Transgender adolescents describe differences in romantic relationships
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Transgender, gender diverse and gender nonconforming adolescents approach romantic relationships differently because of a risk of transphobia and often struggle with disclosing their gender identity, researchers found.
Adrian C. Araya, MD, FAAP, a pediatric endocrinologist at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio, and colleagues interviewed transgender, gender diverse and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adolescents aged 15 years or older who were receiving care in a child and adolescent gender services clinic.
“We know that many people start exploring romantic relationships in adolescence, and transgender and gender nonconforming youth are no different,” Araya told Healio. “Our participants told us that they experience some challenges in romantic relationships that are different from their cisgender peers.”
Following the acquisition of written parental consent, or adolescent consent if the individual was aged 18 years or older, the participants completed a short demographic survey before being interviewed.
The interview began with general questions regarding the individual’s gender identity, and medical and social transition, followed by specific questions about the individual’s romantic history, including their current relationship status, and past romantic connections, in regard to quantity and quality.
A total of 30 adolescents (18 transmasculine; 12 transfeminine) completed the interviews, Araya and colleagues reported. Of these, two individuals were undergoing gender-affirming hormone therapy. At the time of recruitment, ages ranged between 15 and 20 years. Of the participants, 26 were white, four were American Indian or Asian American and five identified their ethnicity as Hispanic.
According to Araya and colleagues, the participants said that no additional rules for dating or being in a romantic relationship were applied to them because of their new transgender identity, but some respondents said they felt their parents expressed heightened caution out of concern for their safety and for affirmation of their child’s gender identity.
“Parents of TGNC youth tell us that they worry about their child’s future, whether their child will ever be able to find a romantic partner or fall in love,” Araya said. “We are hopeful that our findings can provide reassurance to those parents since many of our participants are in or have been in relationships, and some have even thought about getting married.”
The researchers said some participants began exploring romantic relationships as early as age 13 years. These relationships were deemed “less serious” or they “don’t count,” the participants said. The authors said that most participants’ romantic experiences were characterized with nonsexual physical interaction, and some said they had “a lot of online relationships.” Romantic partners were found by proximity, through school, work, mutual friends or through social media platforms.
“Participants described a limited dating pool and described dating being more difcult as compared with cisgender peers,” the authors wrote. “They also perceived or experienced transphobia within the LGBT community.”
The authors noted that some participants said transphobia can be a limiting factor in dating within the LGBT community. Although some participants said there are TGNC participants who purposefully avoid relationships with other TGNC individuals.
“Being in a relationship is developmentally normal for any young person, and the same is true for TGNC youth,” Araya said. “We know that being in a healthy relationship as a young person can lead to healthy relationships in adulthood as well as improved mental and physical health. For TGNC youth specifically, romantic partners can be an important source of love and support when going through transition.”