Internalized transphobia: Exploring perceptions of social messages in transgender and gender-nonconforming adults

Background: Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals encounter a variety of minority stressors that have yet to be fully articulated or explored within the research literature. The purpose of this study is to better understand internalized stigma-the experience of accepting and internalizing negative social messages and experiences about one's identity-an underexplored minority stressor for TGNC people. Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 diverse TGNC participants using consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology. Results: Following data saturation and analysis, six distinct themes emerged across participants: (1) TGNC identities are regarded negatively by society; (2) social messages are perceived as originating from the media and religious ideology; (3) TGNC individuals report emotional distress; (4) negative self-perceptions in response to social messages; (5) TGNC individuals report resilience processes in response to negative social messages; and (6) social messages are perceived generally to differentially impact TGNC people of color. Conclusion: Findings highlight the common experience of encountering social marginalization for TGNC individuals. Structural interventions that target pervasive sociocultural messages regarding TGNC identities are warranted.