Transgender College Student Activists: the Intersections of Identities

Abstract

Transgender students, sometimes motivated by their experiences of marginalization, other times driven to bring meaning to their lives, participate in activism on their college campuses in efforts to enact social change. This qualitative study sought to learn how transgender college students describe the intersection between their gender and activist identities, and the role other identities play at the intersection. Situated in the theoretical framework of intersectionality, I used data from interviews to construct narratives where participants describe the place where their identities meet. Learning more about the intersection of transgender students' gender and activist identities is significant to inform the work of student affairs professionals so that they understand the potential implications in encouraging trans students to engage in activism both on and off campus, and learn how to best support these students.