Isolation, stressors, and resiliency: Examining the experiences of a transgender woman in engineering

Abstract

Background

Recent anti-trans legislation reflects societal discrimination that extends to college campuses, negatively impacting the mental health and persistence of transgender students. Engineering is documented to be particularly hostile to trans and other LGBTQ+ students, but the experiences of transgender engineering students are severely understudied.

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to develop a greater understanding of the unique challenges and stressors that TGNC (transgender, gender non-conforming) students face within engineering by analyzing the experiences of a transgender engineering student.

Method

This reflexive thematic analysis focuses on one student's experiences of coming out and social transition experiences while an engineering student. The student, who transitioned socially in the summer prior to the academic year she was interviewed, discussed how transitioning impacted her experiences within engineering. Gender minority stress theory frames the findings.

Results

The student experienced a hostile political climate in a state that did not value her safety or happiness. This broader context, combined with a masculine and heteronormative engineering climate, subtle anti-trans sentiments expressed by peers, and frequent misgendering led to isolation, depression, and pressure to conceal her identity. After transitioning, she felt more othered by men students but experienced positive mental health impacts and closer relationships with women engineering students.

Conclusions

The burden of persisting in engineering should not fall entirely to TGNC students who may be struggling with belonging and mental health. Even in challenging political environments, engineering faculty can signal their support of trans students through use of pronouns and inclusive examples that do not reinforce binary gender and heteronormativity.