Trans Women and Reproductive (In)Justice - How Race, Class, and Gender Shape Experiences of Family Formation and Parenthood

The following support document includes demographic data from my dissertation research, disaggregated to preserve the anonymity of respondents. It also includes two separate interview schedules for semi-structured interviews I conducted with trans women who were either currently parents (the first guide) or who want to be parents in the future (the second guide). My dissertation examines how race, class, and gender shape trans women’s parenting journeys. Trans women, and particularly trans women of color, experience high levels of discrimination across the contexts of employment, healthcare, and the legal system, yet remain virtually absent from contemporary research on family and parenting inequalities. I have conducted 54 semi-structured interviews with current and prospective parents across North America, including 27 white trans women and 27 trans women of color. Using the intersectional concepts of transmisogyny and racialized transmisogyny, I argue that trans women face unique barriers to parenting and becoming a parent but also share challenges with other minoritized parents. My findings speak more broadly to theory regarding the increased policing and regulation of motherhood (i.e., reproductive governance), the perceived link between motherhood and womanhood (i.e., R.W. Connell’s concept of mis/recognition), and ongoing transformations in family structure (i.e., queer and trans kinship studies). Whereas existing research on trans women often reduces them to victims of violence, my research highlights trans women’s resilience, resistance, and their ability to build families and community networks despite institutional barriers.