Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Applied Human Sciences

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Erin McHenry-Sorber

Committee Member

Nathan Sorber

Committee Member

Rodney Hughes

Committee Member

Lisa Platt

Abstract

The purpose of this critical narrative study was to understand how rural West Virginia trans* students navigate cultural norms of their rural home communities and higher education contexts. An essential part of this critical narrative was to provide rural trans* students with an avenue to share their unique experiences and give them a platform to share their voices. The resulting narratives suggested that the normative tensions rural trans* college students experience across contexts stemmed from negative regional experiences that reinforced traditional gender norms. Negative home contexts and experiences forced students to feel like they had to build walls and distance themselves emotionally when interacting in social and academic situations both leading up to and while attending college. Students shared feeling pressured to perform their gender identity to negotiate these norms and perform these identities. The institutional support that the students perceived as influencing their experiences the most was a lack of mental health supports.

Download

Share

COinS