Couple Relationships of Transgender Individuals and their Partners: A 2017 Update

Abstract

This article provides an update to “Thematic Analysis of the Experiences of Wives Who Stay with Husbands Who Transition Male-to-Female,” which was published in Michigan Family Review in 2011. A lot has happened in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual+ (LGBTQA+) arena since the initial article. This current article begins with a brief overview of the recent sociopolitical context and evolving vocabulary regarding transgender individuals and couples, and then addresses recent literature and thinking on transgender couple and sexual issues, gender non-conforming partnerships, self-esteem issues for cisgender partners, faith and spirituality as resources, and recommendations for future research.