Role of the family in the construction of gender identity in trans women

Abstract

Transgender identity supposes an individual construction that arises through the questioning of pre-established social norms that are transmitted from the family environment. Family support can mitigate the appearance of serious psychopathological conditions that hinder the process of construction of gender identity as such and that enhance the link in risk behaviors in transgender women, such as prostitution, transmission of sexually transmitted diseases or problematic consumption of substances. We have set ourselves the objective of demonstrating how the process of construction of gender identity is lived by women who identify themselves as part of the trans collective as an experience of reparation, since it claims a bodily and emotional feeling. The methodology of "thematic" life stories was used, from the qualitative approach. This allowed us to address the fact that these experiences are also full of difficulties, since they have no place in a hetero-patriarchal and discriminatory society. We will demonstrate the responsibility that gender-based psychotherapy must assume in this regard.