America through Transgender Eyes J. E. SUMERAU University of Tampa LAIN A. B. MATHERS University of Illinois at Chicago ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD Lanham • Boulder • New York • London 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 1 3/1/19 12:54 PM Executive Editor: Rolf Janke Editorial Assistant: Courtney Packard Senior Marketing Manager: Amy Whitaker Credits and acknowledgments for material borrowed from other sources, and reproduced with permission, appear on the appropriate page within the text. Published by Rowman & Littlefield A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowman.com 6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom Copyright © 2019 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sumerau, J. E., author. | Mathers, Lain A. B., 1990– author. Title: America through transgender eyes / J. E. Sumerau, University of Tampa , Lain A. B. Mathers, University of Illinois at Chicago. Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019000252 (print) | LCCN 2019000928 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538122082 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538122068 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781538122075 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Transgender people—United States. | Transgender people—United States—Identity. Classification: LCC HQ77.95.U6 (ebook) | LCC HQ77.95.U6 S86 2019 (print) | DDC 306.76/80973—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000252 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 2 3/1/19 12:54 PM Contents Acknowledgments v 1 Introduction 1 2 Coming Out (or Not) as Trans 27 3 Transgender Experience in LGBTQIA Communities 51 4 Transgender Experience in Cisgender Realities 73 5 Transgender Experience with Religion 91 6 Transgender Experience with Medical Science 113 7 Conclusion 133 Methodological Appendix 147 Bibliography 161 Index 199 iii 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 3 3/1/19 12:54 PM 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 4 3/1/19 12:54 PM Acknowledgments No book is written completely alone, and in this section, we would like to individually and collectively thank people who played important roles in the formation of this volume. To begin, we would both like to thank the trans people who shared their stories with us both in the creation of the survey and within the survey itself— we hope that we have done your stories justice. We also feel indebted to all the trans artists, scholars, and activists who came before us, without whom this work in its current form would have been inconceivable. We further thank and continue to appreciate all the other trans artists, scholars, and activists currently engaged in a wide variety of areas throughout society for their in- fluence, inspiration, and companionship both in navigating the current time period and in attempts like this book to make visible and heard voices from our communities. Additionally, we are indebted to the many other trans people we have encountered throughout our lives and development as people and scholars. Finally, we are also grateful to the Association for the Sociology of Religion for their support of this research through the Joseph H. Fichter Research Grant. As the first author of this work, I, J. Sumerau, would also like to thank some people in my life who have been instrumental in this and other works in my career to date. First, thank you to my life partners for the many ways v 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 5 3/1/19 12:54 PM vi Acknowledgments you support and embrace me every day throughout the good, bad, and every- where in between that is this life. While each of you mean more than words to me, I want to especially thank Xan Nowakowski—life partner, spouse, and often writing collaborator and heroic protector—for the fact that I’m still breathing and for every little way over the last decade that you have brought me even more to life and worked with me to build the lives, partnerships, and careers we share today. Looking back at the past decade, I also smile more and brighter than I ever thought possible when I think about the chosen family that makes all my work possible in little ways that go beyond any given moment or event. In this regard, I thank my coauthor in this book, Lain Mathers, for an ongoing conversation, friendship, and collaboration that continues to make me a better friend, writer, and person throughout my life. I would also especially like to note the over- whelming support and contributions of the other people in my little chosen family. Thank you so much, Eve, Brandy S., Nik, M, Eric, Brandy F., Mandi, Kate, Misha, Shay, Brittany, and Mercedes for all the inspiration, support, and kindness over the years. There are pieces of each of you in everything I’m able to do that I will never feel like I’m able to thank you for enough. As I think of the people who have helped me to this point, I also think about the importance of mentorship and how lucky I have been to have wonderful mentors along the way. From the formal training I received at Augusta University and Florida State University, I am forever indebted especially to Drs. Irene Padavic, Kim Davies, Koji Ueno, Doug Schrock, Allen Scarboro, Saundra Reinke, Christos Bourdouvalis, John Reynolds, Jill Quadagno, and Patricia Yancey Martin. I am also personally forever indebted to Dr. Petra Doan for showing me it was possible for someone like me to make it in the academy, even though I was too scared to tell her so when I was lucky enough to meet and work with her. Beyond where I was educated, I also owe a debt of gratitude to brilliant scholars who were kind enough to help me along the path, including Drs. Kristen Schilt, Dawne Moon, Katie Acosta, Patricia Leavy, Richard Pitt, Staci Newmahr, Angela Jones, Charlese Edgley, and Dirk vom Lehn. Finally, for me, I worked on this project over the past few years constantly thinking about and aware of the young trans people who came to my office, e-mailed me after reading one of my articles or books, or found me at con- ferences. While being visible comes with many costs within and beyond my 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 6 3/1/19 12:54 PM Acknowledgments vii field of work, the costs are far outweighed by the many younger people who have sought me out, whom I have been able to help or mentor, and/or who felt less alone because of my visibility. I think about these young folks now as I do