Developmental Milestones in Young Transgender Women in Two American Cities: Results from a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample

Abstract

To understand developmental milestones among young transgender women (YTW), we mapped age estimates per milestone by race/ethnicity and cohort age using baseline data from Project Lifeskills ( n =298). Compared with older and white participants, younger black, Latina, Asian, and other/mixed race transgender (trans) women reported earlier experiences of sexual debut, transfeminine identity disclosure to others, sexual debut as trans, transfeminine identity expression in public, and integration of hormone use. Findings call for increased research and utilization of gender-affirmative interventions among YTW, with incorporation of nuanced, intersecting roles of race/ethnicity and cohort age across milestones.