Running head: TRANSGENDER STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION 1

Including the T: Transgender Students in Higher Education

Annie Ziga

Northern Illinois University

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Abstract

This paper explores the way Transgender students are underrepresented in both Higher

Education literature and institutions. By providing a background on current Transgender

literature in Higher Education, this paper examines Intersectionality and Queer Theory in

relation to the Trans* community, especially with non-binary Trans* individuals. Trans* is used

as an umbrella term to encompass all expressions of gender identities other than cisgender.

Systems of power and oppression are discussed in relation to the perpetuation of norms within

Higher Education institutions. From this examination, in depth praxis is offered that proposes

potential promising practices to help create more inclusive communities for Trans* students.
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Transgender Students in Higher Education

Research in the field of higher education in regards to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,

Transgender (LBGT) community has expanded within the past decade. However, there is

currently little research done specifically representing Transgender students in Higher Education.

Within greater society and higher education research, Transgender students generally are lumped

together with the diverse sexualities of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual community, where the

LGB experiences and stories are told as if to also speak for the Transgender population. In

reality, Transgender students must face a myriad of challenges unique to their community.

However, it is unacceptable to call current LGBT studies sufficient in representing the

Transgender population as they tend to speak mostly of the diverse sexualities (i.e. Lesbian, Gay,

and Bisexual sexualities) and rarely of the diverse genders in higher education. Therefore,

Higher Education scholars should look to more adequately include Transgender students within

their studies. Furthermore, Higher Education institutions need to find ways to create a campus

environment that is more inclusive of Transgender students, specifically non-binary Trans*

students, and less beholding to hegemonic practices in regards to gender identity and gender

expression.

Literature Review

Transgender topics are fairly new within Higher Education literature, coming into play in

the late 1990s (Catalano & Shlasko, 2013). According to Renn (2010), research on Transgender

identities began within psychology and sociology, but is still greatly under-researched today.

Although Transgender students have been discussed in literature, however limitedly, they have

been considerably left out when it comes to practice. Abes (2007) reports that institutions have

been notorious for adding a T to the end of their LGBT resource centers without actually
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having sufficient knowledge or staff to support the needs of Transgender students. These

institutions generally focus on LGBT in terms of sexuality as opposed to gender identity where

political, social, and sometimes intellectual alliances of LGBT people have led to inflation of

these distinct groups in campus contexts, where they are frequently treated as a monolithic

community for the purposes of providing programs and services (Renn, 2010, p.135).

Furthermore, Transgender students have been underrepresented in terms of policy within

higher education. They experience a variety of issues within the general environment of their

respective institutions. Some environmental concerns revolve around having safe spaces to

freely express their gender identity. For instance, Colleges and Universities have historically

catered to a heavy gender binary with Male and Female identities at the center of this norm. This

binary is reflected within housing options for students such as all male or all female floor options

within a residency. Transgender students are left out of these set ups, whereas a Trans* woman

would not be accepted to live in a female only room. The same situation occurs within bathroom

access on campus. Who is to say that a Trans* man does or does not have the right to use a

mens restroom? According to Beemyn (2015) though, Higher Education institutions have made

considerable steps with these environmental factors where supportive policies have been added

to ban discrimination against Trans* students in regards to access of housing, restrooms, and

health care. Additionally, Title IX now requires the inclusion of Trans* students and their gender

identities.

However, despite this effort to include Trans* students in Higher Education policies,

struggles for these students continue to persist due to policies that were not created with Trans

students who identify with non-binary gender identities in mind. Non-binary Trans* students are

generally not included within official documents and applications within the university and are
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forced to identify as either male or female. In addition, Transgender students are frequently

misgendered in and out of the classroom where most institutions follow a male-female gender

binary. These issues are linked to greater systems of power, privilege, and oppression within

society that are still deeply ingrained into even the Higher Education setting today.

The reality is that higher educational institutions have evolved to tolerate the generation

of queer theory from within but have stalwartly resisted the queering of higher education itself.

(Renn, 2010, p. 132). While some colleges and universities have taken steps to add gender-

neutral bathrooms or housing, they lack in regards to breaking down hegemonic norms of the

dominant culture.

LGBT Community and Gender Discrimination

Trans* students may experience discomfort within LGBT resource centers on campus not

only because of the lack of knowledgeable staff available, but also because of discrimination

within groups. For instance, Tillapaugh and Nicolazzo (2015) describe intricate oppression of

gender expression that appears in the gay community where hegemonic views of males and

masculinity are reflected on gay males. They detail how femininity within males is seen as a

form of poverty and a site of intragroup discrimination. This is largely due to the social

construction and expectation of a mans behavior reflecting masculinity despite identifying

within the gay community. In this sense, sexuality is allowed the freedom to be fluid while

gender expression is not.

Therefore, according to this literature, LGBT centers who traditionally are geared

towards sexuality based identities, may also be conducive to gender binaries whether they are

aware of it or not. With this in mind, Transgender students may feel unwelcome within a

campus LGBT center in fear of discrimination against their own gender expression. Therefore,
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Higher Education professionals should not support a gay male student who visits their center in

the same way that they would support a Transgender student that may wish to utilize their

services.

