Reflections on Living Gender in Prison: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Gender Dysphoria was introduced as a new mental health diagnosis in the Diagnostic Statistics Manual-5 (DSM-5) as of 2013 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). As a result of this addition and the lack of attention to identities other than transgender, there is a paucity of data related to the lived experience of the broader category of other than cisgender inmates. An estimated an approximate number of 1.4 million transgender individuals in the United States and other than cisgender individuals make up between 25-35% of the transgender population (Herman et al., 2016; Webb et al., 2016). Additionally, 16% of gender minorities have reported spending time incarcerated as opposed to only 3% of the general population (Bourcicot & Woofter, 2016). Counselors should expect to work with other than cisgender clients with Gender Dysphoria, in a culturally competent manner, as issues of gender are viewed as universal (American Counseling Association, 2014; Dupkoski, 2012). The primary researcher conducted a one-time, semi-structured interview with three formerly incarcerated individuals who identified as other than cisgender. The resulting primary themes dealt with issues of safety, human dignity, conformity to gender norms, intersecting gender identity and treatment, and experiences with law enforcement/facility staff. Participants’ lived experiences and resulting themes identified in this study allowed the researcher to identify several implications to help counselors work in a more culturally competent manner, assist counselor educators in better preparing future counselors to work with this population, and inform future researchers looking to conduct studies within a correctional setting.

Keywords: Gender Dysphoria, prison, Ecological Systems Theory, other than cisgender