every day, and I think about the small role I can play in trying to make it better for them, just as I think about the massive role they have played in encouraging me to continue to use my voice in what ways I can. Thank you to each of you: You are each beautiful in your own ways, and you are all part of this and my other continued attempts to speak. Despite the flaws in any work and the limitations of my or any other standpoint or perspective, I hope this is yet another piece that eases the road ahead for you, and in whatever ways I can, I promise to keep trying right alongside each of you. As the second author of this work, I, Lain Mathers, would like to express my gratitude to a few people who played important roles in this and my other work to date. First, thank you to my coauthor J, who has been the greatest writing partner, mentor, and friend I could ask for. You are consistently a source of inspiration and support in more ways than I can possibly list here, and I would not be the person I am without knowing you for the past eight and a half years. I cannot imagine tackling this project with anyone else and am so excited that we got to work together to bring this book to fruition. I would also like to acknowledge my undergraduate mentors at Florida State University, Drs. Koji Ueno, Irene Padavic, Petra Doan, and Douglas Schrock, who collectively encouraged me to pursue graduate study. I am so very grate- ful for your early support and guidance. Working on a book alongside my dissertation has been a unique experi- ence, and I am forever grateful to my dissertation advisor and graduate school mentor at University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Lorena Garcia, who encour- aged my work on this project from day one. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a dissertation chair as brilliant, insightful, and motivating as she is. I cannot envision navigating graduate school with anyone else as my advisor, and this book would not have been possible without knowing that she was in my corner the entire time. Thank you to Dr. Kristen Schilt for countless fun and uplifting conversations over coffee and for always reminding me that the work I am doing is important, and to Drs. Claire Decoteau and Laurie Schaffner, who have also consistently encouraged my academic endeavors. I am also grateful for all the things I’ve learned from Drs. stef shuster, Angela 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 7 3/1/19 12:54 PM viii Acknowledgments Jones, Dawne Moon, Eric Anthony Grollman, and Brandy Simula; thank you for the wealth of knowledge you’ve shared with me along the way. Addition- ally, I have so much appreciation for the many undergraduate students at University of Illinois at Chicago and Northeastern Illinois University, who continuously remind me why I do what I do. I would also like to especially thank some of my friends who have helped me along the path to completing this work. Sarah Steele has given me an in- credible shoulder to lean on during my time in Chicago, and Sangi Ravichan- dran is always a source of encouragement when I need a break from working to sit back, laugh, and relax. I don’t know what I would do without the intel- lectual and emotional sustenance provided by Katharine McCabe, who has been an unabashedly loving and loud supporter of me and my work from day one at UIC. My time in graduate school would not have been as bright without the steadfast friendship of Alison Moss who is (in every sense) one of the most rad people in my life. I am also forever thankful to have the honor of knowing and learning from Xan Nowakowski, without whom I wouldn’t be half the scholar I am today. Their ability to push back, intellectually, profes- sionally, and personally, against existing forms of inequality has undoubtedly inspired this work in more ways than we can count. Thank you also to Nik Lampe, who keeps me on my toes as a writer and mentor and is always there for me just as much as I am for them. Thank you to Eve Haydt, Chandra Palmer, Z Zahr, S Simmons, Misha Shuster, Michelle Manno, Michael Muñiz, Danielle Giffort, Brandy Fox, Lydia Hou, and Nick Rochin for your friend- ship; I am so grateful to know you all. Lauren and Al Mathers have been the most incredible parents I could ask for and have been willing to grow and learn with me in ways I never imag- ined possible. I wish for a world where every trans person has parents like you. Last, but most certainly not least, unending love and gratitude to my life partner, Shay Phillips, who has cheered me on throughout this whole project, even when it meant many late nights and days working alone in my office. You push me to be a better person and scholar, and I cherish the privilege of walking through this strange forest of life with you. I am also appreciative of our three cats, Erving, Galahad, and Luca, who made valiant efforts to contribute to this book via jumping onto the keyboard more times than I can recall and, in so doing, served the important role of comic relief on some of the longer work days. 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 8 3/1/19 12:54 PM 1 Introduction A child sits in Sunday school learning the story of Adam and Eve. The child listens as the teacher of the week’s lesson explains that God created Adam and Eve as complementary halves and that all the rest of human existence comes from this initial establishment of the world in the form of women and men created in God’s image. A middle-aged person walks into a meeting at work with a colleague, and upon entering, the two are greeted by a boss saying, “Oh there he is” to one of them, and, “You see, I knew she would find him” to the rest of the room while point- ing at the other one of them as they take their seats with the rest of the team. A student in an introduction to biology course reads about and hears a professor speak of the natural processes whereby human males and females evolved from other living things over time. The biology professor explains that women and men exist as separate but connected forms, and that the whole of human evolution involves the ways females and males accomplish mating, child rearing, and their natural urges for aggression (males) and nurturing (females) over time. The professor explains that this sexual di- morphism, shown in the understanding of females and males as oppositional and complementary halves of the human whole, is a foundational tenet of modern biophysical science. 1 19_0022-Sumerau.indb 1 3/1/19 12:54 PM