10.2190/WR.14.1.g T1W762477016T367 7 Gender Identity Issues and Workplace Discrimination: The Transgender Experience 121 140 20100527 20100527 20100527 20100527 T1W762477016T367.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=T1W762477016T367 1 Michelle Dietert Dianne Dentice Texas A & M University-Central Texas, Killeen Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas Mainstream social constructions of gender tend to demand conformity by adhering to only two choices of gender identity, male and female. Transgender individuals transgress this binary conception of gender by deviating from the societal gender norms associated with the sex assigned at birth. Using a combination of face-to-face and phone interviews to collect data, twenty-six interviews were conducted with male-identified transgender individuals aged 18 to 57 from throughout the United States. All participants were born female bodied but eventually expressed gender traits that align with male identity rather than female identity. The participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Our findings reveal the workplace experiences of a sample of female-to-male (FTM) individuals and provide accounts of how male-identified transgender individuals negotiate their gender identities within the workplace and deal with the issues that arise as a result. Badgett, L., Donnelly, C., & Kibbe, J. 1992. Pervasive patterns of discrimination against lesbians and gay men: Evidence from surveys across the United States. Unpublished report. Washington, DC: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Badgett, M. V. L. 1995. The wage effects of sexual orientation discrimination. <i>Industrial and Labor Relations Review</i>, 48(4): 726-739. Barclay, J. M., & Scott, L. J. 2006. Transsexuals and workplace diversity—A case of "change" management. <i>Personnel Review</i>, 35(4): 487-502. Blandford, J. M. 2003. The nexus of sexual orientation and gender in the determination of earnings. <i>Industrial and Labor Relations Review</i>, 56(4): 622-642. Butler, J. 1999. <i>Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity.</i> New York: Routledge. Clain, S. H., & Leppel, K. 2001. An investigation into sexual orientation, discrimination as an explanation for wage differences. <i>Applied Economics</i>, 33: 37-47. Crow, S. M., Fok, L. Y., & Hartman, S. J. 1998. Who is at greatest risk of work-related discrimination—Women, blacks, or homosexuals? <i>Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal</i>, 11(1): 15-26. Dietert, M. 2007. Living in a gender dichotomized society: The experiences of male-identified transpeople. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas Woman's University, Denton, Texas. Foucault, M. 1972. <i>The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language.</i> New York: Pantheon Books. Irwin, J. 2002. Discrimination against gay men, lesbians, and transgender people working in education. <i>Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services</i>, 14(2): 65-77. Levine, M. P., & Leonard, R. 1984. Discrimination against lesbians in the work force. <i>Journal of Women in Culture and Society</i>, 9(4): 700-710. Loftus, J. 2001. America's liberalization in attitudes toward homosexuality, 1973 to 1998. <i>American Sociological Review</i>, 66(5): 762-782. Reddy, G. 2003. "Men" who would be kings: Celibacy, emasculation, and the re-production of <i>hijras</i> in contemporary Indian politics. <i>Social Research</i>, 70(1): 163-200. Schilt, K. 2006. Just one of the guys? How transmen make gender visible at work. <i>Gender and Society</i>, 20(4): 465-490. Schilt, K., & Connell, K. 2007. Do workplace gender transitions make gender trouble? <i>Gender, Work and Organization</i>, 14(6): 596-618. Schilt, K., & Wiswall, M. 2008. Before and after: Gender transitions, human capital, and workplace experiences. <i>The B. E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy</i>, 8(1): 1-26. Seidman, S. 2003. <i>The social construction of sexuality.</i> New York: W. W. Norton & Company. Seidman, Steven. 1996. <i>Queer theory/sociology.</i> Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Stein, A., & Plummer, K. 1996. "I can't even think straight": "Queer" theory and the missing sexual revolution in sociology. In S. Seidman (Ed.), <i>Queer theory/sociology</i>: 129-144. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Taranowski, C. J. 2008. Transsexual employees in the workplace. <i>Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health</i>, 23: 467-477. Vidal-Ortiz, S. 2002. Queering sexuality and doing gender: Transgender Men's identification with gender and sexuality. <i>Gender Sexualities</i>, 6: 181-233. West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. 1987. Doing gender. <i>Gender and Society</i>, 1: 125-151. Wharton, A. 2005. <i>The sociology of gender: An introduction to theory and research.</i> Malden, MA: Blackwell.