Gender x Culture: A pilot project exploring the study abroad experiences of trans and gender expansive students

Abstract

As gender is socially constructed, gender a ttitudes, expressions, expectations and identities may differ based on their sociocultural contexts. This project sought to understand interactions between gender and culture through the experiences of three undergraduate study abroad students who are tra ns and/or gender expansive. Utilizing the thematic analysis method, data from a focus group and individual follow up interviews were analyzed ; seven themes emerged from the data collected. As study abroad has become an increasingly normalized aspect of the American undergraduate experience, institutions must consider the ways study abroad may uniquely affect certain student populations. This project explored some of the unique joys (community building, self exploration, cultural insights) and hardships (ge nder policing, isolation, sexual violence) of study abroad for trans and gender expansive students, identified areas for further research and suggested specific methods through which institutions can provide support to these students.