Abstract
The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of legal name change on socioeconomic factors, general and transgender-related health care access and utilization, and transgender-related victimization in a sample of young transgender women (transwomen) of color. A cross-sectional group comparison approach was used to assess the potential effects of legal name change. A convenience sample of young transwomen enrolled in a no-cost legal name change clinic were recruited to complete a 30-min interviewer-guided telephone survey including sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, health and well-being, health care utilization, transgender transition-related health care, and transgender-related victimization. Sixty-five transgender women of color (37 = pre-name change group, 28 = post-name change group) completed the survey. Results indicated that the transwomen in the post-name change group were significantly older than the pre-name change group. In age-adjusted analyses, the post-name change group was significantly more likely to have a higher monthly income and stable housing than the pre-name change group. No significant differences were observed for general health care utilization; however, a significantly greater percentage of transwomen in the pre-name change group reported postponing medical care due to their gender identity. In addition, a significantly larger proportion of transwomen in the pre-name change group reported using non-prescribed hormones injected by friends and experiencing verbal harassment by family and friends compared to transwomen in the post-name change group. Findings suggest that legal name change may be an important structural intervention for low-income transwomen of color, providing increased socioeconomic stability and improved access to primary and transition-related health care.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 25-33 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Sexuality Research and Social Policy |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Keywords
- Transgender
- Transgender health
- Transgender rights
- Transgender victimization
- Transition-related health care
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gender Studies
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science