LINGUISTIC DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

Abstract

Significance. During the last few decades epidemiology has come a long way from taking into account only biological mechanisms influencing human health towards inclusion of socio-economic, legal and political factors. However, linguistic determinants of health have received little scholarly attention. The present article highlights some challenges in the design of epidemiological studies that would credibly demonstrate the impact of linguistic factors on health outcomes on the example of transgender issues. The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of linguistic factors on health outcomes of transgender individuals. Identify methodological challenges in the design of epidemiological studies that would credibly prove causation between linguistic factors and health outcomes. Material and methods. Content analysis of literature on the impact of hate speech, misgendering and deadnaming on health outcomes of transgender individuals. Results. Qualitative and quantitative data shows a negative impact of such linguistic practices as hate speech, misgendering and deadnaming on mental and physical health of transgender individuals. Nevertheless, the lack of clear definitions of those concepts, reliance on self-reported scales and existence of confounders (physical appearance and legal gender/name) makes it impossible to generate evidence of high credibility.