagnosing gender dysphoria, and like what
that does to and for and with trans people and like, all the intri-
Another faculty participant described feeling as though their
program was working hard to recognize cisnormativity when it oc-
something exclusive that they said, make a correction, and learn
from the experience. They also shared that there is a strong repre-
sentation of TGE people in the course curriculum:
We read work by trans scholars about trans issues in all of our
classes. And it’s, not just for trans week, it’s integrated. We’re see-
ing good trans interviews when we’re doing clinical interviews.
Trans people are not being like accidentally left out of conversa-
tions that we’re having.
For faculty and students alike, having TGE people visible and active in
their schools and seeing representation in classroom discussions that
present TGE people in both the role of client and service provider were
essential to improving the experiences within academic programs.
other’s lack of knowledge and comfort with TGE people and topics.
Thus, participants wanted professors to be educated on TGE people
and topics impacting their lives – and more than simply basic intro-
97
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
to send the message that “you do get that I exist here in this space,
highlighted the need to prioritize trans-inclusions and to “truly feel
learn the new vocab, but you can’t stop somebody from their in-
ternal biases until they just keep doing that work. And I think for
gender diverse folks, it’s even less incentivized because it’s just
like at the margins of the margins.
to be the bare minimum, it was also recognized as necessary and
Cultural Changes
A call for cultural changes within social work education rep-
resented participants’ desire for a paradigm shift in how all mar-
ginalized populations were represented and valued in social work
education. Many recognized the abstractness of some recommen-
-
I think really, my huge takeaway is that when trying to involve a
generally underserved or unheard community in academia, the
phrase nothing about us without us-
-
-
tecting trans people, in whatever capacity you will involve them.
In short, participants wanted to be at the table and part of the conver-
sations to ensure that, despite low TGE representation, their perspec-
tive would be safely and respectfully included in decision-making.
Jordan wanted those in charge of social work programs:
98 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
many of us have done this work, in addition to living this, be-
cause that’s also what’s been required of our survival for a really
Ph.D.s actually.
To guide these cultural changes, participants recommended a so-
cial justice framework that included TGE people. Fen elaborated
that this practice means “being explicit, that they care about being
upon this awareness and lived experience, Kaid stated that, “every-
thing that’s done with students should be more trauma-informed
and there should be somebody that knows [and has] direct experi-
-
tion to cisnormativity, including binarism. Merrill suggested, “don’t
wait for students and gender diverse people to tell you when some-
Instead, TGE students and faculty wanted proactive intentions to
University Changes
As social work programs exist within a larger context, partic-
ipant recommendations included university-level change. Or, as
For trans people to be comfortable in a social work department,
they should be comfortable on the campus as a whole. And what
I found is even if the social work program is relatively inclusive, if
the rest of the campus isn’t on board, it’s still a huge issue.
At the university level, concrete recommendations were made
about navigating campus and systems. Almost unanimously,
-
cessible, clean, and critically thought out. In other words, not just
a sign replaced over the men’s bathroom, a solution that did not
99
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
being outed, deadnamed, and misgendered due to the dominance
of legal names in university systems, migrating chosen names and
pronouns across platforms was a priority. Particularly as some pol-
icies—whether formal or simply socially normalized—require legal
-
ommended additions to existing systems. Participants wanted TGE
consultants in health centers to avoid uncomfortable and triggering
experiences, such as the unintentionally harmful curiosity Dragon-
First of all, [she] way too excited to meet a trans person in real life
Training and consultation can help health center workers to become
critically aware of what is and is not appropriate when providing
-
critical assessment for disrespectful and harmful methods for mar-
-
bic incidents occur, participants wanted an avenue for reporting.
For Kaid, “the avenues that they provide for a grievance require so
much paperwork and are really complicated to the point where I
paths for reporting were not clear and accessible, participants found
there was no accountability for the harm done to them.
When asked about the anticipated impact of recommended im-
provements, a frequent response was that TGE students would not
drop out and, thus, there would be more TGE social workers and
greater visibility within programs. Jordan explained that creating
more inclusive spaces for TGE students to “drop our shoulders and
-
tential community-wide impact:
100 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
I think the most important thing for me is that people who are
gender diverse could graduate...I’m glad that I’m full [with ther-
apy clients]. And I’m really wanted by people in my community,
but it’s because there’s not enough people who have my identities
that can do the work that I’m doing. I have had several times,
[when] clients come to me saying, “thank goodness, I found
you!“…So not only would these kinds of changes mean that trans
would also mean that the people who are cisgender are not harm-
trans provider. It just doesn’t work that way. So cis people really
need to be able to have those skills to hold space for marginalized
folks who are not their own identities.
Discussion
-
-
social work education. These experiences are largely connected to
visibility and representation, cultural environments, and educa-
tional policies and structures. Overwhelmingly, participants were
enthusiastic about their pursuit of careers in social work education
and practice. Some even felt that their time in social work academia
provided the opportunity to deepen self-awareness and be of ser-
vice to other TGE people. Nonetheless, it seemed easier for partici-
-
gram than it was to articulate the ways in which they felt their TGE
identity was supported in their current program.
TGE people navigate social, political, and cultural environ-
-
education, em-
communities. Micro-
aggressions and explicit discrimination contribute to the social and
work professional organizations reference the National Association
of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics and the espoused values of social
justice, dignity, and respect, calling for social and political changes,
101
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
Yet, social work education exists within larger sociopolitical struc-
tures that do not uphold equity or justice for TGE people—and
-
practical and impactful in TGE students’ and faculty’s daily lives
within their education programs.
One factor where broader cultural forces may shape the expe-
riences of TGE students and faculty is the nature of social work
schools and programs being housed within larger educational insti-
tutions with varying levels of commitment to supporting TGE peo-
ple. While this study did not look at larger institutional policies and
practices within the participants’ institutions, all participants came
from social work programs accredited by CSWE. Unfortunately, as
TGE students and faculty may be engaged in programs that are ex-
pected to promote social work values yet are beholden to larger in-
stitutional policies and cultures that may actively discriminate and
Due to the current lack of trans-inclusionary environments in
social work education, some TGE individuals experience hyper-
vigilance about microaggressions. An indicator of this was when
-
positivity. When peers are supportive and environments meet their
programs must address harms and amplify TGE support.
-
-
-
cum supervisors who can educate and advocate when necessary.
-
-
are involved, this is particularly true when creating new policies
102 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
established a call for improved formal policies and protocols, such
as CSWE accreditation and CSWE data collection and reporting on
students and faculty.
Key limitations of the study include sampling and analysis. Due
to collecting original data within the special issue time frame, re-
cruitment was completed through known networks and for a brief
duration. This approach limited the diversity of the sample, which
In addition to not representing racial and gender diversity, it also
limited the discussion about nuanced intersectional experiences.
-
-
sis. This approach limited the interpretive diversity that would have
been present had the entire research team been involved in analysis.
-
es and the meaning they assign to such experiences. While rich and
nuanced, this analysis is subjective by nature and design.
Conclusion
The literature has shown that TGE academics and students ex-
perience discrimination and erasure in higher education, which is
also represented within social work programs. This study explored
-
students pursue social work education with an expectation of re-
prieve from daily microaggressions due to the central value of
-
rience. The challenges faced by participants speak to the necessity
social work programs and universities.
103
Transgender and Gender Expansive Experiences in Social Work
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