Intersectionality

It is also important to note the rise in literature in regards to multiple identities. Jones and

Abes (2013) discuss a more thorough approach that attempts to address an individuals multiple

identities in relation to each other, social context, and influences of power and privilege, called

Intersectionality. Intersectionality makes an effort to break down inequalities created through

structured systems and strives to promote a more socially just world. In this sense,

intersectionality would take a more complex and detailed look at transgender students. With

intersectionality, it is not only important that the student identifies as transgender, but that they

also have other identities (i.e. race, social class, religious affiliation) that interact with and are

intertwined with their gender identity. In other words, this approach has higher education

professionals not only considering a student as a Trans* woman, for instance, but as a Black

Trans* woman or a Black Muslim Trans* woman. The way higher education professionals

would offer support and resources to a White Trans* woman, therefore, would differ from the

needs of a Black Trans* woman. This perspective also makes an active attempt to highlight the

power systems that may influence these identities within society in an effort to create social

change.

Queer Theory

In most recent literature, Queer Theory focuses on structures of power, privilege, and

oppression more specifically within areas of sexuality and gender to critically analyze the

meaning of identity. Queer Theory attempts to dismantle societal and normative standards of
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identity by offering a more fluid, non-binary approach (Jones & Abes, 2013). Guided by

poststructural and postmodern views, Queer theory suggests that truth and knowledge are

socially constructed within society in order to benefit the current group in power, or the

dominant group, which throughout history have traditionally been heterosexual White cisgender

males. Queer theory insists that this social construction of identity is deeply rooted in structural

systems, should be questioned, and can be changed. It challenges dominant identities (i.e.

Heterosexuality and Cisgender identity) and questions why they should be considered as normal,

preferred, or correct (Jones & Abes, 2013). For the Transgender population, it offers a new

sense of acceptance to identity within society which allows for a more fluid expression of

gender. With Queer Theory, the gender binary is completely dismantled and gender is free to be

expressed without discrimination.

According to Jones and Abes (2013), the relationship between Queer Theory and identity

within Higher Education is limited in literature. Existing literature suggests that Queer Theory

and identity represents the intersection of social identities while also resisting the systematic

oppression of gender and sexuality. Fluidity is an important concept within Queer Theory

literature in regards to performativity where gender identity, for instance, is in a constant state

of creation and change...[where social identities] are something individuals do rather than

something individuals are (Jones & Abes, 2013, pp. 199-200). This means that a persons

behaviors and interests create a gender identity, and not vice versa (i.e. a baby boy is not born

innately liking cars and the color blue). Currently, Queer Theory literature in relation to higher

education discusses including fluidity in faculty identity, examining general education

requirements use of heteronormativity, and creating diversity training for counselors that

includes themes of Queer Theory (Renn, 2010).

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Discussion and Promising Practices

In order to create truly more inclusive communities that more adequately serve Trans*

students, institutions of Higher Education need to include Trans* students in not only their

policies but within their daily practice as well. Systems of power, privilege, and oppression are

present within Higher Education throughout the literature in regards to Trans* students. Most

institutions abide by dominant group binaries that limit students and their multiple gender

identities and expressions despite being the primary producers of knowledge on Intersectionality,

Queer Theory, and breaking down systems of privilege. Colleges and Universities need to be

more open to implementing knowledge and research on gender identity into their day-to-day

practices and functions. Trans* students can only feel included when societal expectations are

broken down and acceptance is brought into the narrative.

Higher Education needs to think more complex in relation to Trans* student support.

They need to offer solutions that help encourage a more positive environment for Trans*

students instead of implementing policies that do not offer real solutions. Although some

institutions have constructed gender-neutral bathrooms on their campus, a majority of institutions

offer only a few of these at each campus. Trans* students are continually denied basic needs by

not having access throughout campus in order to use the bathroom. They instead have to plan

accordingly to be able to first locate and travel to a designated area. This compromises their

ability to function as a student, and forces them to make a decision between missing class or

traveling to the nearest gender-neutral bathroom. Furthermore, institutions who do offer gender-

neutral bathrooms need to have staff that is aware of which facilities offer this support. Gender-

neutral bathroom maps should be provided to all students as a basic need and institutions should

work to educate Cisgender individuals about the importance of this need.

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Additionally, Beemyn (2015) suggests adding more options in each residence hall facility

for gender-neutral housing. Students should not have to navigate a far more complicated

processes than their cisgender peers to find adequate housing. Beemyn shares that the limited

amount of gender-neutral housing available has students making a tough decision of picking

which identity is most important to them, their gender or other identities. This scarceness of

housing for Trans* students is not conducive to the more inclusive and holistic intersectional

approach.

In relation to Intersectionality, institutions can use this lens to increase the safety of

Trans* students within their community and outside of their community. For instance, Black

Trans* women historically experience much higher rates of violence than any other group.

