Challenging cisgenderism in the ageing and aged care sector: Meeting the needs of older people of trans and/or non-binary experience

Abstract

Recent Australian legislative and policy changes can benefit people of trans and/or non-binary experience (e.g. men assigned female with stereotypically 'female' bodies, women assigned male with stereotypically 'male' bodies, and people who identify as genderqueer, agender [having no gender], bi-gender [having two genders] or another gender option). These populations often experience cisgenderism, which previous research defined as 'the ideology that invalidates people's own understanding of their genders and bodies' [1-6]. Some documented forms of cisgenderism include pathologising (treating people's genders and bodies as disordered) and misgendering (disregarding people's own understanding and classifications of their genders and bodies) [1,2,7]. This system of classifying people's lived experiences of gender and body invalidation is called the cisgenderism framework [3,7]. Applying the cisgenderism framework in the ageing and aged care sector can enhance service providers' ability to meet the needs of older people of trans and/or non-binary experience.