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TRANSGENDER WORK EXPERIENCES 1
Supplemental Materials
Definitions:

Transsexual: a term describing “people who believe that their physiological bodies do not
represent their true sex” (Lev, 2004, p. 400). Transsexual individuals express their gender
in a variety of ways, including doing nothing to change their biological sex, changing
clothing, utilizing hormone treatments, and choosing sex and/or gender reassignment
surgery (Korell & Lorah, 2007). Transsexual individuals are commonly referred to as
FTM (female-to-male) and MTF (male-to-female) transsexuals.

Cross-dresser: an individual who dresses in clothing as an expression of femininity or
masculinity when it is not socially aligned with biological sex (Ellis & Erikson, 2002).
Drag queens (biological men who dress in women’s clothing) and drag kings (biological
women who dress in men’s clothing) are occasionally placed in this category.

Transvestite: a term that is typically not adopted in the transgender community, due to the
pathologizing nature of the term. This usually refers to someone who dresses in clothing
that is not socially aligned with biological sex and also includes a fetishistic component.
The DSM-IV typically denotes this category as transvestic fetishism.

Gender-variant: this term is an additional umbrella term, where gender is described on a
continuum, rather than as a dichotomous construct. Individuals who identify within this
category may include individuals who reject the notion of gender completely by using
gender neutral pronouns (see below) or individuals who identify somewhere on the
spectrum of the gender continuum. Terms for gender-variant individuals can include
gender queer, gender trash, and gender-bender, amongst other terms.
TRANSGENDER WORK EXPERIENCES 2

Gender-queer: this term is typically included within the umbrella term of gendervariance. Gender queer individuals typically either reject gender or identify somewhere
between (or as both) male and female on the gender spectrum. Gender queer individuals
may or may not use gender neutral pronouns.

Inter-sex: this term refers to individuals who were born with either ambiguous genitalia
or genitals that do not match the sex chromosomal make-up of the individual. These
individuals may or may not be included in the spectrum of transgender individuals,
depending on how they wish to identify.

Genderstrait or Cis-woman/Cis-man: terms used to describe individuals with matching
assigned and identified genders, or conventional gender identities (O’Neil et al, 2008).

Pronoun use: most transgender individuals use the pronouns “she”, “he”, “him”, and
“her”, but for individuals who do not ascribe to specific gender constructs, traditional
male and female pronouns are not fitting. While there are many different gender-neutral
pronouns, the most common include sie, ze, hir, and hirs.
TRANSGENDER WORK EXPERIENCES 3
Supplemental Table 1. Demographic Information
Participant Age
Race
Transgender
Identity
Sexual
Orientation
Education
Level
Industry
Out Status
Rachel
52
White/Native
American
MTF
Pansexual
High School
Computer
Technician
Open, out to all
Tina
47
White
MTF
Some college
Computer
Technician
Open, out to all
Kate
46
White
MTF
Bisexual
(straight
female with
open mind)
Bisexual
High School
Farming
Open, out to all
Gina
67
White
MTF
Lesbian
High School
Car Industry (GM)
Open, out to all
Rebecca
53
White/Native
American
MTF
Straight
Bachelors
Retail
Open, out to all
Nathan
41
White
Male
Crossdresser
Straight
Masters
Librarian
Open, out to all
Alex
27
White
Gender queer
Queer
Student/Librarian
Open, out to some
Erin
46
White
MTF
Lesbian
Student
Open, out to all
Julie
46
White
MTF
Straight
Completing
graduate
degree
Completing
Associates
degree
Bachelors
Computer technician
Open, out to all
Jody
44
White
MTF
Lesbian
Bachelors
Janitorial Work
Open, out to all
Amy
46
White
MTF
Mostly asexual
Masters
Corrections/Social
Work/Janitorial
Work
Open, out to all
Employment
Status
Currently working,
but fired previously
due to transgender
status
Currently working
at same job since
transitioning
Unemployed, on
disability
Retired, runs own
business
Looking for work at
time of last
interview
Currently working
at same job since
transitioning
Currently working
at same job since
transitioning
Currently working
at same job since
transitioning
Currently working
at same job since
transitioning
Currently working,
but fired previously
due to transgender
status
Currently working,
but resigned due to
discrimination at
previous job
TRANSGENDER WORK EXPERIENCES 4
Participant
Age
Race
Sexual
Orientation
Queer
White/Native
American
Transgender
Identity
Gender
Queer
FTM/Gender
Queer
62
White
MTF
Questioning
Education
Level
Completing
undergraduate
Completing
graduate
degree
Bachelors
Robin
20
White
Finn
27
Nina
Haley
49
White
MTF
Bisexual
Brittany
52
White
MTF
Carla
44
White
Mark
44
White/Native
American
Industry
Out Status
Student
Open, out to some
Student/Certified
Nursing Assistant
(C.N.A.)
Teacher
Open at school
Not out at C.N.A.
position
Not out at work
Some college
Going to trade
school/Building
Maintenance
Open, out to all
Bisexual
Bachelors
Technician
Open, out to all
MTF
Bisexual
Bachelors
Technician
Open, out to all
FTM
Lesbian/ none
of the above
Bachelors
Computer
Technician
Open, out to all
Bisexual/Queer
Employment Status
Not working due to
school
Currently working,
but afraid of losing
job if he comes out
Currently working,
but afraid of losing
job if she comes out
Not working due to
school, lost previous
job due to
transgender status
Currently working at
same job since
transitioning
Unemployed,
looking for a job
Currently working at
same job since
transitioning