Using Intersectionality, institutions may be able to understand the relationship between race and

gender. Looking at this further will allow institutions to dig deeper so they can provide support

to Black Trans* women in an effort to create a safe environment for them. Higher Education

professionals should work to understand the different experiences of Trans* women from

different racial backgrounds.

Colleges and Universities should take drastic steps to change not only educational

policies, but the culture of the institution in relation to gender identity. Literature presented such

as Intersectionality and Queer Theory describe how Trans* students may be experiencing many

more issues than what can be currently supported through policy change. For instance,

Intersectionality suggests that Black Trans* Woman may be living in the Borderlands

(Anzaldua, 1987) where they do not feel comfortable in either the LGBT center, in fear of not

being Trans* enough, nor the Black Studies center, in fear of not being Black enough.

Therefore, cultural centers should consider educating staff on the struggles of students
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experiencing borderland identities as such. Students and their multiple identities should be

considered as intertwined and each individual identity should be considered relevant to all

identities. Campus cultural centers can help to address borderland identities by working on

collaborations between cultural groups such as the LGBT centers collaborating with Asian

American centers to host an event for Trans* individuals in the Asian American culture.

Additionally, Higher Education staff at cultural centers can take steps to deliberately support

students and their multiple identities without conforming to binaries or dominant perspectives.

One huge step that can be taken toward creating more inclusive communities for Trans*

students is educating cisgender people within Colleges, Universities, and greater society about

the Trans* community, Queer Theory, and non-binary identities. This would include Higher

Education institutions that are inclusive to a more fluid interpretation of identity. Institutions

would have to work together to bring down the systems of power, privilege, and oppression that

are engrained in their culture. They would need to make a common practice to ask for pronouns

in meetings, classroom settings, and include pronoun information within the online staff

directory.

However, too frequently, we place the responsibility of inclusion solely on the shoulders

of student affairs professionals and supportive staff, when in reality Faculty in most cases are

able to interact with students most often. It would be an extremely beneficial effort to make a

more active attempt to include faculty in on the discussion and implementation of Trans* student

inclusion. Faculty could be given training on the fluidity of identity, and the unacceptable nature

of assuming identity within the classroom. Trans* students would therefore be asked their

pronouns in each classroom setting and would not struggle as much with the fear of being

misgendered in the classroom. This would also help cisgender peers in the classroom become
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more familiar with the Trans* population and may even help students who are questioning their

own gender identity find clarity and guidance. Beemyn (2015) also suggests to include the

education of students, faculty, staff, and family members at orientation sessions or workshops

that help individuals prevent themselves from thinking of all others as either male or female.

Faculty, staff, and students could be educated on being more specific with the language they use

in order to also create a more equitable environment (Tillapaugh and Nicolazzo, 2015). These

changes in language can help to put practices into place that deliberately challenge norms within

the institution (Abes, 2007). All of this would work to create a campus culture that is more

inclusive, aware, and accepting of gender fluidity.

Tillapaugh and Nicolazzo (2015) also present the importance of utilizing student stories,

voice, and experiences. Institutions are encouraged to set up focus groups that include Trans*

students who can share their needs in relation to a particular campus. These students could

report on the accessibility of campus, the level of equity that they experience or do not

experience, the struggles they face throughout their college learning, and the obstacles they must

overcome compared to peers. Centering these narratives in further research could help scholars

and institutions more accurately address the actual levels of support that Trans* students still

need and can add more substance to Intersectional and Queer Theory research.

Further practice could be completely revamping LGBTQ centers on college campus to

better reflect Trans* students. Campuses could create Gender and Sexuality Resource centers

that are more open to the fluidity of identities and less dominated by identities of sexuality. This

would help students, faculty, and staff understand the equal importance of both gender and

sexuality as identities within LGBTQ studies.

Conclusion
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Renn (2010) may have said it best, institutions of higher education produce queer

concepts, but also need to be more open to queering higher education itself. It should not only be

acceptable to queer our theories, but should also be expected to queer institutions based off of the

research produced. Higher Education institutions need to become more comfortable with

challenging what is deemed normal in society and within our institutions. While doing so,

professionals at these institutions should learn how to adequately disrupt these norms so that they

are facilitated into students and their own meaning-making process (Abes, 2007). The

challenges that will be presented to multiple categories of identity should be handled with care so

that no new ideas of normalcy are put into place.

Therefore, with Trans* students in mind, more research needs to be done within the field

of Higher Education on gender and sexuality. Scholars of Higher Education should look to

expand the current limited knowledge that exists within Intersectionality and Queer Theory. By

doing so, institutions may be able to find more adequate avenues to support Trans* students and

their needs. They may also be able to find practices that will help them break down current

systematic structures and rebuild a more equitable learning environment that does not cater to

dominant perspectives.
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Anzaldua, G. (1987). Borderlands/la frontera: The new mestiza. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute

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Beemyn, G. (2015). Leaving no trans college student behind. Chronicle of Higher Education,

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Jones, S. R., & Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity development of college students: Advancing

frameworks for multiple dimensions of identity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Tillapaugh, D., & Nicolazzo, Z. (2015). Its king of apples and oranges: Gay college males

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