Transphobia

The term transphobia refers to hostile responses to people perceived as “trans,” a term typically used to describe people whose own designations of their gender are independent from their assigned gender or from the administrative sex category listed on their original birth certificate. “Trans” has also been used to describe people whose characteristics and behavior differ from expected gender norms in a particular context. Since transphobia was first measured in 2005, researchers using the transphobia framework have shifted the direction of research from studies that try to determine the causes of the existence of “trans people” to studies that investigate the causes and consequences of hostile and discriminatory treatment of “trans people.” Limitations of the transphobia framework include reliance on a “transgender/cisgender” gender binary and the exclusion of subtle, implicit, and benevolent forms of delegitimization and exclusion experienced by people perceived as trans.